Every route below ends in the same place: short-term debt of the US government, backed by its full faith and credit. What changes is the account you need, what you pay, how quickly you can get cash back before the bill matures, and how the income is taxed. We compare the four routes first, then walk through a purchase on each one. For the yield on every term before you buy, check T-bill rates today.
What are the ways to buy Treasury bills?
You can bid at auction through TreasuryDirect or a broker, buy existing bills from a broker, or own bills indirectly through a T-bill ETF or a tokenized fund.
The first two leave a specific bill on record for you, with its own CUSIP number and maturity date. The other two sell you shares of a pool that keeps buying new bills, so your money never matures and its value drifts slightly from day to day. What a Treasury bill is explains the security; the table compares the four ways to own it, with figures checked on November 2, 2026.
| TreasuryDirect | Brokerage account | T-bill ETF | Tokenized fund | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smallest purchase | $100, in $100 increments | Set by the firm; one large broker asks $1,000 per Treasury order | One share ($100.73 for SGOV at the October 30, 2026 close), or a fraction where offered | From $20 to $5 million at one SEC-registered fund, depending on the blockchain |
| Cost to buy | Nothing | Commonly $0 online; $19.95 to $25 if a representative takes the order | Commonly $0 commission, plus the bid-ask spread | Set by the fund; the registered fund pays blockchain network fees itself |
| Cost to hold | None | None on the bill | Expense ratio: 0.09% a year at SGOV | Management fee: 0.20% a year, net, at the registered fund |
| Cash before maturity | Hold 45 calendar days, then mail a transfer form and sell through a broker | Sell on any business day at the market bid | Sell whenever the stock exchange is open | Redeem through the fund on its own schedule |
| Tax on the income | Federal income tax in the year the bill matures; no state or local tax | Same, plus a gain or loss if you sell early | Dividends taxed federally; state treatment depends on your state and the fund | Depends on the fund's legal structure and home country |
| Inside an IRA | Not offered | Offered | Offered | Not at the registered fund |
Only a bill you own outright, whether at TreasuryDirect or a broker, keeps the state and local exemption without conditions. Are T-bills taxable? covers federal reporting, the state exemption and how fund dividends are treated.
How do you buy T-bills on TreasuryDirect?
Open a free account, link a US bank account, then use BuyDirect to place a noncompetitive bid for the term you want before the auction closes.
Treasury fills the order at whatever rate the auction sets, takes the price from your bank on the issue date and pays the face value back at maturity.
Open an account
You need a Social Security number (an ITIN is not accepted), a US address of record, a checking or savings account at a US bank or credit union, an email address, and you must be at least 18. Signing in requires an ID.me account, the only way to sign in since October 28, 2026. Our TreasuryDirect account guide covers setup, identity checks and lockouts.
Pick a bill and an auction
In BuyDirect, choose Bills and one of the upcoming auctions on the list. Bills come in terms of 4, 6, 8, 13, 17, 26 and 52 weeks, so pick one that matures before you need the money. T-bill terms compared weighs the yield on each term against flexibility.
Enter the face value
Type the amount you want back at maturity, not the price: $100, in $100 increments, up to $10 million per auction. Because the rate is set at the auction, you will not know the exact debit until results post.
Set funding, reinvestment and payout
Choose your linked bank as the source of funds, decide whether to schedule automatic reinvestments into new bills of the same term, and pick where the maturity payment goes. What happens when a T-bill matures explains how rollovers work.
Submit before the cutoff
TreasuryDirect must receive bill bids before 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on auction day. A pending purchase cannot be edited; to change one, delete it and enter a new order before the auction closes.
Check the result and keep the cash in your bank
After 5 p.m. Eastern on auction day, the bill and its price appear under Current Holdings, in Pending Purchases and Reinvestments. The money leaves your bank on the issue date, usually within a week of the auction. If the debit is returned, Treasury removes the purchase and does not try again.
TreasuryDirect takes only noncompetitive bids, offers no IRAs and cannot sell anything for you. A new bill must stay in the account for 45 calendar days before you can mail a transfer request to a broker who sells it, so a 4-week bill never leaves early; selling Treasuries before maturity walks through that process.
How do you buy T-bills through a brokerage?
In a brokerage account, you either place an auction order for a new bill or buy an existing bill on the secondary market, paying with settled cash.
Either way you hold a real bill, in a taxable account or an IRA; T-bills in an IRA covers the retirement version.
Move cash in first
Transfer money from your bank and let it settle before you order. An auction purchase is paid on the bill's issue date, so the cash has to be there by then.
Choose a new issue or the secondary market
In the firm's bond or fixed-income menu, pick Treasuries. A new issue fills at the auction price, the same one every noncompetitive bidder pays. The secondary market sells bills that are already trading, so you can choose a maturity date that no auction offers this week, at the ask price on screen.
Order before the broker's deadline
Brokers must deliver auction orders to Treasury before the 11:00 a.m. Eastern close, so their own cutoffs come earlier, often early on auction morning or the evening before. The order screen shows the firm's deadline for each auction.
Three large online brokers we checked charged no commission on Treasuries bought online on November 2, 2026, and $19.95 to $25 when a representative placed the trade; one required at least $1,000 per Treasury purchase. A broker selling from its own inventory can build a markup into the price, so compare the yield on the order screen with that day's Treasury rates. If a brokerage fails and customer securities are missing, SIPC covers up to $500,000 per customer, including up to $250,000 in cash, but it never covers a fall in price. FDIC vs SIPC explains where each protection stops.
How do you buy a T-bill ETF?
Look up the fund's ticker in any brokerage account, check its expense ratio and bid-ask spread, then buy shares during market hours, ideally with a limit order.
