Last updated: July 2026

5-Year CD Calculator

A 5-year CD is the longest standard CD term offered by most banks — the highest rate when the yield curve slopes up, and the largest compounding effect of any common term.

Calculate a 5-Year CD

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Use the APY from your bank's offer — already includes compounding.

CD Term
5-Year CD (60 months)

Use the full calculator to pick a different term.

Maturity Value
—
Matures on —
Initial Deposit —
Total Interest Earned —
APY —
Term 5-Year CD

Need an early-withdrawal penalty estimate or growth chart? Open the full CD calculator →

A 5-year CD commits funds for 60 months in exchange for a fixed APY. It's the longest standard term most banks offer (a few have 7- or 10-year options, but they're uncommon), so it locks in today's rate for the longest meaningful window. In a normal upward-sloping yield curve, 5-year CDs pay the highest APY of any single CD term; in flat or inverted curves, they may pay the same or slightly less than 3-year CDs but still anchor the long end of any ladder.

Common uses: low-volatility long-term savings, a 5-year ladder's longest rung, retirement-side IRA CDs, or money earmarked for an expense roughly five years out (a college tuition payment, a planned move, a major renovation). A $10,000 5-year CD at 4.50% APY grows to about $12,461.82 over the term — roughly $2,461.82 in compound interest, more than 5× the 1-year return at the same rate because of compounding inside the CD.

5-Year CD Interest by Deposit and APY

Total interest earned (and maturity value) on a 5-year cd at common deposit sizes and APYs, calculated as Deposit × (1 + APY)5 − Deposit.

Deposit 4.00% APY4.25% APY4.50% APY4.75% APY5.00% APY
$1,000
$216.65
$1,216.65 total
$231.35
$1,231.35 total
$246.18
$1,246.18 total
$261.16
$1,261.16 total
$276.28
$1,276.28 total
$5,000
$1,083.26
$6,083.26 total
$1,156.73
$6,156.73 total
$1,230.91
$6,230.91 total
$1,305.80
$6,305.80 total
$1,381.41
$6,381.41 total
$10,000
$2,166.53
$12,166.53 total
$2,313.47
$12,313.47 total
$2,461.82
$12,461.82 total
$2,611.60
$12,611.60 total
$2,762.82
$12,762.82 total
$25,000
$5,416.32
$30,416.32 total
$5,783.67
$30,783.67 total
$6,154.55
$31,154.55 total
$6,529.00
$31,529.00 total
$6,907.04
$31,907.04 total
$50,000
$10,832.65
$60,832.65 total
$11,567.33
$61,567.33 total
$12,309.10
$62,309.10 total
$13,058.00
$63,058.00 total
$13,814.08
$63,814.08 total
$100,000
$21,665.29
$121,665.29 total
$23,134.66
$123,134.66 total
$24,618.19
$124,618.19 total
$26,115.99
$126,115.99 total
$27,628.16
$127,628.16 total

Top number: interest earned over the 5-year cd term. Bottom number: maturity value (deposit + interest). Linked deposit amounts open the deposit-anchored CD calculator page with full APY × term tables.

5-Year CD: Real Return After Inflation

At 4.50% APY on a $10,000 deposit, here is what a 5-year cd's nominal interest is worth after inflation eats some of the purchasing power. Real return uses the Fisher relation: (1 + APY) / (1 + inflation) − 1.

Inflation Assumption Real Interest Nominal Interest Real Maturity Value
2.5% (long-run CPI average) $1,014.43 $2,461.82 $11,014.43
3.0% (recent average) $749.67 $2,461.82 $10,749.67
3.5% (above-target) $492.52 $2,461.82 $10,492.52

Real interest = inflation-adjusted purchasing-power gain. Nominal interest is the dollar amount the bank credits. See the inflation calculator to model other rates.

5-Year CD Interest After Federal Tax

CD interest is taxed as ordinary income each year. Below: net interest earned on a 5-year cd at 4.50% APY after federal income tax at common marginal brackets, for several deposit sizes. State tax (where applicable) is on top of these numbers. Holding the CD inside a traditional IRA defers this tax until withdrawal.

