Treasury sells bills in seven terms, and they differ in more than length: each has its own auction weekday, settlement day, rollover limit in TreasuryDirect and sensitivity to rate changes. This page sets the seven side by side, then turns the comparison into a picker for the date you need your money back and weighs locking a longer rate against rolling shorter bills. Live yields for each term are on T-bill rates today, and the rest of the Treasury market is mapped in the US Treasuries hub.
What are the seven T-bill terms?
Treasury's regular bill terms are 4, 6, 8, 13, 17, 26 and 52 weeks, and all seven are sold at a discount and repaid at face value on a fixed date.
| Term | Days | Matching yield curve point | Auction day | Issue and maturity day | Auctions | Max TreasuryDirect reinvestments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-week | 28 | 1 month | Thursday | Tuesday | Weekly | 25 |
| 6-week | 42 | 1.5 months | Tuesday | Thursday | Weekly | 16 |
| 8-week | 56 | 2 months | Thursday | Tuesday | Weekly | 10 |
| 13-week | 91 | 3 months | Monday | Thursday | Weekly | 7 |
| 17-week | 119 | 4 months | Wednesday | Tuesday | Weekly | 6 |
| 26-week | 182 | 6 months | Monday | Thursday | Weekly | 3 |
| 52-week | 364 | 1 year | Tuesday | Thursday | Every four weeks | 1 |
Every term has the same minimum of $100, in $100 increments and the same noncompetitive limit of $10 million per auction, and every term's interest is the gap between price and face value; what is a Treasury bill covers those basics. Treasury's yield curve added a 2-month point on October 16, 2018, a 4-month point on October 19, 2022 and a 1.5-month point on February 18, 2025, matching the 8-, 17- and 6-week bills. Cash management bills, which Treasury sells irregularly and often with only a few days between announcement, auction and issue, sit outside the seven and are available only through a bank, broker or dealer.
Which T-bill term pays the highest yield?
It depends on the day: longer bills paid more on October 30, 2026, but in September 2024 and January 2026 the 4-week bill out-yielded the 52-week.
| Date | 4-week yield | 52-week yield | Which end paid more |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 16, 2024 | 4.99% | 3.97% | 4-week, by 1.02 points |
| January 2, 2026 | 3.64% | 3.47% | 4-week, by 0.17 point |
| September 1, 2026 | 3.75% | 4.18% | 52-week, by 0.43 point |
| October 30, 2026 | 3.98% | 4.36% | 52-week, by 0.38 point |
The figures are Treasury's coupon-equivalent yields, the right measure for comparing terms; why they run above the discount rates is explained in T-bill discount rate vs investment rate. When markets expect the Fed to cut, investors accept less to lock in a year and the short end pays more; when they expect rates to hold or rise, the order flips. In late 2026, after a September rate increase left the federal funds target at 3.75% to 4.00%, longer bills led. How Fed rate decisions affect T-bill rates covers that link, and the Treasury yield curve today shows how bills compare with notes and bonds.
When is each T-bill term auctioned and issued?
Six terms are auctioned every week and the 52-week every four weeks, on fixed weekdays that put each term into a Tuesday or a Thursday settlement cycle.
| Term | Announced | Auctioned | Issued |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4-week and 8-week | Tuesday | Thursday | Following Tuesday |
| 17-week | Tuesday | Wednesday | Following Tuesday |
| 6-week | Thursday | Following Tuesday | Thursday |
| 13-week and 26-week | Thursday | Following Monday | Thursday |
| 52-week, every four weeks | Thursday | Following Tuesday | Thursday |
On recent bill auctions, noncompetitive bids closed at 11:00 AM Eastern and competitive bids at 11:30 AM, and TreasuryDirect buyers can see results after 5 PM Eastern on auction day. You pay for a new bill by its issue date, and a maturing bill's money is deposited on the day it matures. Holidays move the calendar: 13-week and 26-week bills normally auctioned on Monday, October 12, 2026 were auctioned on Tuesday, October 13 because of Columbus Day, and bills due on Thanksgiving, November 26, 2026, mature on Friday, November 27 instead. How bids are filled is covered in how Treasury auctions work.
