Treasury Bill Ladder Calculator Excel: Yield Optimization Dashboard for May 2026

A Treasury bill ladder spreads cash across securities with staggered maturity dates. The maturity schedule determines when cash becomes available, and reinvestment exposes it to future yields. Treasury interest is exempt from U.S. state and local income tax, but federal tax generally applies. Whether a ladder beats a cash sweep or money market fund depends on yields, costs and taxes. This free eleven-sheet Excel calculator illustrates 12 Treasury rungs, models reinvestment under different rate scenarios, and compares the ladder with CDs, money market funds, savings accounts and I-bonds. Its default schedule includes maturities beyond one year and is not a monthly bill-only ladder.

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IntroductionHistorical DataOptions DataUse-cases

Why the May 2026 setup matters for cash investors

The Federal Reserve had held the federal funds target steady through Q1 and into Q2 2026 after the cutting cycle that began in September 2024. The 3-month T-bill is currently trading around 4.28%, the 1-year around 4.05%, and the 10-year just above 4.30% - a flat-to-slightly-positive curve that rewards staying short while still paying you to extend out a year. Money market funds yield roughly the same as 3-month bills before fees, and high-yield savings accounts have crept down toward 4.20%. With those rates, a ladder compared well for cash you can leave invested for 12 months or more; check current yields before deciding.

A T-bill ladder also addresses three structural headaches that single-instrument cash plans do not:

1. Scheduled liquidity. Each rung provides cash when it matures. Monthly access requires securities with an appropriate monthly maturity schedule; the default model does not provide this.
2. Reinvestment averaging. When yields drift, your blended yield drifts with them gradually instead of resetting all at once.
3. State tax exemption. Treasury interest is exempt from state and local income tax. For a California or New York resident in the top bracket, that exemption is worth roughly 50-100 basis points of yield versus a same-yield CD.

The T-bill ladder is rarely the highest pre-tax yield on this list - but after state tax for a top-bracket resident, it usually beats CDs and savings, and unlike I-bonds it does not lock principal.

Treasury bill ladder calculator excel: what the template models

The calculator's default model uses 12 rungs at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, and 36 months. These are unevenly spaced model inputs, not a list of available bill auction terms. Treasury bills have terms up to 52 weeks; longer rungs require other securities, such as Treasury notes, including secondary-market issues with suitable remaining maturities. Edit the Inputs sheet for your intended schedule and verify actual securities, settlement dates and cash flows before investing.

For each rung the model computes:

• Yield at the closest Treasury constant-maturity tenor available via MarketXLS (TreasuryRate3M, TreasuryRate1Y, TreasuryRate5Y, TreasuryRate10Y).
• Illustrative discount price per $1,000 face using the simplified approximation Price = 1000 / (1 + yield x months / 12). This is not a coupon-note pricing model.
• Face value purchased from the rung's capital allocation.
• Maturity date using EDATE(TODAY(), months) so the calendar follows whenever you open the file.
• Modeled cash at maturity equal to face value. Actual coupon notes also pay interest before maturity, which this simplified cash-flow treatment does not capture.

The Dashboard rolls these up into a six-tile KPI row showing weighted average yield, projected annual interest income, weighted average maturity, rung count, the next maturity in months, and a liquidity score. A second row of tiles displays capital deployed, the curve slope (10Y - 1Y), the after-tax yield at your federal rate, and the real yield versus 5-year breakeven inflation.

How the ladder works mechanically

The default sample divides $120,000 into 12 allocations of $10,000 across its modeled 1-to-36-month schedule. This is an illustration, not an instruction to buy a security at every stated tenor. Match actual maturity dates to your cash needs, and distinguish the amount invested from the face value repaid at maturity.

When a security matures, you can spend or reinvest its proceeds at the rates then available. In this default schedule, the original 15-to-36-month rungs remain outstanding after the first year, and some months have no maturity. A monthly cash-flow plan requires an actual maturity calendar; rolling the default inputs does not automatically create one.

Staggered maturities spread reinvestment dates, but do not guarantee a yield advantage. Longer notes add interest-rate sensitivity, and selling before maturity can produce a loss. Liquidity at par follows each security's actual maturity date.

