suibiann
6-month Treasury Bills 5.39% APY
1502
4
2006-06-30 20:27:00
6-month Treasury Bills now at 5.39% APY and state tax free
Credit back to FW
Uncle Sam is the new rate leader, at least when compared to low minimum liquid savings accounts:
Investment rate of new issues of 6 month T-bills with 6/29/06 issue date: 5.318% for 182 day period
Periods in 1 year: 365/182 = 2.0055
Corresponding APY: (1 + 0.05318/2.0055)^2.0055 - 1 = 5.39% > 5.00% APY (OneUnited)
The minimum investment is $1000, in $1000 increments. The bill can be sold at anytime, but before maturity you'll get a market-based value and likely have to pay a fee when you sell. If you hold it to maturity (6 months), the value will be preserved and you'll get the stated interest. The interest will not fluctuate if you hold it to maturity. T- bills can be purchased directly from the government (through TreasuryDirect) or from many brokers. They are free to buy on TreasuryDirect and there are no fees if you keep them to maturity. If you sell them prior to maturity, TreasuryDirect charges a $45 fee per security.
Comparison to savings accounts:
- T-bills can be purchased and sold at any time
- Fairly low minimum ($1000), although there are many no-minimum savings accounts
- Unlike savings accounts with fluctuating interest, the interest is guaranteed for 6 months; however, there is no opportunity for the rate to rise when held to maturity. Should 6-month T bill yields rise further, and you sell, you'll get a lower price for the bill than if rates had stayed the same (or fell). If market yields do fall, you can command a higher price if you sell.
- Currently, higher APY than any high yield savings account with similarly low minimum (HSBC, with no minimum, is a close second)
- Savings accounts are insured up to certain FDIC and NCUA limits; with Treasury securities, the sky is the limit.
Comparison to 6 month CDs:
- Guaranteed rate if held to maturity
- More liquid than a CD (typically CDs have interest loss if closed early, T-bills do not although seller fees apply and the selling price would be market-based with no guarantee of the principal)
- Easier to open/purchase than a CD
- APY is lower than the highest yield CDs available (5-6%). However, the liquidity makes it act more like a savings account with a guranteed rate than a CD.
- CDs are insured up to certain FDIC and NCUA limits; with Treasury securities, the sky is the limit.
Tax Considerations:
- Interest income is exempt from state- and local income taxes.
- Interest income is subject to federal income tax.
Safety of Investment:
- Treasury bills, along with the other Treasury securities, are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government, therefore there is no practical default risk so they can be considered extremely safe.
- In comparing to bank/credit union savings accounts and CDs, some members have expressed that they believe them to be equally safe, since FDIC/NCUA provide insurance up to a specific limit also backed by the full faith and credit of the US government. Other members expressed problems with government insured accounts during the S&L crisis.
- Treasury securities guarantee principal and interest. The possibility exists that an FDIC/NCUA account will receive principal but not interest on failed banks/credit unions. Also, there may be delays in recovering the principal, but FDIC is required to minimize these. Keep in mind that the guarantee for principal and interest on T-bills only extends when held to maturity. When selling on the market, you'll get neither guarantee of principal nor interest, so when considering selling the T-bill on the market, it may be said that an FDIC/NCUA account is safer.
Selling before maturity:
-Due to the selling fee, if you think you may have to sell before the bill matures, I recommend you buy it in the largest increments you're comfortable with since the seller fee is per security (in TreasuryDirect), independent of the amount.
-Since the time period is fairly short, you won't make or lose much money if you sell before maturity. These bills are good candidates to plan to keep to maturity, but can be sold if needed.
Some useful links:
TreasuryDirect<--http://www.treasurydirect.gov
Recent Treasury Bill Auction Results<--http://wwws.publicdebt.treas.gov/AI/OFBills
Daily Treasury Yield Curve <--http://www.treas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/debt-management/interest-rate/yield.shtml
T-bill tax equivalent yield spreadsheet
Fill in your own numbers for investment rate, term, and state tax rates! Copyright 2006 by Engineer.
Yield formulae: <--http://www.zohosheet.com/public.do?fid=21726
APY = (1+(APR/n))^n - 1
where:
APR ... "Investment yield" for T-bills as a fraction (example 5% = 0.05)
APY ... expressed as a fraction
n = 365/(days of T-bill); example 365/182 for a 182 day bill
Tax equivalent yields: (all rates expressed as fractions)
Itemize federal taxes (deduct state taxes): Equivalent APY = APY/(1-state tax rate)
Don't itemize federal taxes: Equivalent APY = APY*(1-state tax rate)/(1-federal tax rate-state tax rate)
All rates listed for various marginal federal income tax rates.
