How to Buy T-Bills: TreasuryDirect, Brokers and Apps

There are two ways to buy a Treasury bill as an ordinary US saver. You can buy straight from the government in a TreasuryDirect account, where the minimum is $100, or you can buy through a brokerage account, where the brokers we checked sell bills in $1,000 face value units. Both routes get you the same bill at the same auction. What differs is the minimum, how easy it is to sell early and how reinvesting works. Yields move every week, so look at today's T-bill rates before you pick a term.

The short answer: TreasuryDirect or a broker

TreasuryDirect is the Treasury's own site. It charges no fee to open an account or to hold bills, takes orders from $100, and can roll a bill into the same term again and again for up to two years. The catch is that it's built for holding to maturity. Selling early means moving the bill to a broker first, and new purchases have a 45 day hold before you can do that.

A brokerage account is the better fit if you might need the money before the bill matures, or if you'd like your bills to sit next to the rest of your investments. Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard and E*TRADE all charge $0 for Treasury auction and secondary market orders placed online. Orders placed by phone or with a representative can cost $19.95 to $25.

Public's Treasury Account works differently again. It's a managed ladder of Treasuries with a management fee and trading markups, so it isn't a way to buy one bill on its own.

How T-bills work before you buy

A T-bill is a short-term loan to the US government. You pay less than face value (or exactly face value), and when the bill matures you get the full face value back. That gap is your interest. Nothing is paid along the way; it all arrives on the maturity date.

The Treasury sells bills in seven terms: 4, 6, 8, 13, 17, 26 and 52 weeks. All of them except the 52-week bill are auctioned every week. The 52-week bill is auctioned every four weeks. If you know you'll need the money in about a month, a 4-week bill is the natural choice. For money that can sit for six months or a year, look at the 26-week and 52-week rates.

The rate is set at the auction, not when you place your order. The simplest order is a noncompetitive bid, which means you ask for an amount and accept whatever rate the auction produces. You're guaranteed to get the full amount. A competitive bid names the lowest yield you'll take. You might get all of what you asked for, part of it, or nothing.

TreasuryDirect only takes noncompetitive bids. A bank, broker or dealer can place either kind for you, but not both in the same auction. Bills are electronic only, so there's no paper certificate.

Where you can buy T-bills: platforms compared

We checked each platform's own pages on October 30, 2026. Treat the table as a starting point and confirm the details on the order screen, because brokers change their terms.

None of these platforms pays us, and there are no partner links on this page. Our disclosure explains how the site makes money.

TreasuryDirect

You need a valid Social Security Number, a US address of record and a US bank account that accepts ACH transfers, and you must be at least 18. A parent or guardian can open a linked account for a child under 18. Orders start at $100 and go up in $100 steps, with a $10 million cap per auction for noncompetitive bids. You can schedule reinvestments into the same term: up to 25 times for a 4-week bill, 7 times for a 13-week bill and once for a 52-week bill.

Fidelity

You need a Fidelity brokerage account, and there's no minimum to open one. On the order screen, a quantity of 1 equals $1,000 of face value. Treasury auction and secondary market orders placed online cost $0. With a representative, a Treasury auction order or purchase costs $19.95.

Fidelity's Auto Roll covers bills bought at auction in all seven terms (4 to 52 weeks), plus 2, 3 and 5-year notes. It buys the same face value and term again when your bill matures. Only the principal rolls over; the interest stays in your account as cash. To use it, you accept the Auto Roll agreement and sign up for Fidelity Alerts. Bills bought on the secondary market and Cash Management Bills aren't eligible.

Charles Schwab

Treasuries bought online, at auction or on the secondary market, cost $0. A broker-assisted order adds a $25 service charge. Schwab brokerage accounts have no account minimum, but we didn't find a stated minimum per bill on the pages we checked.

Schwab's Auto-Rollover works for Treasuries bought at auction and rolls them into 4, 8, 13, 17 or 26-week bills. Rollovers are placed as noncompetitive bids at the same face value, there's no extra fee for the service, and the Treasury rollover limit is $5,000,000. Interest isn't reinvested.

Vanguard

Vanguard lists a $1,000 minimum for Treasuries and charges $0 online, both for new issues and on the secondary market. Phone trades may carry a $25 commission, which is generally waived for clients with $1 million or more in qualifying Vanguard assets. Vanguard only places noncompetitive bids, capped at $10 million per security per household in one auction. We didn't see an auto roll option described on its pages.

E*TRADE

E*TRADE's pricing page lists $0 for US Treasury auction orders and $0 for Treasury secondary trades online. A broker-assisted secondary trade costs the online price plus $20. The minimum order and any auto roll option weren't stated on the pages we checked.

Public (Treasury Account)

Public's Treasury Account buys a ladder of Treasuries with maturities from 3 months to 30 years. You can pick a ready-made ladder or build your own. It's run by Public Advisors, an SEC-registered investment adviser, with brokerage through Open to the Public Investing, a FINRA and SIPC member.

The first deposit is at least $1,000, and later deposits have no minimum. You pay a management fee that starts at 0.29% and drops to 0.09% for larger accounts, plus a markup of 0.10% to 0.25% of par value on each trade, depending on the term. When a Treasury matures you can take the cash or have it reinvested into a new one matching the longest term in your ladder.

