Research · November 6, 2026
$50,000 at 0.01% has missed about $8,014 since 2022
After-tax interest a rolling 3-month Treasury bill would have kept, by year (22% federal, 5% state). Recomputed with every rate check.
What stood out
- Rolling 3-month Treasury bills averaged 2.09% in 2022, 5.28% in 2023, 5.18% in 2024, 4.21% in 2025, 3.84% in 2026 (so far).
- Total missed on $50,000 since 2022: about $8,014, after tax. This year so far: $1,495.
- See your own number from any month since 2018 with our idle cash calculator.
How we did the math
Kept = balance × rate × (1 − federal rate − state rate × (1 − state-exempt share)). Treasury interest is fully state-exempt. Rates come from each provider’s own page or the U.S. Treasury’s daily yield curve; estimates are left out. Full method · Every option at your own numbers →
More research
- The highest rate doesn’t keep the most money
- What 9 brokerages pay on your cash by default
- In 19 states and D.C., a Treasury bill beats every CD we track
- What a 0.01% account costs you, by balance
- CD or Treasury bill? Term by term, after tax
Free to share with credit to Movable Capital. Not investment or tax advice.