Bond Current Yield Calculator
A bond's current yield tells you the cash income it pays each year as a percentage of what it costs today. Enter the face value, coupon rate, and current market price below to get the annual coupon in dollars and the current yield. Current yield ignores any gain or loss at maturity, so it differs from yield to maturity. It is most useful for comparing the income return of bonds trading at different prices.
Current yield formula
Annual coupon = face value * coupon rate
Current yield = (annual coupon / current price) * 100
The coupon rate is applied to the face value, not the market price, to get the dollar coupon. Current yield then divides that fixed coupon by today's price.
Worked example
$1,000 face value, 5 percent coupon, priced at $950:
- Annual coupon = 1,000 * 0.05 = $50.00.
- Current yield = (50 / 950) * 100 = 5.26 percent.
Bond current yield: frequently asked questions
What is a bond's current yield?
Current yield is the bond's annual coupon income divided by its current market price, expressed as a percentage. It measures the cash return you earn at today's price, ignoring any gain or loss if you hold to maturity. The formula is current yield = annual coupon / current price.
How is current yield different from yield to maturity?
Current yield only looks at annual coupon income relative to price. Yield to maturity also accounts for the difference between the purchase price and the face value repaid at maturity, plus the time value of money. For a bond bought below par, yield to maturity is higher than current yield; for one bought above par, it is lower.
How do I find the annual coupon in dollars?
Multiply the bond's face (par) value by its coupon rate. A $1,000 bond with a 5 percent coupon pays $50 a year. This calculator lets you enter either the annual coupon directly, or the face value and coupon rate, to compute it.
Why does current yield move opposite to price?
Because the coupon payment is fixed in dollars, a higher price means that fixed coupon is a smaller percentage of what you paid, so the current yield falls. When the price drops, the same coupon becomes a larger percentage, so the current yield rises. Yield and price move in opposite directions.
Official sources
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov: Bonds.
- TreasuryDirect, U.S. Department of the Treasury: Treasury Bonds.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 19 June 2026. See our methodology.