PPF Calculator

Enter the amount you deposit each year and the PPF rate. The calculator builds the balance year by year over the 15-year term, or longer if you plan to extend in 5-year blocks.

How to use the PPF calculator

1. Yearly deposit: the total you will put into PPF each financial year, between ₹500 and ₹1,50,000. The calculator does not accept more than ₹1.5 lakh, because the scheme does not allow it.
2. PPF interest rate: the current rate notified by the government. It has been 7.1% for several years, but it is reviewed every quarter.
3. Period: 15 years for the basic term, or 20, 25 years and so on if you plan to extend in five-year blocks.

The result shows the maturity value, the total you deposited and the interest earned. The table lists each year’s opening balance, deposit, interest and closing balance.

How PPF interest is calculated

PPF interest is worked out every month on the lowest balance in the account between the close of the 5th day and the end of the month. It is added to the account once a year, on 31 March. That rule makes timing important:

• A deposit made on or before 5 April earns interest for the whole financial year.
• A deposit made on 6 April misses April’s interest.
• Monthly deposits made after the 5th each month lose a month of interest on each instalment.

The calculator assumes you deposit the whole year’s amount before 5 April and the rate stays the same throughout. Each year it adds the deposit, then adds a full year of interest on the new balance.

With the defaults, ₹1,50,000 a year at 7.1% for 15 years:

• Total deposited: ₹22,50,000
• Interest earned: about ₹18,18,209
• Maturity value: about ₹40,68,209

Since PPF is tax-free, that entire ₹40.68 lakh is yours to keep.

Reading the table

The yearly table shows how the interest builds up. In year 1, ₹1.5 lakh earns ₹10,650. In year 2, the balance is ₹3,10,650 before interest, which earns ₹22,056. By year 8 the interest for the year is about ₹1.10 lakh, and in year 15 it is about ₹2.70 lakh, far more than the yearly deposit itself. That growth is why the first deposits matter so much and why extending the account after 15 years is usually worthwhile if you do not need the money. If you skip a year’s deposit, the table shows only what you lose directly; the real cost is larger because that year’s money would also have earned interest on interest for every remaining year.

The effect of extending

After maturity, you can extend the account in blocks of five years as many times as you like, with or without further deposits. Keeping the full ₹1.5 lakh a year going:

Period	Deposited	Interest	Maturity value
15 years	₹22.5 lakh	₹18.18 lakh	₹40.68 lakh
20 years	₹30.0 lakh	₹36.58 lakh	₹66.58 lakh
25 years	₹37.5 lakh	₹65.58 lakh	₹1.03 crore

Five more years adds about ₹26 lakh, and ten more years takes the balance past ₹1 crore. The last years are the most productive because interest is earned on a large tax-free balance.

To extend with deposits, submit the extension form at the post office or bank within one year of maturity. If you do not submit it, the account continues without deposits and still earns interest, but any deposit you make will not earn interest and will not qualify for tax deduction.

Tax treatment: EEE

PPF is one of the few products that are exempt at all three stages:

• Deposits qualify for a deduction of up to ₹1.5 lakh under Section 80C, in the old tax regime only.
• Interest credited each year is tax-free.
• The maturity amount is tax-free.

In the new tax regime, which is the default, there is no 80C deduction, but the interest and maturity are still tax-free. That still makes PPF attractive compared with taxable deposits. At a 30% slab, a fully taxable FD would need to pay about 10.3% before tax to match 7.1% tax-free.

Withdrawals and loans

PPF money is locked in, with some flexibility:

• Loans are available from the third to the sixth financial year, up to 25% of the balance at the end of the second year before the loan application.
• Partial withdrawals are allowed once a year from the seventh financial year, up to 50% of the balance at the end of the fourth year before, or the end of the previous year, whichever is lower.
• Premature closure is allowed after five years only for specific reasons, such as serious illness, higher education or a change of residence abroad, with a 1% interest penalty.

So PPF suits money you are sure you will not need for at least seven years.

Rules worth knowing

• One PPF account per person. You can open one for a minor child as guardian, but the combined deposit across your account and the child’s is still capped at ₹1.5 lakh a year.
• Joint accounts are not allowed.
• At least ₹500 must be deposited each year, or the account becomes inactive. It can be revived with a penalty of ₹50 for each year missed plus the minimum deposits.
• You can deposit in a lump sum or in instalments during the year, up to the limit.
• NRIs cannot open new PPF accounts. An account opened as a resident can continue until maturity.
• The account matures 15 years from the end of the financial year in which it was opened, so it actually runs a little over 15 years.

How the rate affects the result

The government sets the rate every quarter based on government bond yields. The rate has been as high as 8.7% in the past and was 7.1% at the time of writing. At 6.5% instead of 7.1%, the 15-year maturity on ₹1.5 lakh a year would be about ₹38.63 lakh, roughly ₹2 lakh less. Try a few rates to see the range, and remember that the rate applies to the whole balance, not just new deposits, so a cut affects past savings too.

Smaller deposits

You do not have to deposit the maximum. ₹50,000 a year at 7.1% for 15 years grows to about ₹13.56 lakh, from ₹7.5 lakh deposited. Even modest yearly deposits build a useful tax-free amount, and you can raise the deposit in later years whenever your budget allows.

PPF compared with other options

• An FD gives liquidity and choice of tenure, but the interest is taxable. The FD calculator shows what it earns before tax.
• A recurring deposit suits shorter goals with monthly saving. See the RD calculator.
• Equity mutual fund SIPs have historically earned more over long periods, but with market risk. The SIP calculator shows projections at different returns.

Many investors use PPF as the safe, tax-free base of a long-term plan and add equity SIPs on top for growth.

You can open a PPF account at the post office or at most large banks, and many banks let you open and fund it entirely through net banking. Set up a standing instruction for 1 April each year so the deposit always lands before the 5th.

The calculator runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is stored or sent.

Frequently asked questions

How much will ₹1.5 lakh a year in PPF be worth after 15 years?

At 7.1%, about ₹40.68 lakh, of which ₹22.5 lakh is your deposits and about ₹18.18 lakh is tax-free interest. This assumes you deposit before 5 April each year and the rate stays at 7.1%. If you extend for another five years with deposits, it grows to about ₹66.58 lakh.

Is it better to deposit in PPF monthly or once a year?

A single deposit on or before 5 April earns the most, because the whole amount earns interest for the full year. Monthly deposits are fine if you make them on or before the 5th of each month. A deposit made after the 5th misses that month’s interest.

Is PPF interest taxable?

No. PPF interest and the maturity amount are fully exempt from income tax in both the old and new regimes. Deposits qualify for the Section 80C deduction only in the old regime. You should still show the interest as exempt income in your tax return.

Can I withdraw money from PPF before 15 years?

Partly. From the seventh financial year you can make one partial withdrawal a year, within limits based on your past balances. Loans are available from the third to the sixth year. Full premature closure is allowed after five years only for specific reasons, with a 1% interest penalty.

What happens to my PPF after 15 years?

You can close it and take the full tax-free amount, extend it in five-year blocks with deposits by submitting the extension form within a year, or simply leave it, in which case it continues without deposits and keeps earning interest. During an extension with deposits, you can withdraw up to 60% of the balance at the start of the block over its five years.

Will the PPF rate change during my account?

Possibly. The government reviews it every quarter, and any change applies to the whole balance from that quarter. The calculator assumes one rate for the whole period, so run it at a lower rate too if you want a cautious estimate.