Federal Bracket $10,000$25,000$50,000
12% bracket
$2,166.40
−$295.42 tax
$5,416.00
−$738.55 tax
$10,832.01
−$1,477.09 tax
22% bracket
$1,920.22
−$541.60 tax
$4,800.55
−$1,354.00 tax
$9,601.10
−$2,708.00 tax
24% bracket
$1,870.98
−$590.84 tax
$4,677.46
−$1,477.09 tax
$9,354.91
−$2,954.18 tax
32% bracket
$1,674.04
−$787.78 tax
$4,185.09
−$1,969.46 tax
$8,370.19
−$3,938.91 tax
35% bracket
$1,600.18
−$861.64 tax
$4,000.46
−$2,154.09 tax
$8,000.91
−$4,308.18 tax

Top number: net interest after federal tax. Bottom number: federal tax owed. Multi-year CD interest is taxed each year as it accrues.

When a 5-year CD makes sense

Five years is a long time to be certain about, and that is the point: you are buying a guaranteed rate for the longest window most banks offer. It makes most sense when you believe rates are near a peak and heading down, because you keep today's yield while new savers get less.

The penalty deserves real attention at this term. A twelve-month early-withdrawal penalty on a $10,000 CD at 4.50% is about $450 — roughly 18% of the $2,461.82 the CD would earn over the full five years. Breaking a 5-year CD early is materially more expensive than breaking a short one, so only money you are genuinely sure about belongs here.

It is also the classic IRA CD term, where the long lock-up matters less because the money was not going to be touched anyway and the tax treatment does the extra work.

5-year CD vs. Treasury notes

At five years, Treasurys become a serious alternative in a way they are not at six months. A 5-year Treasury note carries comparable safety and one significant advantage: the interest is exempt from state and local income tax.

That exemption can outweigh a lower headline rate. On $10,000, a CD at 4.50% and a Treasury at 4.40% look close — but a California resident in the 9.3% state bracket keeps the full Treasury interest while losing roughly 9% of the CD interest to state tax. The lower advertised rate nets more.

In a state with no income tax the advantage disappears and the CD wins outright, so this genuinely depends on where you live. Treasurys are also sellable on the secondary market before maturity — at whatever price prevailing rates imply — whereas a CD offers only the penalty. Check your bracket with the income tax calculator before choosing.

5-Year CD: Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a 5-year CD earn? +

A 5-year CD earns deposit × ((1 + APY)⁵ − 1) in compound interest. At 4.50% APY: $10,000 earns $2,461.82, $25,000 earns $6,154.55, $50,000 earns $12,309.10, and $100,000 earns $24,618.20. At 5.00% APY: $10,000 earns $2,762.82, $25,000 earns $6,907.04, $50,000 earns $13,814.08, and $100,000 earns $27,628.16. Compounding for 5 years is what makes the longer-term return meaningfully higher per year than a 1-year CD held five times back to back.

Is a 5-year CD worth it in a rising-rate environment? +

It depends on whether you think rates will rise above your locked-in APY. If you expect rates to climb significantly during the 5 years, the locked-in CD becomes a relative drag — you can't take advantage of higher rates without paying an early-withdrawal penalty. If you expect rates to stay flat or fall, the 5-year CD looks better and better as time passes. A common compromise is a CD ladder, which trades a slightly lower average rate for the ability to roll a maturing rung into a higher-rate CD each year if rates do rise.

What is the early-withdrawal penalty on a 5-year CD? +

Most 5-year CDs charge 6 to 12 months of interest as the early-withdrawal penalty. On a $10,000 5-year CD at 4.50% APY, a 12-month penalty is about $450. The penalty is calculated against the deposit, so withdrawing very early — before enough interest has accrued — can reduce your principal. Some no-penalty CDs exist with shorter terms but rarely at 5 years, and the rate is usually 0.50 percentage points or more below a standard 5-year CD.

Should I open a 5-year CD or split the money into a CD ladder? +

A single 5-year CD usually earns slightly more total interest than a 5-rung ladder of the same total deposit when the yield curve slopes up, because every dollar gets the highest rate for the full 5 years. The ladder usually earns less but gives you a maturing rung every year — you can access ~20% of the funds annually without paying any penalty. The ladder also reduces reinvestment risk: if rates rise, you can roll a maturing rung into a higher-rate CD. Use the CD Ladder Calculator linked below to compare the dollar-level trade-off for your specific deposit.

How is a 5-year CD taxed? +

CD interest is taxed as ordinary federal income in the year it is credited to your account, even if you don't physically withdraw it. So a 5-year CD generates a Form 1099-INT every year, not just at maturity. On a $10,000 5-year CD at 4.50% APY, year-1 interest is about $450, year-2 about $470, etc. — all reportable annually. Holding a 5-year CD inside a traditional IRA defers this tax until withdrawal in retirement; inside a Roth IRA, the interest grows tax-free if Roth rules are met.

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