How Are T-Bills Quoted? | Read Quotes Like A Trader

T-bill quotes usually show a discount rate or a price per $100, both describing how far below face value the bill trades.

Treasury bills (T-bills) feel simple: you pay less than face value, then you get face value at maturity. The part that trips people up is the quote. It can look like a “rate,” a “price,” or both, and those formats don’t behave like a normal coupon bond yield.

This article clears up what you’re seeing, where it comes from, and how to sanity-check it in seconds. You’ll leave knowing which quote you’re looking at, what it means in dollars, and what changes when you move from auction results to the secondary market.

What A T-Bill Quote Is Trying To Say

A T-bill has no coupon. You earn your return because you buy it below par (face value) and get par at maturity. So the quote is just a compact way to express the size of that discount over a short period.

Two facts stay true across the common quoting styles:

• Price moves opposite the “rate.” A bigger discount means a lower price and a higher quoted rate/yield.
• Time matters a lot. A small dollar discount can translate into a chunky annualized figure when the bill matures in weeks.

That’s why a 13-week bill can show a rate that looks “large” even when the dollar gain on a $1,000 bill is modest. Short maturities compress the timeline, then the quote annualizes it.

How T-Bills Are Quoted In Auctions And Markets

You’ll run into T-bill quotes in two main places: Treasury auctions and the secondary market (the resale market after issuance). The display looks similar, yet the labels can differ.

At Auction: You’ll See Rates And A Price

In a Treasury auction, competitive bids push toward a single clearing level. Successful bidders end up with the same price, tied to the highest accepted rate/yield for that auction. TreasuryDirect’s auction FAQ explains that the accepted bids determine a single price for awarded securities. TreasuryDirect auction FAQ

Auction results for bills often show fields like “High Rate” and “Price.” The “High Rate” is typically a discount rate style number, while “Price” expresses how many dollars you pay per $100 of face value.

In The Secondary Market: The Quote Is Often A Discount Rate

In dealer screens and many market data feeds, T-bills are commonly quoted on a bank discount basis (a discount rate convention). The U.S. Treasury’s daily bill rate page describes the bank discount rate as the rate at which a bill is quoted in the secondary market, using par value and a 360-day year. U.S. Treasury daily bill rates definitions

So when you see a T-bill “rate” on a screen, treat it as a quoting convention that backs into price. It’s not a coupon rate, and it’s not always the same as a bond-equivalent yield that uses purchase price and a 365-day year.

How Are T-Bills Quoted? The Core Formats

Most T-bill quotes fall into one of these buckets. Once you can label the format, the rest becomes routine.

Format 1: Price Per $100 Of Face Value

This is the cleanest way to think about a bill. A price of 99.50 means you pay $99.50 for each $100 of face value. On a $10,000 face value bill, you pay $9,950. At maturity you receive $10,000, so your dollar gain is $50.

Quick sanity check: a bill price should be below 100.00 (since it’s a discount instrument). If you see 100.20, you’re not looking at a standard bill price quote, or the feed is showing something else.

Format 2: Bank Discount Rate (Discount Yield)

This is the classic “T-bill rate” quote. It annualizes the discount using face value (not purchase price) and a 360-day year. That choice makes the number easy for money-market conventions, yet it can look a bit different from the yield you’d compute using the cash you actually paid.

If you’re comparing a bill to a coupon bond yield, this is where people get crossed up. The bill’s bank discount rate is a quote that maps to price; the bond’s yield is already a return measure based on price.

Format 3: Investment Rate / Coupon-Equivalent Yield

Some sources also show a yield that uses the purchase price and a 365- or 366-day year. The Treasury daily bill rates page describes this as the coupon equivalent (also called bond equivalent or investment yield). Coupon-equivalent yield description

This format often feels closer to what you’d call a “return” because it uses what you actually paid as the base. If your platform shows both figures, it’s giving you two lenses on the same bill: one rooted in money-market quoting, one rooted in investment return math.

Table time. This first table is meant to be your translator. When you see a label in an app or a press release, you can match it to what it means and how to check it fast.

Quote Label You May See	What It Represents	Fast Reality Check
Price (per $100)	Cash price you pay per $100 face value	Should be < 100.00 for a normal bill
Bank Discount Rate	Annualized discount based on face value and a 360-day year	Higher discount rate means lower price
Discount Yield	Same idea as bank discount rate in many feeds	Check the day-count basis (often 360)
High Rate (auction)	Highest accepted rate that sets the auction’s clearing price	Pairs with a single awarded price for bills
Investment Rate	Annualized return based on purchase price and a 365/366-day year	Often a bit higher than the discount rate for the same bill
Bond-Equivalent Yield	Another name used for coupon-equivalent / investment yield	Uses purchase price base, not face value base
Days To Maturity	Actual days until the bill pays face value	Shorter days can make annualized numbers jump
Discount Amount	Face value minus purchase price (your dollar gain)	Multiply per-$100 discount by face value/100
Settlement Date	Date cash leaves your account and the bill is issued	Use this date when counting holding period days

Reading Quotes Without Getting Tricked By The Math

When someone says “T-bills are at 5%,” your first move should be: “5% in which format?” For bills, the quoting basis changes the number, even when the underlying price is the same.

