PPF Calculator

A PPF calculator estimates your Public Provident Fund maturity amount based on your annual contribution, the government's interest rate, and the 15-year tenure. Enter your planned yearly deposit (between ₹500 and ₹1.5 lakh) and the tool applies compound interest — currently 7.1% per annum for FY 2026-27, compounded annually. It instantly shows three numbers: total invested, total interest earned, and final maturity corpus. Behind the scenes, interest is calculated monthly on the lowest balance between the 5th and last day of each month, then credited on 31st March — which is why deposit timing matters.

Deposit the entire ₹1.5 lakh on or before 5th April to maximise interest across the full financial year. PPF interest is calculated on the lowest balance between the 5th and end of each month — deposit on 6th April and you lose an entire month of interest on that contribution. Investing the full ₹1.5 lakh limit every year for 15 years at 7.1% yields a maturity corpus of approximately ₹40.7 lakh (₹22.5 lakh principal + ₹18.2 lakh tax-free interest). For lump-sum investors, front-loading before 5th April beats monthly SIP-style deposits and can add ₹30,000+ to the final corpus over 15 years.

The minimum annual deposit is ₹500 and the maximum is ₹1.5 lakh, combined across ALL your PPF accounts in the same financial year (April to March). You can split this into up to 12 deposits — monthly, quarterly, or one lump sum. Deposits above ₹1.5 lakh earn no interest and get no 80C tax benefit, so there's no reason to exceed the cap. Miss the ₹500 minimum in any year and the account becomes inactive — revival requires paying the shortfall plus a ₹50 penalty per missed year.

Yes — PPF enjoys EEE (Exempt-Exempt-Exempt) tax status: your deposit qualifies for Section 80C deduction up to ₹1.5 lakh, the yearly interest is tax-free, and the maturity corpus is fully exempt from income tax. This makes PPF one of the very few Indian investments with three-layer tax protection. Interest is tax-free for everyone regardless of age, income bracket, or TDS rules. The ₹1.5 lakh 80C limit is shared with other instruments like ELSS, life insurance, EPF, and tax-saving FDs — so plan your 80C basket to maximise deductions.

Yes — partial withdrawal is allowed from the 7th financial year onwards, up to 50% of the balance at the end of the 4th preceding year. Only one withdrawal per year is permitted, and it's tax-free. Full premature closure is allowed only after completing 5 years, and only for specific reasons: life-threatening illness of self or family, higher education of the account holder or children, or change in residency status. Premature closure attracts a 1% interest penalty — meaning you get interest calculated at 1% less than the declared rate for all years. Loans against PPF are available between years 3 and 6 at 1% above the PPF rate.

Yes — PPF can be extended indefinitely in 5-year blocks after the 15-year lock-in ends. You have three options. Option 1: Extend with contributions — submit Form H within one year of maturity and keep depositing up to ₹1.5 lakh/year to earn tax-free compound interest on both old and new money. Option 2: Extend without contributions — your existing balance keeps earning interest tax-free, and you can make one withdrawal per year of any amount. Option 3: Withdraw the full maturity — close the account and take everything tax-free. Once you choose Option 2 you cannot switch back to making deposits, so decide carefully at year 15.

Yes — you can take a loan against your PPF balance from the 3rd to the 6th financial year after account opening. The loan limit is 25% of the balance at the end of the 2nd year preceding the loan. Interest is charged at 1% above the prevailing PPF rate (so roughly 8.1% at current 7.1% PPF rate), and the loan must be repaid within 36 months. If unpaid, the outstanding interest jumps to 6% above the PPF rate. You cannot take a fresh loan until the previous one is fully repaid. After the 6th year, you can use partial withdrawal instead — which is interest-free and non-repayable.

Yes — PPF is worth investing if you want guaranteed, tax-free, risk-free returns for long-term goals like retirement or a child's education. At 7.1% tax-free, PPF beats a bank FD at 7% taxable (a 30% tax-bracket investor earns just 4.9% post-tax on FD interest) and easily beats a savings account's 3–4% taxable return. Compared to equity mutual funds (12–14% long-term) PPF earns less, but offers zero volatility — ideal for the safe portion of your portfolio. NPS has higher potential via equity exposure but forces 40% annuity at retirement, making PPF more flexible. Skip PPF if you're under 40 with high risk appetite and want equity upside, you need short-term liquidity (PPF is 15-year lock-in), or your Section 80C limit of ₹1.5 lakh is already filled by EPF, life insurance, or home loan principal. Best strategy: use PPF as the safe debt portion of a balanced portfolio alongside equity mutual funds — not as your only investment.

Only resident Indian individuals can open a new PPF account, and each person is limited to one active PPF account. Parents or legal guardians can open PPF accounts for minor children, and each child's account has its own ₹1.5 lakh limit — but the combined family deduction under Section 80C is still capped at ₹1.5 lakh per taxpayer. NRIs cannot open new PPF accounts, and if a resident PPF holder becomes an NRI, the existing account continues until 15-year maturity on a non-repatriable basis with no extension allowed. HUFs (Hindu Undivided Families) cannot open PPF accounts since the 2005 rule change. Joint accounts are not permitted — PPF is strictly single-holder with a nominee.

You can open a PPF account at any authorised bank (SBI, ICICI, HDFC, Axis, PNB, etc.) or any India Post office branch. Interest rates and rules are identical everywhere — choose based on branch convenience and online banking quality. Required documents: PAN card (mandatory since 2016), Aadhaar card, two passport-size photos, and address proof. Most major banks (SBI YONO, ICICI iMobile, HDFC NetBanking) now offer instant online PPF opening for existing customers via Aadhaar e-KYC — no branch visit needed. You can transfer your PPF between banks or to/from the post office free of cost using Form-4, without losing tenure or interest.

If you miss the ₹500 minimum deposit in any financial year, your PPF account becomes inactive — you stop earning interest on fresh deposits and cannot take a loan or withdraw. Your existing balance still earns interest, so money isn't lost. To revive, submit a written revival application plus a penalty of ₹50 per missed year and the ₹500 minimum for each of those years. For example, if you missed 3 years, you pay ₹50 × 3 = ₹150 penalty plus ₹500 × 3 = ₹1,500 in back-deposits. Revival must happen before the 15-year maturity — an inactive account cannot be revived once it matures. Regularity matters: the compounding benefit compounds only when deposits are consistent, so set up a standing instruction to auto-debit before 5th April each year.

The five costliest PPF mistakes are: depositing after 5th April, exceeding the ₹1.5 lakh yearly cap, missing the ₹500 minimum, opening multiple accounts, and withdrawing at maturity instead of extending. Late-month deposits lose a full month of interest — over 15 years, that's ₹30,000+ in lost corpus for a ₹1.5L investor. Depositing above ₹1.5 lakh earns zero interest on the excess and no tax break. Opening a second PPF account is illegal — the second account is frozen and only the principal is returned without interest. Closing at year 15 when you don't need the money is also a mistake: extending with contributions under Form H gives you another 5 years of tax-free compounding, which can almost double the corpus from ₹40.7L to ₹73L by year 25. Finally, don't over-allocate to PPF alone — it's best used as the safe portion of a balanced portfolio alongside equity.