A Payroll Zero-Percent Certificate of Indebtedness, or Payroll C of I, is a Treasury security that pays no interest whatsoever. It existed for one reason: to temporarily hold money that investors planned to put toward Series EE or Series I Savings Bonds through the Payroll Savings Plan.
The Payroll Savings Plan was shut down on January 31, 2025. No new payroll allotments or direct deposits can be directed into a Payroll C of I going forward.
If you have funds sitting in a Payroll C of I, cashing out is straightforward. Log in to TreasuryDirect, go to ManageDirect, and click the Redeem Securities link. From there, choose whether you want to pull out the full balance or just part of it, then select which bank account you want the money sent to.
Worth noting: since the Payroll C of I earns zero interest, there’s no reason to leave money in it any longer than necessary. Redeeming sooner rather than later is the obvious call.