Start With Dollars, Then Back Into Any Rate

If you can get the price per $100, you can ground the whole trade in dollars.

• Find the discount per $100: 100.00 − price
• Scale it to your face value
• That’s your dollar gain if you hold to maturity (ignoring taxes and reinvestment)

Once the dollars feel right, the annualized quote is just a reporting style layered on top.

Why Discount Rate Quotes Look A Bit Lower

The bank discount rate uses face value as the base. Your true return is earned on the cash you paid, which is less than face value. Using a bigger base (face value) tends to pull the annualized number down when compared with a yield based on purchase price.

Also, the 360-day year convention compresses the annualization slightly versus a 365-day year. The U.S. Treasury’s definitions page spells out these day-count choices for bills. Bank discount basis and day-count notes

Where People Most Often Misread A T-Bill Quote

The same bill can look “cheaper” or “richer” depending on which field you stare at. These are the spots where confusion shows up most.

Mixing Up Auction Fields

Auction result pages can show multiple rates plus a price. Those numbers aren’t competing truths; they’re different reporting angles that point to the same awarded price. TreasuryDirect’s pricing explainer walks through how marketable securities pricing works, including bills sold at a discount and paid at face value at maturity. TreasuryDirect pricing and interest rates

If you’re buying through TreasuryDirect, you’ll often see the price and the resulting investment rate. If you’re reading a headline, you may only see a “high rate” figure. The cash outcome still comes from the price you pay and the face value you receive.

Comparing A Bill Quote To A Bank Account APY

A savings account APY bakes in compounding. A T-bill quote is commonly a simple annualized figure tied to a single holding period. If you plan to roll bills over all year, your realized return depends on future auction levels and how your rollover schedule lines up.

Forgetting That “Per $100” Is A Convention

Many screens show bill prices per $100 even though bills are issued in face values like $1,000 or more. That “per $100” format is just a scaling choice. Always convert to your actual face value so the dollars match your account activity.

Converting Between Common Quote Styles

You don’t need to memorize formulas to trade or buy bills, yet knowing the relationships helps you spot a weird quote fast. Here are the core connections people use for back-of-the-envelope checks.

From Price To Discount Rate

Think: discount divided by face value, annualized on a 360-day year. If the bill is priced at 99.60 with 91 days left, the discount per $100 is 0.40. The annualized discount rate will scale that 0.40 over 91 days on a 360-day year basis.

From Price To Investment Yield

Think: discount divided by purchase price, annualized on a 365-day year. Because the base is smaller (price, not face value), this yield often prints a touch higher than the bank discount rate for the same bill.

If you want a market-connected way to see how “discount yield” and “price” relate in trading products, CME’s explainer for T-bill futures describes settlement as a price equivalent to 100 minus the highest accepted discount yield tied to the auction used for final settlement. CME T-bill futures quotation and settlement

That “100 minus yield” framing shows the same instinct traders use with cash bills: anchor on a 100-style par scale, then express the discount as the rate/yield convention calls for.

If You Have	Quick Conversion Idea	What You’re Trying To Get
Price per $100	Discount = 100 − Price	Dollar discount per $100 face value
Discount per $100	Total discount = (Face Value ÷ 100) × Discount	Your dollar gain at maturity
Bank discount rate	Use it to back into price; higher rate means lower price	A fast direction check on market moves
Investment yield	Expect it to track price-based return on a 365/366-day year	A yield that lines up better with price-based returns
Two bills with different days	Compare on the same yield style before ranking “better”	A cleaner apples-to-apples comparison
Headline “rate”	Find whether it’s an auction high rate or a market discount rate	Context so you don’t compare the wrong fields
Your account cash debit	Divide by face value to infer the implied price per $100	A reality check that matches broker statements

Choosing Which Quote Matters For Your Decision

If you’re buying a bill to hold to maturity, the decision usually comes down to: “How much cash do I put in, and how much cash do I get back, and when?” Price answers that cleanly.

If you’re comparing bills across maturities, a yield-style quote helps you rank options on an annualized basis. Just keep the style consistent. Don’t compare a bank discount rate from one screen to an investment yield from another screen and assume the bigger number always wins.

Use Price When You Care About Exact Dollars

Price is the best anchor for:

• Matching your brokerage confirmation
• Estimating your maturity payout and dollar gain
• Checking whether a quoted “rate” seems plausible

Use A Yield When You’re Ranking Alternatives

A yield figure is handy when you’re choosing between, say, a 4-week bill and a 26-week bill and you want a common yardstick. Treasury’s bill rate definitions also show that multiple yield conventions can be published for the same bill, so the label matters. Daily Treasury bill rate series and definitions

Fast Checklist Before You Trust A Quote

Use this quick mental routine and you’ll catch most quote mix-ups right away:

1. Identify the format. Is it price per $100, bank discount rate, or an investment-style yield?
2. Anchor on par. Bills pay par at maturity, so price should sit below 100 per $100 face value.
3. Convert to dollars. Multiply the per-$100 discount by your face value divided by 100.
4. Check the time. Shorter terms can make annualized figures look punchy.
5. Match the label to the source. Auction pages, broker screens, and data series can use different fields.

If you do those five steps, “T-bills are quoted weird” stops being a problem. You’ll know what the quote is saying, what it means for your cash, and which number you should compare when you’re choosing between bills.