What we left out

Robinhood's Customer Relationship Summary, effective October 1, 2026, says it doesn't offer fixed income except through ETFs, so you can't buy an individual T-bill there. We also left out other brokers and banks whose own pages didn't confirm the details. T-bill ETFs and money market funds hold bills, but you own fund shares rather than the bill itself, which is a different product.

Auction or secondary market

Buying at auction means you get a brand new bill at the rate the auction sets. That's the only way to buy in TreasuryDirect, and Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard and E*TRADE offer it too.

The secondary market is where bills that were already issued get bought and sold. Only brokers offer it. It's handy if you want a maturity date that doesn't line up with an auction, or if you'd rather not wait for the next one. One thing to watch: the auto roll services at Fidelity and Schwab only cover bills bought at auction, so a bill from the secondary market won't roll over by itself.

Cash Management Bills, which the Treasury sells on an irregular schedule, are only available through a bank, broker or dealer. You can't buy them in TreasuryDirect.

How to buy T-bills on TreasuryDirect, step by step

1. Open an account. Have your Social Security Number, US address, bank routing and account numbers and an email address ready. The application is online and there's no fee.
2. Go to Buy Direct. Log in and choose the Buy Direct tab, then pick bills and the term you want.
3. Enter the amount. At least $100, in $100 steps. This is a noncompetitive bid, so you don't name a rate.
4. Choose how to pay and whether to reinvest. Pick your linked bank account (or a Certificate of Indebtedness, if you keep one in TreasuryDirect). You can schedule reinvestments now or later, up to four business days before the bill matures.
5. Check the result. On auction day, results show after 5 PM Eastern under Current Holdings, then Pending Purchases and Reinvestments. You'll see the price you'll pay.
6. Keep the cash in your bank. The money has to be there before the issue date, when TreasuryDirect takes the payment.

When the bill matures, the face value goes back to your bank account, unless you set up a reinvestment.

How to buy T-bills at a brokerage, step by step

1. Open and fund a brokerage account. Move in the cash you plan to invest.
2. Find the Treasury section. At Fidelity, for example, the path is News and Research, then Fixed Income, Bonds and CDs, then New Issue, with Treasury as the product type. Other brokers have a similar bonds or fixed income menu with a Treasury auction list.
3. Pick auction or secondary. For a new bill, choose an upcoming auction and the term. For an existing bill, search the secondary market by maturity date.
4. Enter the quantity. At Fidelity, 1 means $1,000 of face value, so 5 means $5,000. You pay a little less than face value because bills sell at a discount.
5. Decide on auto roll. At Fidelity and Schwab you choose this on the order screen for auction bills.
6. Preview and place the order. An auction order stays open until the auction closes, and the bill shows up in your account after it settles.

Place orders online where you can. Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard and E*TRADE all list extra charges for at least some trades placed by phone or with a representative.

Selling before maturity

You can always hold a bill to maturity and get face value back. If you need the money sooner, the sale has to go through a bank, broker or dealer.

At a broker, you sell the bill from your account like any other bond. The price depends on rates that day, so you could get a little more or a little less than you'd expect.

From TreasuryDirect it takes longer. You transfer the bill to a broker using FS Form 5511 (found under Manage Direct), and the broker sells it.

Bills bought in TreasuryDirect can't be transferred or sold for 45 calendar days after they're issued. That means a 4-week bill bought there can't be sold at all before it matures. The hold doesn't apply to a reinvestment paid for entirely by a maturing bill, but it does if you add new money.

Public says you can sell early from its Treasury Account, but selling before maturity may cost you and change your yield.

Taxes in one minute

T-bill interest is subject to federal income tax but is exempt from all state and local income taxes. If you get $10 or more of interest, expect a Form 1099-INT or 1099-OID from your platform, and you still have to report interest even if no form arrives.

Which route fits you

If you're starting with less than $1,000, TreasuryDirect is the only platform here that publishes a $100 order minimum. It also suits money you won't touch until the bill matures, especially if you like the idea of setting reinvestments for up to two years and leaving it alone.

If there's a real chance you'll need the cash early, a broker makes more sense. Selling is a normal trade there, and the online cost at the four brokers we checked is $0. It's also simpler if you already have a brokerage account and want everything in one place.

Public's Treasury Account is for someone who wants a ready-made ladder and is fine paying a management fee and markups for it. Compare those costs with the $0 online pricing elsewhere before you choose it.

Whichever route you take, the yield comes from the same Treasury auction. You can see how the terms compare on our T-bill rates page, and our methodology explains where those numbers come from.

Quick answers

What's the minimum to buy a T-bill?

$100 at TreasuryDirect. Fidelity sells bills in $1,000 face value units and Vanguard lists a $1,000 minimum. Schwab and E*TRADE didn't state a per-bill minimum on the pages we checked.

Do you know the yield before you buy at auction?

No. With a noncompetitive bid you accept the rate the auction sets. You'll see the result after 5 PM Eastern on auction day.

Can T-bills roll over automatically?

Yes, at TreasuryDirect (same term, up to two years of reinvestments), Fidelity and Schwab. At the brokers, only the principal rolls over, and only for bills bought at auction.

Can I change a TreasuryDirect reinvestment?

Yes, as long as it's more than four business days before the next auction.

Can I sell a 4-week bill I bought in TreasuryDirect?

No. The 45-day hold is longer than the bill's term, so you hold it to maturity and get face value back.

Do I pay state tax on T-bill interest?

No. It's exempt from state and local income tax but you pay federal income tax on it.