I Bond Rate November 2026: 1.40% Fixed, 5.51% vs TIPS

Most pages on I bonds this month repeat the new rate. This one puts the 1.40% fixed rate next to every fixed rate TreasuryDirect has set since 1998 and next to the real yield on TIPS, the other inflation-protected Treasury, because for a reader with $250,000 or more the question is rarely the 5.51% headline. It is how much a $10,000 cap can do, and what the fixed part is worth over time compared with the alternative. Nothing below is a recommendation.

How the 5.51% is built

The rate on an I bond has two parts. The fixed rate is announced every May 1 and November 1 and applies, in TreasuryDirect's words, "for the life of the bond, to all I bonds that we issue during the next 6 months." The inflation rate is set from changes in the non-seasonally adjusted CPI-U and applies to all I bonds ever issued for six months.

Source: TreasuryDirect, I bonds interest rates, read November 3, 2026. The last row is the current rate shown for each purchase period. The annual inflation part is our arithmetic. Because the formula is fixed + 2 x inflation + fixed x inflation, every composite rate TreasuryDirect lists for the six months starting November 2026 can be rebuilt from the bond's fixed rate and the 2.04%: we did this for all 58 purchase periods since September 1998 and all 58 match the table (our arithmetic).

The rate is not frozen for six months from the announcement. Each bond changes rate on the sixth-month anniversary of its issue month: a bond issued in November changes on May 1 and November 1, one issued in December on June 1 and December 1. Interest is added to the bond's value twice a year and the new rate applies to the larger balance. TreasuryDirect says the composite rate cannot fall below zero: if inflation is negative enough to pull it under zero, it stops at zero.

Every fixed rate since 1998

The fixed rate is the part that does not change after you buy, so it is the number that separates one purchase window from another. The table lists the rate set on each date; the inflation columns apply to all bonds, whatever their purchase date.

Source: TreasuryDirect, I bonds interest rates, fixed rate and inflation rate tables, read November 3, 2026. The 1998 row shows the September 1, 1998 and November 1, 1998 settings. Our count: the fixed rate was 0.00% in the 5 windows from May 1, 2020 to May 1, 2022, it was 0.90% for the bonds issued from November 2025 to October 2026, and 1.40% is the first time since November 1, 2006 that it reaches this level.

What bonds bought earlier earn now

Every I bond gets the same 2.04% semiannual inflation rate from its next reset. What differs is the fixed rate it carries. The table shows the composite rate each purchase period earns for the six months starting November 2026.

Source: TreasuryDirect, I bonds interest rates, current composite rates table and fixed rate table. The full list back to September 1998 is in the CSV. A bond bought in 2021 with a 0.00% fixed rate earns 4.08% now; one bought this month earns 5.51%. The gap of 1.43 points is the fixed rate plus its interaction with inflation (our arithmetic), and it is the part that lasts.

I bonds against TIPS: the real yield

TIPS are marketable Treasury securities whose principal moves with the CPI; the I bond is non-marketable and its rate resets with inflation. TreasuryDirect publishes its own side-by-side table. The numbers that decide the comparison are the real yields, which the Treasury publishes every business day.

Source: U.S. Treasury, Daily Treasury Real Yield Curve Rates and Daily Treasury Par Yield Curve Rates, November 2, 2026. Breakeven and the gap column are our arithmetic. The real yield is what a buyer at that day's price earns above inflation if the TIPS is held to maturity; an I bond's fixed rate is the same thing, fixed on the issue date. On the Treasury's own series the fixed rate is lower at every maturity.

What that gap is worth, in today's purchasing power (inflation removed), on $10,000 held with interest reinvested at the same rate:

Our arithmetic: $10,000 x (1 + fixed rate / 2) raised to twice the years, which is the real growth of an I bond because the semiannual rate is the fixed half-rate compounded with inflation. It is before tax, ignores that a TIPS bought now carries a premium or discount and ignores the three-month penalty (not charged at 5 years or later). It says nothing about which is better: a TIPS is bought at auction or through a bank or broker and its real yield changes every day; the I bond has no price risk and a $10,000 annual ceiling.

Features that do not show in the yield, from TreasuryDirect's comparison page:

Source: TreasuryDirect, Comparison of TIPS and Series I Savings Bonds. The tax column in numbers: on $10,000 of a 10-year TIPS bought at 2.62% real, with 3% inflation assumed in year 1, the cash coupon is about $270, the principal increase $300 and the taxable amount about $570, so federal tax at 32% is about $182, 68% of the cash received (our arithmetic; the 3% is an assumption). An I bond held with the defer choice owes nothing in year 1. For TIPS tax in more detail and for ladders see our Treasury and TIPS ladder page.

