What is the I Bond interest rate for November 2026? The official November 2026 I Bond rate is not yet finalized. TreasuryDirect will publish the new composite rate on November 1, 2026, after the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases September 2026 CPI-U data (~October 14, 2026). The current rate for bonds issued through October 31, 2026, is 4.26% — a 0.90% fixed rate plus a 3.34% annualized inflation component.

As of August 2026, the I Bond interest rate sits at 4.26%. That combines a 0.90% fixed rate with a 3.34% annualized inflation component — and it applies to every bond issued from May 1 through October 31, 2026. (TreasuryDirect: May 1, 2026 Rate Announcement)

The November 2026 rate? That number doesn’t exist yet. It can’t. Two things have to happen first: the Bureau of Labor Statistics has to release the September 2026 CPI-U data, and then TreasuryDirect has to run the official calculation and publish it on November 1. Any site claiming to already know the November figure is giving you an estimate, not a Treasury rate.

Why the November 2026 Rate Isn’t Known Yet

I went through TreasuryDirect’s I Bond information and the BLS release schedule carefully. The conclusion is simple: the official November 2026 rate requires data that hasn’t been published yet.

TreasuryDirect announces new I Bond rates on May 1 and November 1 each year. The November 1, 2026 announcement covers bonds issued from November 1, 2026, through April 30, 2027. The fixed-rate component set in that announcement locks in for the full 30-year life of those bonds.

Here’s the timing, step by step. Treasury builds the inflation component from the six-month percentage change in non-seasonally adjusted CPI-U. For the November announcement, it needs September 2026 CPI-U data — and that’s scheduled for release by the BLS around October 14, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. The August 2026 CPI release (September 11, 2026) gives useful context on the inflation trend, but it’s the September figure that feeds the November formula. (BLS CPI News Release)

There’s also a misconception worth clearing up. The Federal Reserve’s federal funds rate doesn’t directly set the I Bond composite rate. Treasury uses the fixed-rate component and CPI-U data — its own formula, not the Fed’s benchmark. Readers sometimes connect every savings rate to the Fed. I Bonds follow different rules.

How Treasury Calculates the November 2026 Rate

The I Bond composite rate comes from two parts: a fixed rate and an inflation rate. I found both in TreasuryDirect’s published materials.

The current May 2026 issue carries a 0.90% fixed rate and a 1.67% semiannual inflation rate (3.34% annualized), producing the 4.26% composite. Treasury announced those numbers on May 1, 2026. (TreasuryDirect May 2026 Rate Announcement)

Here is the official Treasury composite rate formula:

Source: TreasuryDirect I Bond Interest Rates

The fixed component stays with the bond for its full 30-year life. The inflation component adjusts every six months — but not on a universal schedule. Each bond’s six-month clock runs from its own issue date, so a bond bought in January resets in January and July; one bought in May resets in May and November.

Here’s where the research gets interesting. The current 4.26% doesn’t mean every dollar earns 4.26% indefinitely. When the inflation portion resets — based on whatever CPI-U change Treasury calculates — the composite rate moves up or down. The fixed rate never changes. The inflation rate always does.

The historical pattern puts this in plain terms:

A Calculator Example Using the Current Rate

I ran a $10,000 balance at 4.26% through SaveXpert’s Compound Interest Calculator as a simplified illustration, under a constant-rate assumption, that produces roughly $426 in interest over one year.

That’s not a forecast for your specific I Bond. The inflation component resets every six months, so a flat 4.26% assumption doesn’t reproduce what TreasuryDirect will actually calculate. But it shows the order of magnitude — and how different the picture looks if the November rate shifts meaningfully.

The research also points to SaveXpert’s Retirement Savings Calculator as a useful companion. It can model periodic I Bond contributions under an assumed rate — just mark the November 2026 figure as unconfirmed until Treasury publishes it.

How to Buy I Bonds and the Annual Limit

The research confirms that electronic Series I Bonds carry a $10,000 annual purchase limit per Social Security number or EIN. That limit resets each calendar year. The minimum electronic purchase is $25. (TreasuryDirect: I Bonds)

For the buying process, the official source is TreasuryDirect itself — not a bank or brokerage. You open an account at TreasuryDirect.gov, link a U.S. bank account, and purchase electronically. That’s what the official guidance says. I won’t invent click-by-click instructions that go beyond what the published materials document.

There are also two liquidity rules that matter before you buy. First: I Bonds generally can’t be redeemed until they’ve been held for 12 months. Second: if you redeem before five years, you lose the most recent three months of interest. (TreasuryDirect: Redeeming I Bonds)

That makes an I Bond different from a savings account you can access any time. The research flags both rules specifically — and the data doesn’t support treating the two products as identical just because both earn interest.

The $10,000 cap also puts I Bonds in perspective for retirement planning. They’re not a substitute for a 401(k) or IRA contribution. Treasury rules cap annual electronic purchases regardless of income or account size.

I Bond Taxes and the High-Yield Savings Comparison

The tax treatment is one of the cleaner findings. I Bond interest is subject to federal income tax but generally not subject to state or local income tax. (TreasuryDirect: Tax Information for EE and I Bonds)

Federal tax can be handled two ways: report it annually as it accrues, or defer it until you cash the bond or it matures at 30 years. Most holders defer, which keeps the math cleaner year to year.

The education interest exclusion

The IRS allows a potential education-related exclusion for qualifying taxpayers who use I Bond proceeds for qualified higher-education expenses. The full exclusion phases out above certain modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) thresholds. For 2025 tax-year figures, the research brief lists:

What about high-yield savings accounts?

This is where the research runs out of road — and I won’t pretend otherwise. The official government sources I reviewed don’t provide current high-yield savings rates, and they don’t set up a controlled comparison between I Bonds and savings accounts. So I can’t give a clean side-by-side from verified data alone.

The comparison also needs more than one number. I Bonds come with a 12-month redemption lock and a three-month interest penalty before five years. Savings accounts don’t. Those access rules change the real-world math in ways a raw rate comparison misses. (TreasuryDirect: Comparing EE and I Bonds)

What the Data Shows Works

Based on what I found across TreasuryDirect, BLS, and IRS materials, the approach the data keeps supporting is careful verification before treating any rate as final. Here’s what the research establishes:

What Americans Can Realistically Expect

Right now — late August 2026 — you can verify the 4.26% composite rate on TreasuryDirect and buy a bond earning it until October 31. That’s a confirmed, official number. (TreasuryDirect I Bond Rates)

The November 2026 rate is a different story. Two calendar events define the path to it:

The practical upside of understanding this timeline: if you’re weighing whether to buy before or after October 31, you now know exactly what information you’re missing and exactly when it arrives. That’s more useful than any estimate.

Your 5-Step I Bond Action Plan