What lending to the government pays

The national debt has a creditor side, and anyone can be on it. Enter an amount to see what it earns at today’s Treasury yields, what inflation leaves of that, and what the same money costs the Treasury.

Amount lent

For how long

Treasury par yields, September 18, 2026

$10,000 lent to the government for 1 years pays $444 in interest.

Over a full year$444at 4.44%

After inflation$101CPI-U, 12 months to August 2026

In a savings account instead$38at the US average of 0.38%, a difference of $406

1 months$4043.97% a year
3 months$4204.14% a year
6 months$4284.24% a year
1 years$4444.44% a year
2 years$4764.76% a year
5 years$4864.86% a year
10 years$5015.01% a year
30 years$5345.34% a year

Interest by maturity
Maturity	Yield	Interest over a year	After inflation
1 months	3.97%	$404	$63
3 months	4.14%	$420	$78
6 months	4.24%	$428	$86
1 years	4.44%	$444	$101
2 years	4.76%	$476	$132
5 years	4.86%	$486	$142
10 years	5.01%	$501	$156
30 years	5.34%	$534	$188

The same yield is a cost on the other side: this $10,000 costs the Treasury $444 a year in interest, which is part of the interest bill on the debt. To earn $500 a month at 4.44% you would have to lend $135,135.

Educational estimate, not financial advice. Everything is calculated in your browser — nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.

How this calculator works

Yields are the Treasury’s published par yield curve rates for the latest business day, the same series behind the yield curve page. Interest over one holding period is yield × amount × time; the one-year figure for a bill shorter than a year assumes it is rolled over at the same yield, which is where the compounding comes from.

No tax is deducted. Treasury interest is exempt from state and local income tax but subject to federal income tax, so a higher-rate taxpayer keeps less than the figures here. Bills are actually sold at a discount to face value rather than paying interest; the par yield published by the Treasury is the comparable annual figure.

Common questions

How much does $10,000 in Treasury bills earn?

At the current 1-year yield of 4.44%, $444 over a year, against $38 in an average savings account paying 0.38%. After inflation that is $101 of real gain.

Are Treasury bills safe?

They carry no meaningful credit risk — they are obligations of the government that issues the currency they are paid in. The real risks are different: inflation eating the return, and the price of a longer bond falling if you have to sell it before it matures.

Why are short and long yields different?

The 3-month bill yields 4.14% and the 10-year note 5.01%. The shape of that curve says what investors expect from future short-term rates, plus a premium for tying money up. When short yields exceed long ones the curve is inverted, which has historically preceded recessions.

This is the debt seen from the other side, isn’t it?

Exactly. Every dollar of interest in this calculator is a dollar of the federal interest bill. When you buy a Treasury security, you are one of the holders of the national debt this site counts.

Sources

Treasury par yieldsUS Treasury — Daily Treasury Par Yield Curve RatesSeptember 18, 2026
Average savings account rateFDIC — National Rates and Rate Caps (national deposit rates)August 17, 2026
Consumer price inflationUS Bureau of Labor Statistics — CPI-U, all itemsAugust 2026

All figures are fetched from the publishers above when this site is built; your browser does not contact them. This site is independent and is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by the Federal Reserve System, any Federal Reserve Bank or any government agency. Nothing here is financial advice.