Building the ladder with MarketXLS formulas in Excel

Every yield in the live template is a formula, not a static number. The base rates come from MarketXLS macroeconomic functions that read the Federal Reserve H.15 release every business day:

=TreasuryRate3M()              -> 3-month U.S. Treasury rate
=TreasuryRate1Y()              -> 1-year U.S. Treasury rate
=TreasuryRate5Y()              -> 5-year U.S. Treasury rate
=TreasuryRate10Y()             -> 10-year U.S. Treasury rate
=TreasuryInflationProtectedSecurities5Y()  -> 5-year TIPS yield
=TreasuryInflationProtectedSecurities10Y() -> 10-year TIPS yield
=BondYieldAAA()                -> Moody's AAA corporate yield
=BondYieldBAA()                -> Moody's BAA corporate yield
=CorporateBondIndexAA()        -> ICE BofA AA corporate index
=CorporateBondIndexBBB()       -> ICE BofA BBB corporate index

Formula documentation: TreasuryRate3M, TreasuryRate1Y, TreasuryRate5Y, TreasuryRate10Y, TreasuryInflationProtectedSecurities5Y, TreasuryInflationProtectedSecurities10Y, BondYieldAAA, BondYieldBAA, CorporateBondIndexAA, CorporateBondIndexBBB

For the ETF wrappers used in the comparison sheet:

=QM_Last("BIL")                -> Last price of the SPDR 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF
=DividendYield("SGOV")         -> Distribution yield of the iShares 0-3 Month T-Bill ETF
=DividendYield("SHV")          -> Distribution yield of the iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF

Formula documentation: QM_Last, DividendYield

For each rung, the workbook chooses the closest available tenor. A 6-month rung uses =TreasuryRate1Y() as a stand-in (the published CMT series we have access to does not include a separate 6-month series - for production trading, replace with the broker-quoted yield at trade time).

The discount price approximation:

=1000 / (1 + yield * months / 12)

is an educational approximation. It does not establish an executable broker price or correctly price coupon notes. Actual pricing depends on the security's yield convention, settlement date, day count, coupons and accrued interest. Verify the trade price and cash flows with the broker before submitting an order.

Reading the Dashboard

The Dashboard sheet is what someone sees on the first open of the file. It is laid out so you can answer four questions in the time it takes to scroll once:

1. What yield am I getting? The Wt Avg Yield tile collapses the whole ladder into one number.
2. How much income does that produce? The Projected Income tile multiplies your capital by that yield.
3. How long is my money tied up? The Wt Avg Maturity and Liquidity Score tiles answer this.
4. How does it stack up against alternatives? The Curve 1Y vs 10Y, After-Tax Yield, and Real Yield tiles let you compare apples to apples.

Below the tiles, the Ladder Rung Screener is a conditionally formatted table of every rung in the ladder. Yield cells are color-scaled red-amber-green, capital allocation columns get data bars, and months-to-maturity uses a 3-arrow icon set to flag short, medium, and long rungs. Two embedded charts visualize yield by rung and capital allocated by rung.

Yield curve sheet

The Yield Curve sheet pulls live rates for every Treasury tenor MarketXLS exposes: 3-month, 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year, plus the 5-year and 10-year TIPS yields and AAA/BAA corporate references. Use the curve shape to make a tactical call:

• Normal upward curve (10Y > 1Y by more than 50 basis points). Extending the longest rung from 12 months to 24 months earns extra carry. The historical average term premium is around 50-100 basis points.
• Flat curve (10Y - 1Y between 0 and 50 basis points). The current setup as of May 2026. Stay with a 12-month structure - extra duration is not paying enough to justify the lockup.
• Inverted curve (10Y < 1Y). Stay short. Money market funds and 4-week bills are paying you more than 12-month bills. The Rolling Strategy sheet explicitly handles this case with a "Curve inverts" play.

Ladder Schedule sheet

The Ladder Schedule sheet shows every rung with its purchase price, face value, yield, maturity date, and cash inflow at maturity. The maturity dates use EDATE(TODAY(), months) so they always show the calendar from today forward. A bar chart at the bottom displays the cash inflow calendar, which is the most useful single visualization for matching rung maturities to known expenses (quarterly tax payments, annual insurance premiums, college tuition).

A common refinement is a "bullet" structure that concentrates maturities around a known cash-need date. If you need $30,000 for tuition in 9 months, verify that sufficient proceeds arrive by that date; a 12-month security will not fund the payment without an earlier sale. The Inputs sheet supports per-rung weights, but actual maturity dates and proceeds must be checked against your payment schedule.

Scenario Analysis sheet

The Scenario Analysis sheet projects what your blended ladder yield looks like under seven Fed rate paths over years 1, 2, and 3. Year 1 is fixed (every rung locked at purchase). Years 2 and 3 reflect the chosen path as rungs roll into new yields.

