As mentioned in Where Can You Buy TIPS, you can buy TIPS directly from the U.S. Treasury at one of its TIPS auctions. There are several good reasons for buying TIPS from auctions.

You can buy TIPS from auctions through TreasuryDirect or a brokerage account. Fees and minimum purchase amount vary.

How do you know when the Treasury Department will hold an auction and for what issues the auction will be? Right now the Treasury Department sells TIPS by auction only a few times a year. Their schedule looks like this:

A few days before the actual auction happens, the Treasury Department publishes an official auction announcement on their website. The announcement lists the key terms for the bond that will be auctioned. You should read the announcement before you decide to buy from the auction.