10% of $10,000 is $1,000, but you have to pay federal income taxes on it. So you're looking at getting $600 - $800 to tie up $10,000 for a year, and you have t

10% of $10,000 is $1,000, but you have to pay federal income taxes on it. So you're looking at getting $600 - $800 to tie up $10,000 for a year, and you have to go through hoops and a cumbersome website to do it. It's a better deal than other fixed income investments right now, but with an after-tax return that's guaranteed to be worse than inflation, it's hard to get excited about it.