The $10,000 cap in a household

TreasuryDirect counts the limit by the Social Security number of the first person named on the bond or, for an entity, by its EIN or SSN. It says a given SSN or EIN can buy $10,000 in electronic EE bonds and $10,000 in electronic I bonds each calendar year, that gift bonds count toward the recipient's limit, and that each child has the same yearly limit as an adult.

Source: TreasuryDirect, How much can I spend on savings bonds; arithmetic by CrowdfundedWealth. TreasuryDirect says you may register an electronic bond in the name of a trust or estate, and an electronic bond in TreasuryDirect also can be in the name of a corporation, partnership or other entity. Bonds you co-own count toward the limit only of the first-named owner. Whether a given trust or LLC has its own EIN and limit is a question for the registration, not for this table. The cap is why an I bond is a small position for this reader: $10,000 is 4% of $250,000 (our arithmetic).

Leaving early: the 12-month lock and the 3-month penalty

TreasuryDirect: you can cash in an I bond after 12 months, but if you cash in the bond in less than 5 years you lose the last 3 months of interest. The penalty is interest, not principal. At a flat 5.51% for the whole year, the arithmetic for $10,000 is:

Our arithmetic. The 5.51% applies to the first six months only; it resets on May 1, 2027 and the rate for the next six months is not known. The rows assume it stays at 5.51% so the penalty can be priced. A reader who needs the money inside five years has to count the penalty as part of the cost. A 1-year Treasury has no such lock and no cap, and both are exempt from state and local income tax; see which Treasury income states do and do not tax.

EE bonds in one line

TreasuryDirect gives the EE bond at 2.90% for bonds issued from November 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027, with a guarantee that the value at 20 years will be double what you paid. That guarantee works out to 3.53% a year (our arithmetic: 2 to the power of 1/20, minus 1). It does not move with inflation. The 20-year par yield on the Treasury curve was 5.31% on November 2, 2026.

Where the simple answer breaks

• The 5.51% is for six months. The inflation half is set again on May 1, 2027, from CPI-U changes the Treasury has not published yet.
• The fixed rate is the lasting part. A 1.40% fixed rate against 0.90% is $50 a year of real return on $10,000 (our arithmetic), for up to 30 years.
• A TIPS real yield changes daily. The 10-year was 2.62% on November 2, 2026 and 2.60% on October 30, 2026 (U.S. Treasury).
• Registration matters. The first-named owner decides whose cap is used.
• Inherited bonds. Federal estate and inheritance rules apply; see our inheritance tax page for the savings bond rule.
• Cash flow. The interest is paid only at redemption or the 30-year maturity, so the bond adds no income until then.

What a reader can do with this

These are the questions the data raises, not recommendations.

• Count your accounts. Write down each SSN and EIN that could be the first-named owner and the room each has left in 2026.
• Mind the calendar-year rule. The cap is by calendar year; a bond bought in December 2026 counts against 2026 and earns from December 1, and one bought in January 2027 counts against 2027 (our reading of TreasuryDirect's rules).
• Price the exit. If the money might be needed before November 2031, use the penalty table above.
• Compare real yields on the day. Read the Treasury's real yield curve for the day you decide; the gap to 1.40% was 0.91 points at 5 years and 1.22 at 10 years on November 2, 2026.
• Decide which account holds TIPS. The annual tax on the inflation adjustment is the cost of holding them in a taxable account; the I bond has its own deferral built in.

This is analysis of public documents, not investment, legal or tax advice. The person who can say what you owe is a CPA or tax attorney with your return.

FAQ

Sources, read and saved on November 3, 2026: TreasuryDirect, I bonds, I bonds interest rates, Comparing EE and I bonds, Comparison of TIPS and Series I Savings Bonds, How much can I spend on savings bonds, Buying savings bonds, Cashing savings bonds, Tax information for EE and I bonds, Giving savings bonds as gifts and TIPS; U.S. Treasury, Daily Treasury Par Yield Curve Rates and Daily Treasury Real Yield Curve Rates for 2026 (values for October 30 and November 2, 2026). Gaps, real-value tables, household limits, penalty figures and the TIPS tax example are CrowdfundedWealth arithmetic.