How to buy Treasury bills for beginners?
For newly issued T-bills, the minimum purchase is $100 and the securities are sold in increments of $100. New issues are sold at auction, and to participate, you must sign up with your broker or at TreasuryDirect.gov. Auctions happen every four weeks for 52-week T-bills and weekly for shorter-term T-bills.
You can buy them from the government directly, and many buy them through a brokerage, retirement or bank account. Treasury owners pay federal taxes on the investment interest earned but no state or local taxes.
To calculate the price, take 180 days and multiply by 1.5 to get 270. Then, divide by 360 to get 0.75, and subtract 100 minus 0.75. The answer is 99.25. Because you're buying a $1,000 Treasury bill instead of one for $100, multiply 99.25 by 10 to get the final price of $992.50.
Individuals, organizations, fiduciaries, and corporate investors may buy Treasury securities through a bank, broker, or dealer.
- Treasury Direct: New issues of T-bills can be purchased at auctions held by the government at treasurydirect.gov. ...
- Secondary Market: Investors can buy Treasury bills through a bank or a licensed broker.
When you buy T-bills through your bank, it may charge you additional fees and expenses such as sales commissions or transaction charges. These extra costs can add up over time and eat into your returns on your investment.
Taxes: Treasury bills are exempt from state and local taxes but still subject to federal income taxes. That makes them less attractive holdings for taxable accounts. Investors in higher tax brackets might want to consider short-term municipal securities instead.
Key Takeaways
Interest from Treasury bills (T-bills) is subject to federal income taxes but not state or local taxes. The interest income received in a year is recorded on Form 1099-INT. Investors can opt to have up to 50% of their Treasury bills' interest earnings automatically withheld.
They are sold at a discount to face value, and the difference between the discounted price and face value is your return on investment. For example, if you buy a 12-week T-bill with a face value of $10,000 for $9,800, the difference of $200 is your return for holding the security for 12 weeks.
1 Year Treasury Rate is at 5.18%, compared to 5.16% the previous market day and 4.84% last year. This is higher than the long term average of 2.95%. The 1 Year Treasury Rate is the yield received for investing in a US government issued treasury security that has a maturity of 1 year.
What is the best T-bill to buy now?
| ETF | Expense Ratio | Yield to maturity |
|---|---|---|
| Global X 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (CLIP) | 0.07% | 5.5% |
| iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) | 0.15% | 4.4% |
| iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond BuyWrite Strategy ETF (TLTW) | 0.35% | 4.4% |
| Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF (SCHP) | 0.03% | 4% |
Investors who wish to purchase T-bills for individual retirement accounts must go through their broker, as it is not possible to fund an IRA via TreasuryDirect. Investors can also buy T-bills in the secondary market, although purchasing new issues is generally a wiser option.
| Compare the Best Online Brokers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fidelity Investments | Best Overall and Best for Low Costs | 4.8 |
| TD Ameritrade | Best for Beginners and Best Mobile App | 4.5 |
| Tastytrade | Best for Options | 3.8 |
| Interactive Brokers | Best for Advanced Traders and Best for International Trading | 4.6 |
When the bill matures, you are paid its face value. You can hold a bill until it matures or sell it before it matures.
You can only buy T-bills in electronic form, either from a brokerage firm or directly from the government at TreasuryDirect.gov. (You can also buy Series I savings bonds through TreasuryDirect.gov.)
T-bills won't reward you with regular interest payments: If you're looking for a pick-me-up in the form of a regular interest payment, T-bills aren't for you. Because T-bills are short-term investments, you won't receive frequent interest payments the way you would with a bond or high-yield savings account.
The minimum amount that you can purchase of any given Treasury Bill, Note, Bond, TIPS, or FRNs is $100. Additional amounts must be in multiples of $100. Do I have a choice as to where my Treasury securities are kept? All Treasury securities are issued in "book-entry" form – an entry in a central electronic ledger.
While interest rates and inflation can affect Treasury bill rates, they're generally considered a lower-risk (but lower-reward) investment than other debt securities. Treasury bills are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. If held to maturity, T-bills are considered virtually risk-free.
3 Month Treasury Bill Rate is at 5.25%, compared to 5.25% the previous market day and 5.01% last year. This is higher than the long term average of 4.19%. The 3 Month Treasury Bill Rate is the yield received for investing in a government issued treasury security that has a maturity of 3 months.
Buffett takes an entirely different approach. Berkshire held more than $360 billion of stocks, $167 billion of cash (mostly Treasury bills), and just $24 billion of bonds at the end of 2023. Nearly all those investments were held at its insurance unit.
What is the downside of buying Treasuries?
So, the risks to investing in T-bonds are opportunity risks. That is, the investor might have gotten a better return elsewhere, and only time will tell. The dangers lie in three areas: inflation, interest rate risk, and opportunity costs.
Therefore, investors should also consider potential drawbacks: Interest rate risk: As interest rates ascend, the value of existing bonds with lower interest rates tends to diminish, potentially leading to capital losses if the bonds are sold prior to maturity.
If you live in a state with income taxes, and rates are similar for CDs and T-bills, then it makes sense to go with a T-bill. The amount you save on taxes will likely result in a higher payout from a T-bill than a CD. Another benefit of T-bills is their liquidity. You can buy and sell them on a secondary market.
We report annually to you and the IRS all interest earned on Treasury bills and all semiannual interest payments on Treasury notes and bonds. Specifically, we provide: A 1099 – I N T reporting the total amount of interest earned and the amount withheld and paid to the IRS for the previous calendar year.
The No. 1 advantage that T-bills offer relative to other investments is the fact that there's virtually zero risk that you'll lose your initial investment. The government backs these securities so there's much less need to worry that you could lose money in the deal compared to other investments.
