What is the difference between CD yield and CD rate?

The rate is the input the bank applies to your balance; the yield is the output you receive once compounding and the term have done their work. On a one-year CD compounding daily, a 4.10% rate produces a 4.185% yield. Regulation DD requires banks to advertise the APY precisely so savers compare yields rather than rates.

What is a good CD yield?

A competitive CD yield tracks short-term Treasury yields, because that is the bank's alternative source of funds. If the best CD you can find pays materially less than a Treasury bill of the same maturity, the bank is not competing for your deposit and it is worth looking elsewhere.

How is CD yield taxed?

As ordinary income, at your full marginal rate, in the year the interest is credited — reported on Form 1099-INT when it exceeds $10. There is no preferential rate as there is for qualified dividends or long-term capital gains, which is why the after-tax yield sits so far below the headline.

Does a higher yield always mean a better CD?

No. A higher yield paired with a longer term means you are locked in longer, and one paired with a harsher early withdrawal penalty means less flexibility if rates rise. Compare the yield first, then read the penalty and the renewal terms before deciding.

CD Yield Calculator

Turn a quoted CD rate into the yield you actually keep.

Turn a quoted CD rate into the yield you actually keep — over the term, annualised, and after tax.

Op einddatum: US$ 53.106,31
Rente: US$ 3.106,31

Jouw CD

Inlegbedrag

Rentepercentage

Rente opgegeven als

Looptijd

mnd

1 jaar 6 mnd

Gangbare looptijden

Rente-op-rente frequentie

Waarde op einddatum: US$ 53.106,31
Totaal ontvangen rente: US$ 3.106,31
Effectieve APY: 4,10%

US$ 50.000,00 in een CD van 1 jaar 6 mnd tegen 4,10% APY, dagelijks samengesteld, groeit tot US$ 53.106,31 — dat is US$ 3.106,31 rente, gemiddeld US$ 172,57 per maand.

Saldo gedurende de looptijd

HoofdsomRente

Bekijk de cijfers als tabel

Saldo gedurende de looptijd
Maand	Hoofdsom	Rente	Saldo
Bij opening	US$ 50.000,00	US$ 0,00	US$ 50.000,00
4mo	US$ 50.000,00	US$ 674,20	US$ 50.674,20
7mo	US$ 50.000,00	US$ 1.185,81	US$ 51.185,81
11mo	US$ 50.000,00	US$ 1.876,00	US$ 51.876,00
14mo	US$ 50.000,00	US$ 2.399,75	US$ 52.399,75
18mo	US$ 50.000,00	US$ 3.106,31	US$ 53.106,31

Calculated in your browser using A = P(1 + r/n)^nt. Nothing is sent to a server. Figures are before tax; confirm exact terms with your bank.

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Formules en inhoud voor het laatst gecontroleerd op 21 juli 2026. Bankrentes veranderen vaak — bevestig de actuele rente rechtstreeks bij je instelling.

Het korte antwoord

How do you calculate the yield on a CD?

A CD's yield is the interest it pays expressed as a percentage of the deposit, and there are three versions of it that get confused with one another. Total yield over the term is simply interest ÷ principal: a $50,000 CD at 4.10% for 18 months earns $3,171.34, a total yield of 6.343%. Annualised yield — the APY — restates that as a per-year figure so terms of different lengths can be compared, here 4.185%. After-tax yield subtracts what you owe, and for most savers it is the only one that describes reality: at a 24% marginal rate the same CD keeps $2,410.22, an after-tax APY of roughly 3.181%. The reason the distinction matters is that CD interest is taxed as ordinary income at your full marginal rate in the year it is credited, not at the long-term capital gains rate, so the headline yield on a CD is further from the yield you keep than on almost any other saving instrument.

Formule en methode

Zo wordt het berekend

Yield = (A − P) / P

Total yield over the term. Annualising it gives the APY: (A/P)^(1/t) − 1.

A: Maturity value at the end of the term
P: Principal — your opening deposit
t: Term in years, used to annualise
APY: Annualised yield — the per-year rate the term-yield implies
τ: Your marginal tax rate; after-tax yield ≈ APY × (1 − τ)

Stap voor stap

1
Compute the maturity value A with A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt).
2
Subtract the principal to get the interest the CD paid.
3
Divide by the principal. That is the total yield across the whole term.
4
Raise (A/P) to the power 1/t and subtract 1 to annualise it into an APY.
5
Multiply the APY by (1 − your marginal tax rate) for the after-tax yield.

Uitleg

Zo gebruik je deze calculator

Vier invoervelden, direct resultaat. Niets te versturen en nergens voor aan te melden.

