PPF calculator
What will my PPF account be worth, and when?
₹22.5 L deposited, ₹18.18 L of tax-free interest at 7.1%
Deposits and interest by year
How this is calculated
Rules checked against their sources on 29 September 2026. Tax year FY2026-27.
What PPF is
The Public Provident Fund is a government-backed savings account you can open at a post office or most banks. You deposit between ₹500 and ₹1.5 lakh a financial year, it pays a rate the government sets every quarter (7.1% since April 2023), and the money is locked for 15 years. The interest and the maturity amount are tax-free, and the deposit qualifies under Section 80C in the old regime. It is the one instrument in India that is exempt at every stage.
The timing trick
Interest for each month is calculated on the lowest balance in the account between the 5th and the last day. Money deposited on the 6th earns nothing that month. So a single deposit before 5 April earns a full year's interest; twelve monthly deposits earn, on average, about half a year's on that year's money. Over 15 years the difference on a full ₹1.5 lakh a year is about ₹1.3 lakh; the calculator lets you compare the two.
Fifteen years, then five at a time
The account matures 15 financial years after the year it was opened. You can then close it, extend it for five years with fresh deposits (file Form 4 within a year), or leave it without deposits and keep earning. Extensions can be repeated indefinitely, and one withdrawal a year is allowed during an extension. Many people treat a mature PPF as a tax-free debt bucket for retirement rather than closing it.
Where PPF fits
At 7.1% tax-free, PPF beats most fixed deposits for anyone in the 20% or 30% slab, and it is as safe as the government. It is not a growth investment: after 5.5% inflation the real return is about 1.5%. It suits the debt part of a long-term plan, the emergency reserve you never touch, and 80C for those in the old regime. It does not suit money you may need within seven years.
How this fits a retirement plan
A retirement plan treats PPF as a debt account with a fixed rate, the annual cap, the maturity date and the extension choice, and draws from it in the right order after retirement. The Eazyretire projection does that alongside EPF, NPS and your funds.
Questions people ask
- Can I deposit more than ₹1.5 lakh?
- No. Deposits above ₹1.5 lakh in a financial year (across your own account and a minor's account you operate) earn no interest and no deduction. Spouses can each have their own account.
- When should I deposit?
- Before the 5th of the month, and ideally the whole year's amount before 5 April. Interest is computed on the lowest balance between the 5th and the month's end, so anything deposited after the 5th waits a month.
- Can I withdraw before 15 years?
- Partly. From the seventh year you can withdraw once a year, up to 50% of the balance at the end of the fourth preceding year or the previous year, whichever is lower. Premature closure after five years is allowed for medical treatment, higher education or a change of residency, at a 1% rate penalty. Loans are available from the third to the sixth year.
- Is the rate fixed?
- No. The government notifies small-savings rates every quarter, and the new rate applies to the whole balance. PPF has ranged from 12% in the 1990s to 7.1% now. This calculator uses the current rate for every year, which is the honest default; the retirement planner lets you assume a lower one.
- What happens after maturity?
- Nothing, until you choose. Close it and receive the balance tax-free, extend it with deposits in five-year blocks (Form 4 within a year of maturity), or leave it to earn interest with one withdrawal a year allowed.
Want the whole picture?
A free Eazyretire plan puts this number next to your income, savings and spending and tells you whether your money lasts to the age you plan for, and what to change if it will not.