The two cycles matter when you chain bills. A maturing 13-week bill pays out on the Thursday a new 6-, 26- or 52-week bill is issued, and a maturing 4-week bill on the Tuesday a new 8- or 17-week bill is issued, so one bill's cash can buy the next with no idle days, as long as the new order is placed before its auction. Mixing cycles, say a Thursday maturity into a Tuesday issue, leaves the cash waiting several days.
How often does each term make you reinvest?
A 4-week bill matures 13 times a year and a 52-week bill once, so shorter terms mean more rate resets and more maturity dates to manage.
| Term | Maturities a year | TreasuryDirect reinvestments | Weeks covered, first bill included |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4-week | 13 | 25 | 104 |
| 6-week | about 8.7 | 16 | 102 |
| 8-week | 6.5 | 10 | 88 |
| 13-week | 4 | 7 | 104 |
| 17-week | about 3.1 | 6 | 119 |
| 26-week | 2 | 3 | 104 |
| 52-week | 1 | 1 | 104 |
TreasuryDirect caps scheduled reinvestments per bill at 25 for 4-week bills, 16 for 6-week, 10 for 8-week, 7 for 13-week, 6 for 17-week, 3 for 26-week and 1 for 52-week. A reinvestment buys a new bill of the same term only, for the same face value, and pays the leftover to your bank; you cannot schedule or change one after four business days before the auction of the new security. Every rollover also resets your rate to that week's auction, and every maturity counts as federally taxable interest in the year the bill is paid, even when it is rolled. What happens on the maturity date itself is in what happens when a T-bill matures, and spreading maturities across several bills is covered in how to build a T-bill ladder.
How easy is it to sell each term before maturity?
Any bill held at a broker can be sold on a trading day, but in TreasuryDirect the 45-day hold means 4-week and 6-week bills can only be cashed at maturity.
| Term | Value lost per $10,000 if the discount rate rises 1 point at once | Earliest sale from TreasuryDirect |
|---|---|---|
| 4-week | $7.78 | Not possible; it matures first |
| 6-week | $11.67 | Not possible; it matures first |
| 8-week | $15.56 | After 45 days, with 11 days left |
| 13-week | $25.28 | After 45 days, with 46 days left |
| 17-week | $33.06 | After 45 days, with 74 days left |
| 26-week | $50.56 | After 45 days, with 137 days left |
| 52-week | $101.11 | After 45 days, with 319 days left |
The dollar column uses face value × 0.01 × days ÷ 360, so a new 52-week bill loses 13 times as much as a 4-week bill from the same jump in rates. A sale also costs the gap between bid and ask prices, plus any broker fee. In TreasuryDirect, a newly bought bill must be held 45 calendar days before it can be transferred out or sold, unless it was a reinvestment paid for entirely by a maturing security. Short bills are therefore liquid only at maturity there, which with weekly auctions is never far away. Selling Treasuries before maturity explains how a sale works, and the TreasuryDirect account guide covers the account itself.
Which T-bill term fits when you need the cash?
Pick the longest term that matures on or before the date you need the money, then fill any remaining gap with a shorter bill or a savings account.
| You need the cash in | Term to consider | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 5 weeks | 4-week | Matures within a month and is auctioned every Thursday |
| 6 to 7 weeks | 6-week | Covers a gap a 4-week bill would leave partly idle |
| 8 to 12 weeks | 8-week, or a 4-week then an 8-week | Stays within the quarter; both settle on Tuesdays |
| 3 to 4 months | 13-week | The 3-month bill, auctioned every Monday |
| 4 to 6 months | 17-week, or a 13-week then a 6-week | Bridges a quarter and a half-year |
| 6 to 12 months | 26-week, or two in a row | Half-year bill; two cover a year with one rate reset |
| A year or more | 52-week | One rate for a year, but auctioned only every four weeks |
Count from the issue date, not the auction date, and check the maturity weekday against your deadline: a Tuesday-cycle bill and a bill due on a holiday can each shift the payout by days. If the date is fixed and the amount matters, aim to mature a few days early rather than a few days late.