6 mo. bill equivalent APY (06/29/06 issues)
Unadjusted APY .................... 5.39%
Itemizers (deduct state tax) .... 5.94%
Non-itemizers @ 15% ............ 6.05%
Non-itemizers @ 25% ............ 6.15%
Non-itemizers @ 28% ............ 6.19%
Non-itemizers @ 33% ............ 6.26%
Non-itemizers @ 35% ............ 6.29%
3 mo. bill equivalent APY (06/29/06 issues)
Unadjusted APY .................... 5.13%
Itemizers (deduct state tax) .... 5.66%
Non-itemizers @ 15% ............ 5.76%
Non-itemizers @ 25% ............ 5.86%
Non-itemizers @ 28% ............ 5.89%
Non-itemizers @ 33% ............ 5.96%
Non-itemizers @ 35% ............ 5.99%
1 mo. bill equivalent APY (06/29/06 issues)
Unadjusted APY .................... 4.97%
Itemizers (deduct state tax) .... 5.48%
Non-itemizers @ 15% ............ 5.58%
Non-itemizers @ 25% ............ 5.67%
Non-itemizers @ 28% ............ 5.71%
Non-itemizers @ 33% ............ 5.77%
Non-itemizers @ 35% ............ 5.80%
Recent 6 month treasury bill auction history:
Issue date ..... Investment Rate(%) ..... APY(%) ..... APY chg.* ..... Prior Mkt Yield(%)**
01/05/06 ................ 4.420 ................ 4.47 ........... UP 0.07 .......... 4.37
01/12/06 ................ 4.404 ................ 4.45 ........... DWN 0.03 ....... 4.39
01/19/06 ................ 4.472 ................ 4.52 ........... UP 0.07 .......... 4.43
01/26/06 ................ 4.499 ................ 4.55 ........... UP 0.03 .......... 4.48
02/02/06 ................ 4.600 ................ 4.65 ........... UP 0.10 .......... 4.55
02/09/06 ................ 4.669 ................ 4.72 ........... UP 0.07 .......... 4.63
02/16/06 ................ 4.711 ................ 4.77 ........... UP 0.05 .......... 4.70
02/23/06 ................ 4.716 ................ 4.77 ........... UNCH ............. 4.69
03/02/06 ................ 4.754 ................ 4.81 ........... UP 0.04 .......... 4.73
03/09/06 ................ 4.775 ................ 4.83 ........... UP 0.02 .......... 4.75
03/16/06 ................ 4.823 ................ 4.88 ........... UP 0.05 .......... 4.78
03/23/06 ................ 4.786 ................ 4.84 ........... DWN 0.04 ....... 4.78
03/30/06 ................ 4.775 ................ 4.83 ........... DWN 0.01 ....... 4.78
04/06/06 ................ 4.849 ................ 4.91 ........... UP 0.08 .......... 4.81
04/13/06 ................ 4.881 ................ 4.94 ........... UP 0.03 .......... 4.85
04/20/06 ................ 4.934 ................ 5.00 ........... UP 0.06 .......... 4.94
04/27/06 ................ 4.919 ................ 4.98 ........... DWN 0.02 ....... 4.90
05/04/06 ................ 4.966 ................ 5.03 ........... UP 0.05 .......... 4.91
05/11/06 ................ 5.020 ................ 5.08 ........... UP 0.05 .......... 5.00
05/18/06 ................ 5.009 ................ 5.07 ........... DWN 0.01 ....... 5.00
05/25/06 ................ 4.999 ................ 5.06 ........... DWN 0.01 ....... 5.00
06/01/06 ................ 5.030 ................ 5.09 ........... UP 0.03 .......... 5.02
06/08/06 ................ 5.004 ................ 5.07 ........... DWN 0.02 ....... 5.01
06/15/06 ................ 5.121 ................ 5.19 ........... UP 0.12 .......... 5.07
06/22/06 ................ 5.260 ................ 5.33 ........... UP 0.14 .......... 5.19
06/29/06 ................ 5.318 ................ 5.39 ........... UP 0.06 .......... 5.27
* APY change from previous week's auction
** Market yield from business day before the auction (Usu. Friday unless Friday is a holiday; taken from Daily Treasury Yield Curve. On the auction day typ. the stated market yield compares closely to the investment rate of the auction.)
Dairly Treasury Yield Curve<--http://www.treas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/debt-management/interest-rate/yield.shtml
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