Official sources checked September 6, 2026. Unless stated otherwise, numbers and scenarios are hypothetical, not current rates or product returns.
A brokerage screen lists several U.S. Treasuries with different prices, coupons, and maturities. Before selecting the highest yield, identify the payments you are purchasing and when they arrive.
Several contracts share the Treasury name
| Security | Original maturity | Basic payment structure |
|---|---|---|
| Treasury bills | Generally 4–52 weeks | Issued at a discount or par; face value at maturity |
| Treasury notes | 2, 3, 5, 7, or 10 years | Fixed semiannual coupons; face value at maturity |
| Treasury bonds | 20 or 30 years | Fixed semiannual coupons; face value at maturity |
These descriptions follow Treasury’s product guides.123 Original maturity is different from remaining maturity. A bond originally issued for thirty years may have much less time left when bought in the secondary market.
Do not compare a bill’s discount quotation directly with a note’s coupon. Establish comparable annualized purchase yields, then examine the actual outlay and dated payments.
Do you need TreasuryDirect?
Treasury describes purchases through TreasuryDirect and through banks, brokers, or dealers.4 TreasuryDirect is not available on identical terms to every international investor. Its individual-account instructions include a valid U.S. Social Security number, a U.S. address, and an account at a U.S. financial institution that supports ACH payments.5
A Korea-based investor can begin by checking whether their broker supports individual foreign bonds. Access to U.S. stocks does not automatically establish access to individual Treasuries. Ask about new issues versus secondary-market purchases, online versus assisted orders, minimum sizes, and resale conditions. This article does not guarantee a particular broker’s current inventory or functionality.
Read the order in this sequence
FINRA’s due-diligence guidance includes maturity, yield, call terms, taxes, and credit quality.6 Collect the practical details in one place:
- Identify the security. Record the CUSIP or other identifier, issuer, currency, and maturity date. Dollar denomination alone does not make an instrument U.S. government debt.
- Separate face value and outlay. Buying $1,000 face value is different from investing exactly $1,000 cash.
- Inspect the quote and purchase yield. The price offered to buyers differs from the price available to sellers. Check whether the yield includes costs and whether it is pretax.
- Read the settlement total. Include accrued interest, explicit fees or embedded markup, and conversion costs.
- Check cash availability. Align settlement, maturity proceeds, currency conversion, and withdrawal timing with the spending date.
Missing information belongs in the broker’s documentation or a question to its service team. A displayed yield cannot substitute for it.
Why a price of 98 can cost more than $980
A $1,000 face-value bond quoted at 98 per 100 has a quoted principal price of $980. An interest-bearing bond traded between coupon dates may also require accrued interest, compensating the previous holder for the elapsed interest period.7
With hypothetical accrued interest of $12 and an explicit fee of $3, settlement totals $995. The quoted price and total outlay are different. Counting the whole next coupon as newly earned income would ignore the accrued interest already paid to the seller.
Check whether the quote excludes accrued interest or already includes it. This example assumes it is added separately. Actual amounts depend on the security and day-count convention.
Maturity and resale are different plans
A large Treasury market does not guarantee that your account can sell any quantity at any time at a chosen price. Channel, size, quotes, and market conditions still matter. FINRA discusses liquidity and pricing when selling before maturity.8
If the plan is “I can sell if needed,” investigate that process before buying. Money needed on a fixed date should arrive with enough time for settlement and withdrawal. The government’s promised face-value payment is not a broker’s guarantee of your purchase price.
Practice by comparing quotes for two securities with similar remaining maturities. A lower coupon can accompany a higher purchase yield if the price is sufficiently lower. Total outlay and remaining payments determine the comparison.
Read the series
- Why a Treasury investment can lose money
- Why long yields can rise when the Fed cuts
- How Treasury yields reach the housing market
- What to read before buying a Treasury
- Choosing between bond ETFs, TIPS, and currency exposure
- Build the bond plan before the rate forecast
Footnotes
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U.S. Department of the Treasury, Treasury Bills. Accessed September 6, 2026. ↩
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U.S. Department of the Treasury, Treasury Notes. Accessed September 6, 2026. ↩
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U.S. Department of the Treasury, Treasury Bonds. Accessed September 6, 2026. ↩
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U.S. Department of the Treasury, Buying a Treasury Marketable Security. Accessed September 6, 2026. ↩
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U.S. Department of the Treasury, TreasuryDirect User Guide · Sections 001–010. Accessed September 6, 2026. ↩
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FINRA, Bond Investing and Due Diligence. Accessed September 6, 2026. ↩
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Fidelity, Glossary of Common Fidelity Terms. Accessed September 6, 2026. ↩
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FINRA, Bond Liquidity: Factors to Consider and Questions to Ask. Accessed September 6, 2026. ↩
Sources
Related notes
1. Why a Treasury investment can lose moneySeparate coupons, yield to maturity, and duration, and calculate how changing yields affect a bond price.2. Why long yields can rise when the Fed cutsRead policy rates, term premia, balance-sheet policy, and the yield curve from a bond investor’s perspective.3. How Treasury yields reach the housing marketTrace long-term rates through mortgages, MBS, property valuation, and refinancing pressure.This is a personal research note, not investment advice