Treasury's inflation-linked savings bonds will pay 4.26% through October 2026

The new composite rate, up from 4.03%, combines a 0.90% fixed rate and a variable rate tied to inflation

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The U.S. Department of the Treasury set the composite rate for newly purchased Series I savings bonds at 4.26% annually for the period from May 1 through Oct. 31, 2026, up from the 4.03% rate that applied through April 30.

Treasury data show the rate is built from two components: a fixed portion of 0.90%, held over from November 2025, and a variable portion derived from a semiannual inflation rate of 1.67%.

The variable rate is derived from changes in the non-seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers, which the Treasury measures every six months. The composite rate is calculated using the formula: fixed rate, plus twice the semiannual inflation rate, plus the product of the fixed rate and the semiannual inflation rate. Applied to the current figures, that calculation yields 0.0425503, which rounds to 4.26%.

For any I bond holder, the variable component resets after six months while the fixed rate is locked in permanently at purchase. Redemption rules apply across the board: the securities are illiquid for the first twelve months, and anyone who sells between one and five years of ownership gives up a quarter's worth of accrued interest as a penalty. Interest accrues for a maximum of three decades.

The new rate arrives against a backdrop of quickening price pressures. Bureau of Labor Statistics data published in April showed CPI climbing to 3.3% year-over-year in March 2026, a notable acceleration from the 2.4% reading recorded in February, as reported by CNBC. David Enna of Tipswatch.com, whose site monitors TIPS and I bond rates, had characterized demand earlier this year as tepid, but told CNBC that renewed inflationary pressure has brought some buyers back to the market.

At the height of the 2022 inflation surge, the composite rate reached 9.62% that May, triggering a wave of purchases in the government-backed securities. As both inflation and yields retreated in subsequent years, CNBC reported that a large share of those shorter-horizon buyers have since exited their positions.

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