US Savings Bonds

Archive for February, 2007

Question: On the 1046 Savings Bonds Do you have to list the serial# next to the face value or can you get away without.

I am filling out this form for for the 1046 bonds and I have lost the Savings Bonds. I know there were a number of 50 and 100 Savings Bonds. But I dont know the exact amount of 50s and 100s or the serial numbers because they are lost. Can I just put down the owner’s SS#, maiden name, address, will, and an official copy of the exutrix to obtain the serial numbers of the records of the redemption of the Savings Bonds?? I know the bank they were issued from; but I don’t know where they redeemed, although I know they were redeemed in the past 2 years. most likely 30 or 18 months. Can I go to any bank to get this infromation. Or do I have to go to the bank they were issued at, or the one that they were redeemed at??? Or simply can I go to any bank with the information and just tell the bank’s employeers which bank they were issued from and give them the issued banks Phone # and work with the manager and take it from there??

Answer: IF you are talking about US Savings Bonds, call:
toll-free at 800-722-2678, where you’ll find recorded information 24 hours a day and customer service representatives from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except holidays
Taken from the link below.

Savings Bond

Question: which banks or building society give the best interest rate on Savings Bonds and what is the rate?

Answer: If you are talking about U.S. Savings Bonds, the rate is the same everywhere.If you are talking about CD’s, Bankrate.com provides links to CD’s with high interest rates as well as high interest rate banks.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/deposits_home.asp

http://www.bankrate.com/

You should also consider the Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund: https://flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/FundsSnapshot?FundId=0030&FundIntExt=INT

If you are in a high tax bracket you may prefer their tax exempt money market funds:

https://flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/FundsByType

Sometimes other institutions will have a higher teaser rate, but Vanguard tends to have the highest yields I’ve found over the long run. (Vanguard money markets are not FDIC insured, however.)

Article on teaser rates:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/banks-advertised-rates-dont-always/story.aspx?guid=%7B0A13B6E2-FFB2-4E2B-BD42-E2D1E01C52E5%7D

ING and HSBC often have rates close to Vanguard, and most of their products are FDIC insured. You can check these at the following links:

http://home.ingdirect.com/open/open.asp

http://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/3/personal/savings?code=husa

If you are investing for a long period of time and are willing to accept some volatility, you should consider putting some money into no-load low-expense Mutual Funds. These are not guaranteed, but over the long run produce much higher returns.

Money Management & Personal Finance : What Is a High-Yield Savings Account?

Question: Hey, I have a question about taxes on Savings Bonds and Stocks.?

I recently cashed out some Stocks and Savings Bonds and was wondering how much I had to save for taxes. I cashed out $6,750 in Savings Bonds and $4,500 Stocks. I’m gonna file single and no taxes have been paid on any of the stocks or bonds and this is for 2007. Is it still 10% up to $7825 then 15% on the rest? If that is my only income in 2007 am I right that I’ll owe roughly $1,300 for 2007? Doesn’t have to be exact just making sure I save what I’ll need to pay for taxes so I won’t be in debt. This is the 1st time I’ve messed with stocks and bonds (Oh yeah, They were EE bonds) and not sure about taxes on them. Thanx

Answer: you only pay taxes on the interest earned on the Savings Bonds as well as any gains from the stocks….if any losses occured upon your sale of stock you can write them off against any gains

you are gonna need to research yourself what each stock was bought at originally or talk with someone at the brokerage house who processed the sale to find out your cost basis

when you cashed in the Savings Bonds you should have received an interest receipt for amount that is taxable to you

anyways at the end of the year you should receive tax statements but yeah if you have no other income about 10-15% is the tax due

so if the stock was bought for at 30 a share and sold at 35 a share you only owe 5 per share

What to Do with a Tax Refund