You should be able to figure out (or already know) what will be reported on each 1099. Be glad you dont have any LPs that issue k-1s, which arent due until March. So I’m hoping to have 2 months to get my return finalized and the extra $5k bonds issued.
Agreed, glitch99. On my worksheet I actually have estimated entries which in all likelihood will turn out to be correct. But here’s the thing:
I am trying hard to get my I bonds issued prior to the spring reset. As I wrote to another poster on another thread, any error at all on one’s return can result in delay. So while I’m 95+% certain of the 1099 numbers I figure out for myself, I need 100% verification lest that very small error chance comes 'round to bite me in the posterior and delay issuance of my I bonds.
Because the I bonds prize is on the line, I will be more careful with my 2021 return than with any in the past. And I always am careful regardless. But I know this time any error whatsoever could move me past the spring I bonds rate reset. So I will require absolute confirmation for every number I enter on my 2021 return . . . . no exceptions!
I agree about mailing. can it be done at a bank or in person?
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Not when I did it maybe 11 years ago, so i doubt it.
funny to see the FP discussion on SD. Most are poopooing this while we’re trying to get an extra 5k Paper bond
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Could you not err on the side of Uncle Sam, receive your (erroneous) refund/Ibond purchase, and then correct your return later in the summer?
ETA: I don’t submit erroneous returns on purpose, but have done so accidentally. The govt has NEVER (twice) corrected my return when the error was in their favor.
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Article on I bonds as gifts and various strategies around that.
the main thing is for a couple to buy an extra $10k for themselves now, locking in this years current good rate (in addition to buying the regular $10k each), with the plan to gift them to each other next year if/when the bonds are no longer as compelling. The 1 year clock towards cashout starts at the original purchase…
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I don’t think I agree with this. Unless “temporary” means that rates will drop, at least for a year, at some point over the next 20 years. As long as rates are prompting the recipient to buy another $10k each year (preventing you from delivering your gift), it’s also worthwhile to hold indefinitely the extra purchased this year as gift.
I’m still wondering if you can buy a gift for yourself? I’d like to buy my 2023 allocation now, just get an extra year of high rate on the money.
Yes, that’s what I mean. As in, will they fall for a year below the point where you wouldn’t otherwise buy I bonds. I know lots of people who will want to buy a 7% CD for 1+ years, but if next year it’s only 3-4% maybe they’ll be paying down their mortgage or buying stocks instead.
Right, but if that 7% lasts for a decade (ie, isnt temporary), buying the extra $10k gift bond now is still just as enticing. The quote from the article states that advance buying of gift bonds only works when the high rate is temporary. I’d argue that it’d be even more worthwhile to deal with holding undistributed gift bonds for a decade+ of high rates, than to do so for only a temporary one-year period.
If he was a real “finance buff” and the rates stay high next year, he’d deliver the gift first, then bought another gift.
What difference do you see in that?
Because for the undelivered gift, you would reset the time you have to deliver it before it matures. Buy new bonds and continue holding the previously-purchased gift bond, and you have one less year to deliver it before having to skip a current-year purchase (so that you can deliver it). I know you keep thinking of this in terms of the minimum holding period, but doing as Scripta says gives you a little more long-term flexibility. You could carry as much as $300k in undelivered bonds forever, literally until you or the recipient dies.
In addition to giving yourself a gift, I also wonder what would happen if grandma, other grandma, and mom all buy little Suzie $10k worth of bonds as a gift, and they all deliver them in the same year? It’s not like Suzie can do anything about it, would she just get a strongly worded letter warning about the excess purchases? Or would the Treasury actually send two of the gifts back to the giver? There has been a couple mentions of people exceeding the purchase limit and merely being warned not to do it again.
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It also gives you more short-term flexibility, because the gift purchased a year ago can be sold immediately by the gift recipient.
Suzie can’t, but the gifts must be delivered to an existing TD account, right? They could (should?) have automatic checks that disallow gift delivery if it exceeds the recipient’s limit. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t.
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If they allow you to directly purchase more than your annual limit, and only send a nasty letter after the fact, I highly doubt they block multiple gifts that exceed the limit.
To answer this, I tried and they will not allow you to purchase a gift with the same registration info as the person purchasing the gift. So yes, you need to find a launderer to give your cash to, who then purchases you the gifts you want. Minimal, if any, risk involved once you’ve confirmed the gift was purchased, since it’s not refundable, but you’ll still need this person to deliver the gift when it’s time. The FAQ addresses what to do when the purchaser dies with undelivered gifts, but I dont know if you can claim the gift the same way when the purchaser decides to sit on it indefinitely.
With CD money maturing soon and in need of a new home, and pretty great indications that the IBond rates will hold for atleast 12 months (the current and following 6-month rate blocks), I’ll be making my 2023 purchase soon, indirectly in the form of a gift. Possibly for 2024 as well.
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For those purchasing (paper) I bonds with their tax refund and anxious to get in before the I bond interest rate is re-set on first of May:
What will the issue date of my bonds be?
The issue date for paper bonds will be the first day of the month in which IRS submits payment for the bonds to the Treasury Retail Securities Site in Minneapolis. For example, if Minneapolis receives your order from IRS on February 18, the issue date of your savings bonds will be February 1.
How long will it take to receive my paper savings bonds?
They will be issued and mailed after the IRS processes your return. Once your savings bonds are issued, you should get them within three weeks. If you’re having a portion of your refund deposited directly into your bank account, you may receive your refund before your bonds.
What if there’s a mistake on my tax return?
If the IRS encounters errors on a return (refund amount is calculated incorrectly, IRS Form 8888 is completed incorrectly, requested amount is not a multiple of $50, etc.), the bond purchase will be cancelled and the full refund amount (if any) will be delivered to you.
Exception: If an error is made that increases the refund amount, the bond purchase will occur as requested and only the additional funds will be returned.
Seems to me a bit draconian that if your requested bond amount is not a multiple of fifty bucks they up and cancel the ENTIRE darn request. That would suck. But that is what it says here:
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I missed that part! Still dont know if I’ll get my return processed in time, but at least I was able to change my allocation request to a $50 incriment. Thanks!
Always happy to be of service. I had you in mind when I posted that. 
And I continue to think it’s a draconian rule. I would not, on my own, have foreseen the $50 increment. $25 maybe, but not fifty.
But it’s the gubberment and we have no choice except to follow their rules, fair or not.
Update
The Bureau of Public Debt, and specifically the Treasury Retail Securities portion thereof, is 100% on their game and gathering no moss whatsoever!
My I bonds, all twelve of them, arrived in the mail today a mere five days after I received the dollar portion of my refund electronically. That is what I call service!!
Natch every I bond is dated March so I am receiving over 7% on the money, something likely to continue for the next year, but certainly for the next six months. I tip my cap to other posters for whom this has been routine for a while. I’m going to use my age as an excuse for it being my first time riding on this gravy train. Rest assured it will not be my last time, provided of course I remain alive and mentally capable of pulling everything off. I well realize there is no guarantee of that.
Anyway, I now have in my possession I bonds as follows:
- Albert Einstein - 4 I bonds
- Helen Keller - 6 I bonds
- Chief Joseph - 1 I bond
- General George C. Marshall - 1 I bond
All twelve I bonds arrived in separate envelopes. All are in 100% perfect, pristine condition. Next step?
I honestly do not know. Probably will enjoy having these around for a while. Then, when I tire of them, I will transform these I bonds into electronic form. There is no hurry. They are pretty cool. 
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