Article

Municipal Bond

August 22, 2026 · Aditya Gupta

Investing

Municipal bonds (munis) are debt securities issued by state and local governments to finance public projects. Interest is exempt from federal income tax and usually exempt from state income tax in the issuing state. This tax exemption makes munis particularly attractive to high-income earners in high-tax states (California, New York, New Jersey). Calculate taxable-equivalent yield: muni yield / (1 – marginal tax rate). A 4% muni yield in a 32% federal bracket equals a 5.88% taxable-equivalent yield. Risks: credit (municipality defaults), liquidity (some munis trade thinly), and call (issuer pays off early). Diversify via VTEB, MUB ETFs.

Investing

Related terms

Back to the finance glossary