How do I borrow against a cd and how do I pay it back

Go to your bank that holds the CD. Since you have the money in their bank and they don't have to worry about you paying it back, they will charge you a nominal interest rate and keep your money locked down until you pay them back. Years ago banks loaned money against regular savings accounts and advanced notice withdrawal accounts and lots of people knew about it and used the loans. Interest used to be 1 1/2% per year above the rate of interest the Savings or CD was earning. Usually, you could set your own payback specs, except they liked to have you pay the interest on a schedule, monthly, yearly, whatever. You pay it back just like you pay your other bills, by mail or in person, even on-line, directly to the lender. It is really a better way to borrow since you have the means to repay the loan, the interest rate should be very competitive, and the bank would be crazy to turn you down!

If you have long term CD with a rate that is considerably above current rates, and you are certain you will repay the loan soon, borrowing may be the way to go. But before borrowing against your CD, consider redeeming it. You will probably have to pay and early redemption fee. But that may be less than the interest

Compare the interest you will pay on the loan to the interest you will earn for the remaining term of the CD. Then compare the net interest gain to the early redemption penalty. Don't overlook the tax considerations. The penalty on savings withdrawals are deducted from your income when filing taxes. So the tax savings will lessen the effective penalty. (You don't need to itemize to gain this benefit.) The loan interest has no tax benefit.

Also keep in mind that if for some reason it takes longer to repay than you planned, the loan could will end up costing you more.