Worked example: Covering a payment due in 19 weeks
Say $20,000 is available on a Thursday and is needed 133 days later. Assume every term pays an illustrative 4.00% discount rate.
- A 26-week bill matures 49 days too late, so it would have to be sold early at an unknown price. Ruled out.
- A 17-week bill runs 119 days and earns $20,000 × 0.04 × 119 ÷ 360 = $264.44, but it issues on a Tuesday, so the cash waits several days before and after it.
- A 13-week bill followed by a 6-week bill, both Thursday-cycle, covers 91 + 42 = 133 days exactly, earning $202.22 + $93.33 = $295.56.
- The two-bill chain earns $31.11 more with no idle days. The cost is a second purchase whose rate is unknown until its auction.
Is it better to lock a 52-week rate or keep rolling shorter bills?
Neither wins every time: locking pays off only if short rates fall by more than the yield curve already expects, while rolling wins if they hold up or rise.
Worked example: One real year: a 52-week bill against four 13-week bills
Both paths run from Thursday, October 2, 2025 to Thursday, October 1, 2026, using Treasury's actual auction results.
- Lock: the 52-week bill auctioned September 30, 2025 cleared at a 3.540% discount rate, so $10,000 of face value cost $9,642.07 and paid $10,000.00 at maturity.
- Roll: 13-week bills auctioned September 29 and December 29, 2025 and March 30 and June 29, 2026 cleared at 3.860%, 3.570%, 3.620% and 3.740%. The first ran 92 days because New Year's Day pushed its maturity to Friday, January 2.
- Starting from the same $9,642.07 and reinvesting every dollar at each roll, the 13-week path ended at $10,011.21, which is $11.21 ahead of the lock.
- The lock would have won only if the last three 13-week auctions had averaged below about 3.50%.
That year the 52-week bill started out paying less than the 13-week bill, a sign that markets expected rates to fall, so the lock needed short rates to drop further than they did. When a 52-week bill pays more than shorter bills, as in late 2026, the hurdle runs the other way: rolling wins only if short rates rise. In TreasuryDirect, a rollover keeps the face value the same and pays the leftover to your bank, so the roller's extra interest would have arrived as cash along the way rather than compounding.
Locking a 52-week bill
- One rate for a year, known on auction day
- One purchase and one maturity to track
- Comes out ahead if short rates fall further than the curve implied
Locking a 52-week bill
- Largest price drop if you must sell after rates rise
- Auctioned only every four weeks, so entry dates are limited
- TreasuryDirect allows only one scheduled reinvestment
What are the risks of each T-bill term?
Short terms carry the most reinvestment risk and the least price risk, long terms reverse that trade-off, and inflation and tax apply to every term.
- Reinvestment risk, highest at 4 to 8 weeks. A 4-week bill resets its rate 13 times a year, so a Fed cut reaches you within weeks.
- Price risk, highest at 26 and 52 weeks. A 1-point rise costs a new 52-week bill about $101 per $10,000 if sold at once; held to maturity it still pays face value. The mechanics are in why bond prices fall when rates rise.
- Timing risk. Miss a 52-week auction and the next is four weeks away, and holidays or Treasury's financing needs can shift any schedule.
- Inflation risk. No bill adjusts for inflation; TIPS explained covers the Treasury that does.
- Tax timing. Interest is reported when a bill is paid at maturity, so a 26- or 52-week bill that matures next year moves its income into that year. Bill interest is exempt from state and local income tax; see are T-bills taxable.
Every term is backed by the full faith and credit of the US government, so these risks concern rates, timing and purchasing power rather than repayment. Are Treasuries risk-free? sets out what that backing does and does not cover, and the Treasury bill calculator prices any term at any rate.