Treasury bills — or T-bills — are short-term U.S. debt securities issued by the federal government that mature over a time period of four weeks to one year. Since the U.S. government backs T-bills, they're considered lower-risk investments.
T-bills are sold in increments of $100 (up to $10 million). The most common terms for T-bills are for four, eight, 13, 17, 26 and 52 weeks. The shorter terms to maturity differentiate them from other Treasury-issued securities.
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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.
How Treasury bills work
Treasury bills are assigned a par value (or face value), which is what the bill is worth if held to maturity. You buy bills at a discount — a price below par — and profit from the difference at the end of the term.
While T-bills don’t pay interest like other Treasurys, the difference between your discounted price and the par value is essentially the "interest" earned. It's as simple as that — you gave the government a short-term loan by buying T-bills, and they paid you back with "interest" at the end of the term.In other words, T-bills pay no interest payments leading up to their maturity.
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To see how a Treasury bill purchase works, let's look at a Treasury bill auction. On June 14, 2023, the Treasury held an auction for a 17-week Treasury bill with an issue date of June 20 and a maturity date of Oct. 17. The price per $100 amounted to about $98.30, or an annualized discount rate (shown as "high rate" in TreasuryDirect) of 5.15%.
If you set your purchase price to be $1,000 for this auction, you would have paid $982.98 on June 20. On October 17, you'd receive $1,000, earning $17.02 on your investment.
Now, if you were to theoretically reinvest in this T-bill for one year, you could arrive at an annual investment rate for your 17-week T-bill based on the actual purchase price of $982.98.
To explore how this works, use our T-bill calculator below.
Treasury bill rates compared to other Treasury securities
Treasury bills, notes and bonds are three types of U.S. debt securities that mainly differ in the length of maturity (shortest to longest). Treasury notes are intermediate-term investments that mature in two, three, five, seven and 10 years. Treasury bonds mature in 20 or 30 years. Unlike T-bills, Treasury notes and Treasury bonds pay interest every six months. Below are the current rates for various Treasury securities:
» Learn more:Treasury bonds vs. notes vs. bills
Are Treasury bills a good investment?
Ultimately, whether Treasury bills are a good fit for your portfolio depends on your risk tolerance, time horizon and financial goals.
T-bills are known to be low-risk short-term investments when held to maturity since the U.S. government guarantees them. Investors owe federal taxes on any income earned but no state or local tax.
However, Treasury bills also typically earn lower returns than other debt securities and even some certificates of deposit. As a result, Treasury bills may be most advantageous to conservative investors who are less willing to take risks but still want to earn a little interest.
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What causes Treasury bill rates to fall?
Keep in mind that economic growth or decline, interest rates and inflation can affect Treasury bill rates. Here's how it works.
Demand for T-bills often drops during inflationary periods if the discount rate offered doesn't keep pace with the inflation rate.
The Federal Reserve sets lending rates between banks. It can lower the rate to encourage lending or raise the rate to contract the amount of money in the economy. When interest rates are high, as in 2023, investors tend to look toward higher-yield investment options and away from lower-yield Treasury bills.
» Ready to get started?Compare the best online brokers for buying bonds
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What are fixed-income securities?
How to buy Treasurys
What a brokerage account is and how to open one
The 10-year Treasury yield: What it is and why it matters
Treasury Bills, or T-bills, are short-term debt obligations issued by the U.S. Treasury
U.S. Treasury
United States Treasury securities, also called Treasuries or Treasurys, are government debt instruments issued by the United States Department of the Treasury to finance government spending, in addition to taxation.
Department. They are considered safe investments because they are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. T-bills are sold at a discount from their face value and mature at face value.
For many people, TreasuryDirect is a good option; however, retirement savers and investors who already have brokerage accounts are often better off buying bonds on the secondary market or with exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
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). The most common maturity dates are four weeks, eight weeks, 13 weeks, 26 weeks and 52 weeks.
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.
Basic Info. 4 Week Treasury Bill Rate is at 5.28%, compared to 5.28% the previous market day and 5.26% last year. This is higher than the long term average of 1.45%. The 4 Week Treasury Bill Rate is the yield received for investing in a US government issued treasury bill that has a maturity of 4 weeks.
However, should interest rates rise, the existing T-bills fall out of favor since their return is less than the market. For this reason, T-bills have interest rate risk, which means there is a danger that bondholders might lose out should there be higher rates in the future.
Choosing between a CD and Treasuries depends on how long of a term you want. For terms of one to six months, as well as 10 years, rates are close enough that Treasuries are the better pick. For terms of one to five years, CDs are currently paying more, and it's a large enough difference to give them the edge.
The interest income that you may receive from investing in a treasury bill is exempt from any state or local income taxes, regardless of the state where you file your taxes. However, you will need to report interest income from these investments on your federal tax return.
T-bills are known to be low-risk, short-term investments when held to maturity because the U.S. government guarantees them. Investors owe federal taxes on any income earned, but no state or local tax. Treasury bills typically earn lower returns than other debt securities and even some certificates of deposit.
What kind of interest payments will I receive if I own a Treasury bill? The only interest payment to you occurs when your bill matures. At that time, you are paid the par amount (also called face value) of the bill.
T-bills sell in increments of $100 up to a maximum of $10 million, and you can buy them directly from the government through its TreasuryDirect website, or through a brokerage, bank or self-directed retirement account, like a Roth IRA.
Answer and Explanation: The amount of $100,000 will grow to $432,194.24 after 30 years at a 5% annual return. The amount of $100,000 will grow to $1,006,265.69 after 30 years at an 8% annual return.
3 Month Treasury Bill Rate is at 5.18%, compared to 5.19% the previous market day and 5.28% 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.
The table below shows the present value (PV) of $10,000 in 20 years for interest rates from 2% to 30%. As you will see, the future value of $10,000 over 20 years can range from $14,859.47 to $1,900,496.38.
Are Treasury bills a good investment? T-bills are known to be low-risk, short-term investments when held to maturity because the U.S. government guarantees them. Investors owe federal taxes on any income earned, but no state or local tax.
3 Month Treasury Bill Rate is at 5.18%, compared to 5.19% the previous market day and 5.28% 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 has long favored T-bills with Berkshire's cash, even when they yielded close to zero from 2020 through 2022. Individual investors have been following Buffett's lead.
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