A saver sitting on $100,000 in cash right now has a genuinely good problem: three low-risk places to park it, all paying around 4%, each with a different trade-off hiding beneath the headline number. A high-yield savings account at 4.1% APY throws off roughly $4,100 in gross interest over 12 months. A top-paying one-year CD can match that figure while locking the rate in place. And a Treasury bill ladder, yielding close to 4% on the secondary market, quietly beats both after taxes for millions of Americans who live in states that tax income.
With the Federal Reserve’s H.15 rate release from April 14, 2026, pegging the 13-week T-bill discount rate at 3.96% and the 26-week rate at 3.93%, and the FDIC’s March 2026 national rate survey confirming that average bank CD yields still lag the best online offers, there is enough official data to run a real comparison. Meanwhile, rate-tracking site DepositAccounts lists several online banks offering HYSAs at or near 4.1% APY as of late April 2026. Here is what $100,000 actually earns in each vehicle, and which one makes sense depending on your tax situation, your need for liquidity, and your read on where rates are headed.
The HYSA: $4,100 gross, full flexibility, full tax exposure
At 4.1% APY, $100,000 in a high-yield savings account produces approximately $4,100 over one year. Because APY already factors in compounding, that number holds whether the bank compounds daily or monthly. The rate towers over the national savings average the FDIC tracks for standard accounts at brick-and-mortar banks, which has stayed below 1% for years. Online banks have been the ones pushing yields higher, competing for deposits they then lend out or invest. As of late April 2026, aggregators such as Bankrate and DepositAccounts show top-tier HYSAs clustered between 4.0% and 4.15% APY.
The catch is that 4.1% is not a promise. It is a snapshot. HYSA rates are variable, and banks adjust them, usually downward, whenever the Federal Reserve cuts its benchmark. Several market-pricing tools, including the CME FedWatch indicator, show traders assigning meaningful probability to at least one Fed rate cut before the end of 2026. If that happens, a 4.1% HYSA could drift to 3.8% or lower before December, trimming the year’s total interest below $4,100.
What you get in return for that uncertainty is access. Most online banks allow same-day or next-business-day transfers, making a HYSA the most liquid option of the three. And because $100,000 falls well within the FDIC’s $250,000-per-depositor, per-bank insurance limit, both principal and accrued interest are fully protected if the bank fails.
The one-year CD: locked rate, locked money
The FDIC’s March 2026 survey puts the national-average yield on a 12-month CD at roughly 1.8%, well below the top HYSA rates. That gap has persisted for several years as online banks compete aggressively for deposits. But averages obscure the best deals. Promotional one-year CDs at individual banks and credit unions can approach or occasionally exceed 4.1%, particularly for balances of $100,000 or more. A saver who locks in a 4.1% CD earns the same $4,100 gross as the HYSA, with one critical difference: the rate cannot change for the full term.
That certainty costs you flexibility. Early-withdrawal penalties on 12-month CDs typically range from 90 to 180 days of interest, according to disclosures compiled by Bankrate. Pull the money out at month six and you could forfeit $1,000 to $2,000 of what you earned. The SEC’s investor education page on CDs also warns savers to distinguish traditional bank CDs from brokered CDs, which may carry different liquidity characteristics and issuer risks.
For someone confident the $100,000 can stay untouched for a year, a CD eliminates the rate-drop risk that hangs over every variable HYSA. For everyone else, the penalty math deserves a hard look before signing.
Treasury bills: similar yield, lighter tax bill
The Fed’s April 14, 2026, H.15 release shows secondary-market discount rates on 3-month T-bills at 3.96% and 6-month T-bills at 3.93%. At those levels, a $100,000 T-bill ladder rolling 13-week or 26-week bills through the year would generate pre-tax income in the neighborhood of $4,000. The mechanics differ from a bank deposit: T-bills are sold at a discount to face value. An investor might pay roughly $99,000 for a 26-week bill and receive $100,000 at maturity, with the $1,000 gap representing interest.