There is no auction, no maturity date and no minimum beyond one share. SGOV, a 0 to 3 month bill fund with $116.8 billion in assets on October 30, 2026, pays its income as monthly dividends. Settlement follows the rule for stock trades: One business day after the trade (T+1), since May 28, 2024.
Worked example: Putting $5,000 into a bill ETF
SGOV closed at $100.73 on October 30, 2026, with a 0.09% expense ratio and a 0.01% median bid-ask spread over 30 days.
- Whole shares: $5,000 ÷ $100.73 = 49.6, so 49 shares cost $4,935.77 and $64.23 stays in cash unless your broker sells fractions
- Yearly fee: $4,935.77 × 0.0009 = $4.44
- Spread: buying now and selling later costs about $4,935.77 × 0.0001 = $0.49
The fund's 30-day SEC yield, 3.79% on October 29, 2026, is net of expenses, so it is the closest match to a bill's investment yield. T-bill ETFs vs buying T-bills compares the two over a full year, and what an ETF is explains how fund shares trade.
Can you buy tokenized T-bills?
Yes, though what you buy is a fund share recorded on a blockchain rather than a bill, and many products accept only accredited, institutional or non-US investors.
RWA.xyz counted 119 tokenized Treasury products worth $14.21 billion on November 2, 2026. Investor.gov notes that a tokenized security is still a security and that a synthetic token gives you no rights against the issuer of whatever it tracks. A January 2026 SEC staff statement adds that tokens created by a third party can expose holders to that party's risks, including its bankruptcy.
For ordinary US investors the choice is narrow. One example is a Franklin Templeton government money market fund, registered with the SEC, that records its shares on public blockchains. Individuals buy through the fund's app from $20 on most accounts, into a wallet its transfer agent hosts. The net expense ratio is 0.20% through July 31, 2027, the fund aims for a $1.00 share price, IRAs are not allowed, and orders process only on business days.
Before buying a tokenized bill fund
- Is it a registered fund with an SEC prospectus, or a private fund sold only to accredited investors?
- Did the fund or its transfer agent issue the token, or a third party whose risks you would take on?
- Do purchases and redemptions settle in dollars or stablecoins, and on which days?
- A fund share is not a bank deposit, so FDIC insurance does not cover it.
Our post on on-chain US T-bills gives more background, and the Treasuries hub compares fund structures, including the offshore products sold outside the US.
How much does each way of buying T-bills cost?
Held to maturity, a $25,000 13-week bill costs nothing extra at TreasuryDirect or an online broker, while fund fees take roughly $5 to $12 over 91 days.
Worked example: $25,000 for 13 weeks on each route
Assume a 3.99% discount rate, the 13-week rate on October 30, 2026, and a 91-day hold.
- Bill price: $25,000 × (1 − 0.0399 × 91 ÷ 360) = $24,747.85, so the bill pays $252.15 of interest at maturity
- TreasuryDirect: no fees, so you keep the full $252.15
- Broker, online auction order: $0 at the three firms we checked; a $25 representative fee, charged at two of them, would leave $227.15
- T-bill ETF at 0.09%: $25,000 × 0.0009 × 91 ÷ 365 = $5.61, plus about $2.50 to cross a 0.01% spread once
- Registered tokenized fund at 0.20%: $25,000 × 0.0020 × 91 ÷ 365 = $12.47
Fees are only part of the comparison: neither fund holds a single 13-week bill, so its income depends on the mix of bills it owns, and its payouts may lose some of the state exemption the bill keeps.
Which way of buying T-bills fits your situation?
Match the route to the problem you need solved: lowest cost, quick access to cash, a retirement account, or not having to manage maturity dates.
| If this matters most | Route that fits | What you give up |
|---|---|---|
| No fees and the full state exemption, holding to maturity | TreasuryDirect or an online broker order | At TreasuryDirect, a slow exit and paper forms |
| Cash on short notice before the bill matures | Brokerage account | A possible loss if rates rise before you sell |
| Bills in a traditional or Roth IRA | Brokerage IRA | The state exemption adds nothing inside an IRA |
| No maturity dates to track | T-bill ETF | A yearly fee, and dividends some states tax |
| Dollars already on a blockchain | Registered tokenized fund | Platform, custody and redemption risk |
Without a Social Security number and a US address, TreasuryDirect is closed to you; see can foreigners buy US Treasury bills? for the alternatives. Routes can also be combined, such as bills you will not touch at TreasuryDirect and a broker or ETF position for money you may need sooner, and a T-bill ladder staggers maturities either way.
What are the risks of each way to buy T-bills?
Bills carry the full faith and credit of the US government, so the risks that differ by route concern access, pricing and the wrapper around the bill.
- TreasuryDirect: access. Getting cash early takes the 45-day hold plus a signed, mailed transfer form, and a mailed request to restore a locked account or change bank details takes two weeks or longer to process. There is no trading desk to call for a quick sale.
- Brokerage: the price before maturity. Selling early means taking the market bid, which can be below what you paid if rates have climbed. Secondary-market purchases can also carry a markup.
- ETF: a share price that never matures. The fund can dip on days rates jump, can trade slightly above or below the value of its holdings, and is not FDIC-insured.
- Tokenized fund: the wrapper. Smart-contract bugs, frozen or lost wallets, redemptions limited to business days and the solvency of any third-party token issuer all sit on top of the bills.
- Every route: reinvestment and inflation. A bill locks its rate only until it matures, the next bill may pay less, and after inflation and federal tax the real return can be thin. Are Treasuries risk-free? covers each of these risks in depth.