Longer rungs retain their contracted payments while reinvested proceeds face prevailing yields. This can delay the effect of rate changes on income, but also creates market-price risk if you sell before maturity. The timing depends on the actual maturity schedule and reinvestment choices; the scenario table is a model, not a promised return or monthly cash-flow schedule.

Rolling Strategy sheet

The Rolling Strategy sheet enumerates ten common reinvestment situations and what to do in each. The default rule is simple: when a rung matures, reinvest at the longest tenor in your ladder. That preserves the rolling structure indefinitely.

The sheet also handles edge cases: what to do when the curve inverts (stay short), when the Fed cuts unexpectedly (lock the 12-month yield before further cuts price in), when the Fed hikes unexpectedly (stay short and re-roll into higher yields). These are starter rules; tune them to your tax calendar and risk tolerance. The point of writing them down is to remove discretion in moments when the news cycle tempts you to do something dumb.

Comparison sheet

The Comparison sheet places the T-bill ladder side by side with ten cash alternatives across yield, liquidity, tax treatment, insurance, minimum, and notes columns. The yield column is conditionally formatted as a heatmap so you can spot the relative attractiveness at a glance.

Three points worth highlighting:

1. Compare after-tax yields. In U.S. taxable accounts, Treasury interest is generally subject to federal tax but exempt from state and local income tax; CD interest generally does not have that state exemption. Apply your own tax rates and compare actual maturity dates rather than assuming the ladder provides monthly liquidity.
2. Money market funds are not FDIC-insured. Treasury MMFs (SGOV, BIL) hold the same instruments as your ladder but in a fund wrapper. They are protected by SIPC at the brokerage level but not by FDIC at the bank level. For most people the distinction does not matter; for someone managing operating cash for a small business with FDIC requirements, it does.
3. I-bonds have annual purchase caps. The electronic purchase limit is generally $10,000 per Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number per calendar year, subject to TreasuryDirect's registration and gift rules. The additional paper-bond tax-refund purchase route ended on January 1, 2025. See TreasuryDirect's I-bond limits and tax-refund program update.

Methodology and limitations

The Methodology sheet explains every calculation in plain English: yield source, discount price approximation, weighted average yield, after-tax yield, real yield, liquidity score, rolling rule. The Limitations section calls out four things you should know:

1. Yields are point-in-time. Bills bought on different days settle at different prices.
2. The discount price formula approximates - actual broker-quoted prices differ by 1-3 cents per $1,000.
3. The model assumes hold-to-maturity. Selling before maturity in the secondary market introduces price risk if yields rise.
4. Tax treatment varies by state, account type (taxable vs IRA), and AMT status. Consult a tax advisor.

None of these break the calculator for educational purposes. They matter when you cross from "should I do this" to "let me place the trade" and want to confirm the broker's number matches your model.

What's inside the template (sheet-by-sheet walkthrough)

Eleven sheets, each tab-color-coded:

1. Cover - branded title, subtitle, version, data-as-of date, table of contents.
2. How To Use - six-step tutorial covering inputs, dashboard reading, yield curve interpretation, maturity calendar, scenarios, and rolling strategy.
3. Inputs - yellow input cells for total capital, rung count, longest maturity, reinvestment toggle, federal and state tax rates, plus dropdowns for Fed path assumption, ladder style, and reinvestment target. Per-rung weights are also editable.
4. Dashboard - 10 KPI tiles, two embedded charts (yield by rung, capital allocated by rung), conditionally formatted rung screener.
5. Yield Curve - live Treasury rates from 3-month to 10-year, TIPS reference yields, AAA/BAA corporate references, curve chart.
6. Ladder Schedule - every rung's purchase price, face value, yield, maturity date, and cash inflow with a cash-inflow bar chart.
7. Scenario Analysis - seven Fed rate paths from -100 bps cuts to +100 bps hikes with year 1, 2, 3 yield and 3-year blended yield.
8. Rolling Strategy - ten reinvestment situations and the recommended play for each.
9. Comparison - 11 cash vehicles compared on yield, liquidity, tax, insurance, min, and notes.
10. Methodology - the math behind every calculation.
11. Glossary & Disclaimer - 22 term definitions and the standard educational notice.

Every sheet has a footer with the MarketXLS attribution and a "MarketXLS Functions Used" box listing the exact formulas that power the sheet.

Download the templates

The static sample workbook is free to download. Refreshing MarketXLS formulas in the live workbook requires a paid MarketXLS subscription.

Download the templates:

• - Pre-filled with current data; every cell shows the MarketXLS formula that would produce it as a comment.
• - Live-updating formulas; rates refresh via MarketXLS whenever you open the file.