Small investors can buy T-bills directly through TreasuryDirect.gov by placing a noncompetitive bid at auction, which guarantees the same yield large institutional bidders receive. T-bills also trade on the secondary market through any standard brokerage account, where prices reflect current yields in real time.
The real payoff shows up on your tax return. Under IRS rules outlined in Publication 550, Treasury interest is subject to federal income tax but exempt from state and local income taxes. HYSA and CD interest gets taxed at both levels. For a saver in a state with a 5% income tax rate, that exemption on $4,000 of T-bill interest saves about $200 a year. At a 7% state rate, the savings climb to roughly $280. In high-tax states like California or New York, where top marginal rates exceed 10%, the gap widens further, and T-bills can deliver the highest after-tax return of the three even when their headline yield trails the HYSA by a few tenths of a percent.
Residents of states with no income tax, including Texas, Florida, and Washington, do not benefit from this exemption. For them, the T-bill advantage narrows to a question of credit quality (the full faith and credit of the U.S. government versus FDIC insurance) and personal preference.
The side-by-side math on $100,000
Here is a simplified comparison assuming a full year, a 24% federal tax bracket, and a 5% state income tax rate:
- 4.1% HYSA: $4,100 gross interest. Federal tax: ~$984. State tax: ~$205. After-tax income: ~$2,911.
- 4.1% one-year CD: $4,100 gross interest. Federal tax: ~$984. State tax: ~$205. After-tax income: ~$2,911. (Identical to the HYSA if rates match, but the money is locked for 12 months.)
- ~4.0% T-bill ladder: ~$4,000 gross interest. Federal tax: ~$960. State tax: $0. After-tax income: ~$3,040.
In this scenario, T-bills deliver roughly $129 more in after-tax income than the bank products, despite a slightly lower headline yield. Raise the state tax rate to 10% and the T-bill advantage grows to about $270. Drop the state rate to zero and the HYSA wins on both yield and convenience.
These figures are illustrative. Your actual bracket, deductions, and the specific rates you lock in will shift the numbers. But the pattern holds: the state-tax exemption, codified in federal statute (31 U.S.C. § 3124), gives T-bills a structural edge for savers in income-tax states.
What could shift before December
None of these numbers are guaranteed for the full calendar year. The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate steady through early 2026, but futures pricing as of mid-April suggests traders see a real chance of one or more cuts before December. A cut would push HYSA rates lower almost immediately, reduce yields at future T-bill auctions, and make existing fixed-rate CDs more valuable by comparison.
Savers who believe rates are headed down have a reason to lock in a CD now, capturing today’s yield for a full 12 months. Those who think rates will hold steady or rise may prefer the flexibility of a HYSA or the rolling nature of a short-term T-bill ladder, which reprices at each auction.
Tax law changes could also alter the calculus, though the state-tax exemption on Treasury interest is longstanding and not at risk from routine legislative turnover. More relevant for most savers: changes to federal marginal rates or the standard deduction in any future tax package could shift the after-tax math for all three vehicles.
Choosing by liquidity need, rate outlook, and state tax bracket
Do you need the money on short notice? A HYSA is hard to beat: competitive yield, near-instant access, FDIC insurance, and zero penalties. It is the default choice for an emergency fund or any cash you might need within the year.
Can you commit the full $100,000 for 12 months? A top-paying one-year CD offers rate certainty that a HYSA cannot. If you are worried about Fed cuts eroding your yield, locking in now removes that risk.
Do you live in a state with income tax? A T-bill ladder quietly delivers the best after-tax return of the three for most savers in income-tax states, often by a margin of $100 to $300 a year on a $100,000 balance. Buying through TreasuryDirect or a brokerage account takes about 15 minutes to set up.
The differences across these three options are not dramatic. All of them keep principal safe and generate roughly $4,000 in annual interest on $100,000. But “roughly the same” is not “exactly the same,” and for savers willing to spend half an hour understanding the trade-offs, the right pick can mean a few hundred extra dollars by the end of 2026.
