A marketable U.S. government debt security with a fixed interest rate and a maturity between one and 10 years. Treasury notes can be bought either directly from the U.S. government or through a bank. 

When buying Treasury notes from the government, you can either put in a competitive or noncompetitive bid. With a competitive bid, you specify the yield you want; however, this does not mean that your bid will be approved. With a noncompetitive bid, you accept whatever yield is determined at auction. 



|||Treasury notes are extremely popular investments as there is a large secondary market that adds to their liquidity. Interest payments on the notes are made every six months until maturity. The income for interest payments is not taxable on a municipal or state level but is federally taxed.