1
Enter your deposit and rate
Type the amount and the rate from the bank's rate sheet, setting the toggle to match whether they quoted an APY or a nominal APR.
2
Set the exact term
Yield is only comparable once it is annualised, and annualising needs the true term. A 13-month promotional CD is not a one-year CD.
3
Read the effective APY
The effective APY tile is the annualised yield. This is the figure to carry across to any other offer, whatever term it runs for.
4
Apply your tax rate
Multiply the APY by one minus your marginal rate. Compare that against a Treasury or municipal alternative, which are taxed differently.

Voorbeelden

Uitgewerkte voorbeelden

Echte bedragen, volledig doorgerekend — zodat je de calculator kunt controleren met je eigen cijfers.

An 18-month CD, shown as term yield, annual yield and after-tax yield

Deposit: $50,000
Rate: 4.10% nominal, compounded daily
Term: 18 months
Marginal tax rate: 24%

Interest earned: $3,171.34
Total yield over the term: 6.343%
Annualised yield (APY): 4.185%
After-tax yield: ≈ 3.181%

The three figures describe the same CD and differ by more than three percentage points. Quoting the 6.343% makes the CD look better than a one-year account paying 4.30%; annualising shows it is slightly worse. Always compare annualised.

Two offers on different terms, made comparable by annualising

Offer A: $50,000, 7-month promo at 4.60% APY
Offer B: $50,000, 18-month at 4.10% nominal

Offer A — interest: $1,329.08
Offer A — annualised yield: 4.600%
Offer B — interest: $3,171.34
Offer B — annualised yield: 4.185%

Offer B pays more than twice the dollars, and is the worse rate. That is the whole reason annualised yield exists. Offer A wins on yield but leaves you re-investing after seven months at whatever rate exists then — the trade-off the annualised figure cannot show you.

Methodologie

Nauwkeurigheid en aannames

Elke calculator maakt aannames. Hier staan die van ons, gewoon uitgeschreven, zodat je precies weet waar de cijfers wel en niet rekening mee houden.

The after-tax figure applies a single flat marginal rate to all the interest. Real returns straddle brackets, and state income tax is on top of federal.
Yield is calculated on the opening deposit. If you add to the CD, or if the bank pays interest out rather than compounding it, the yield on your average balance differs.
The rate is fixed and the CD is held to maturity. An early withdrawal penalty can push the realised yield below zero on a short holding period.
No fee is assumed. Maintenance fees on a CD are rare but not extinct, and they come straight off the yield.

De conventies volgen Regulation DD (12 CFR 1030), de regeling die bepaalt hoe Amerikaanse instellingen de APY op spaarproducten moeten vermelden. Deposito's bij verzekerde instellingen zijn door de FDIC beschermd tot $250,000 per rekeninghouder, per bank, per eigendomscategorie.

Primaire bronnen

Waar deze regels vandaan komen

De conventies die deze calculator volgt, worden bepaald door toezichthouders en niet door ons. Elke conventie verwijst naar de uitvaardigende instantie, zodat je het kunt controleren in plaats van ons op ons woord te geloven.

Details

Belangrijke details en regels

Overzichtelijke feiten die het waard zijn om te weten voordat je een CD opent of verlengt.

Yield and rate are not synonyms. The rate is what the bank applies; the yield is what you end up with after compounding, term length and — if you count it — tax.
CD interest is taxed as ordinary income in the year it is credited, reported on Form 1099-INT. On a multi-year CD you owe tax annually even though you cannot touch the money until maturity, which is a genuine cash-flow consideration on long terms.
Comparing a CD against a Treasury bill needs the tax treatment included. T-bill interest is exempt from state and local income tax, so in a high-tax state a Treasury yielding slightly less than a CD can keep more.
"High-yield CD" is a marketing phrase with no regulatory definition. It usually signals an online bank with no branch network, which is a real cost advantage — but check the minimum deposit and whether the rate is promotional.
Credit unions call the payout a dividend rather than interest and quote a dividend rate alongside an APY. The APY is calculated the same way and remains the figure to compare.

Hoe het samenhangt

Verwante begrippen en calculators

De CD Yield Calculator werkt samen met deze verwante tools. Elke tool behandelt één onderdeel van het CD-plaatje volledig.

Toepassingen

Voor wie deze calculator bedoeld is

Savers comparing terms that do not match
A 7-month promo against an 18-month standard cannot be judged on interest earned. Annualise both here and the ranking often flips.
Anyone in a higher tax bracket
At a 32% or 37% marginal rate the after-tax gap between a CD and a municipal bond fund narrows sharply. Knowing your after-tax yield is what makes that comparison honest.
Retirees living on interest
Income planning runs on the yield you keep, not the yield advertised. Work from the after-tax figure and the monthly interest line when you build the budget.

Verwante tools

Elke CD-calculator

Negen gerichte tools die het hele plaatje rond certificates of deposit afdekken.

FAQ