The Sample is the right choice if you want to inspect the model before installing MarketXLS. The Template is the production version - install MarketXLS, open the workbook, watch the rates update, and start customizing.

How a T-bill ladder fits into a broader cash plan

Most people who reach for a calculator like this are not running their entire net worth in Treasuries. They are managing a cash bucket - the slice of liquid assets that sits between checking and equities. A reasonable framework:

• Operating cash (0-3 months of expenses): high-yield savings or a money market fund. Same-day liquidity matters more than yield.
• Bridge cash (3-12 months of expenses): a T-bill ladder with monthly maturities. Earns the curve, returns cash on a calendar.
• Reserve cash (12+ months of expenses): extend the ladder out to 24-36 months, or layer in I-bonds for inflation protection.

The Comparison sheet in the template helps you allocate across these buckets. The Scenario Analysis sheet helps you think about the duration risk you take on by extending the ladder.

For a portfolio-management view of cash within a broader allocation, see the MarketXLS Portfolio Management features - the same workbook can hold cash, equities, options, and fixed income in one place.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How is a Treasury bill ladder different from a CD ladder?

A: Mechanically very similar - both stagger maturities to provide rolling liquidity. The differences are tax treatment (Treasury interest is state-tax-exempt; CD interest is fully taxed), credit (Treasuries are direct U.S. government obligations; CDs depend on FDIC insurance up to $250k per bank), and liquidity (Treasuries trade in the secondary market every business day; breaking a CD typically costs 3-6 months of interest). For taxable accounts in high-tax states, the after-tax yield on T-bills usually beats CDs of the same tenor.

Q: What is the minimum to start a T-bill ladder?

A: TreasuryDirect sells T-bills in $100 increments, so technically $1,200 will fund a 12-rung ladder at $100 per rung. Most brokers (Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard) offer T-bills in $1,000 increments through their bond desks. A practical floor for the 12-rung structure is $12,000 to $15,000. The template's default sample uses $120,000 to make the dollar-amounts clearer; the math is identical at any scale.

Q: How often do I need to manage the ladder?

A: Review the ladder at each actual maturity date and whenever your cash needs change. The default schedule has gaps between maturities, so it does not call for a reinvestment every month. Confirm available terms and settlement timing with your broker before rolling proceeds into another security.

Q: Can I build a Treasury bill ladder inside an IRA?

A: Yes. Most retail brokers let you trade T-bills in IRAs through the same bond desk used for taxable accounts. The state tax exemption is moot inside an IRA (everything grows tax-deferred or tax-free), so the calculus shifts: pre-tax yield is what matters, and the comparison sheet's CDs and corporate bonds become more attractive on an apples-to-apples basis.

Q: What happens to my ladder if rates change suddenly?

A: Fixed-rate securities retain their contracted payments, but their market prices can change when rates move. Reinvested proceeds earn the yields available at that time. The Scenario Analysis sheet illustrates possible paths; its results depend on maturity dates, cash flows and reinvestment assumptions, and should not be treated as a forecast.

Q: Do I have to use MarketXLS to use this template?

A: The Sample version works without MarketXLS - all values are pre-filled from May 5, 2026 reference data, and every cell carries a comment showing the MarketXLS formula that would produce it. The Template version uses live formulas and requires MarketXLS to refresh rates. You can still open the Template version without MarketXLS - the formulas show as text errors, but the structure, formatting, and methodology are intact.

Q: How do I customize the ladder for a different time horizon?

A: Open the Inputs sheet. Change "Longest Maturity (months)" to 24 or 36 for a longer ladder. Adjust the Months column on each rung row to redistribute. The Dashboard, Ladder Schedule, Scenario Analysis, and Rolling Strategy sheets all reference the Inputs sheet, so the entire workbook recalculates with one change.

The Bottom Line

A Treasury ladder provides a schedule for reviewing cash needs and reinvesting maturities. U.S. government backing and the state-tax treatment of Treasury interest can be useful, but suitability depends on costs, taxes, actual maturity dates and the risk of selling before maturity. This template's mixed-maturity illustration needs an instrument-specific cash-flow check before use for an investment decision.

The calculator above turns every calculation into a transparent, editable spreadsheet you can audit cell-by-cell. The dashboard answers the four questions a saver actually cares about (what yield, what income, how long locked, versus what alternatives) in the time it takes to open the file.

Use the model to explore scenarios, then verify the securities and cash-flow schedule against your cash plan.

For deeper Treasury, fixed-income, and macro modeling in Excel, see MarketXLS for fixed income or book a demo to see the full library of macroeconomic and yield-curve functions in action.