Free PPF calculator at the current 7.1% rate. See maturity, tax-free interest and a year-by-year table, with 5-year extensions and deposit timing.
Who Uses PPF Calculator
Use it when: deciding how much to put into PPF this financial year, checking what your existing account will be worth at maturity, comparing a yearly deposit with monthly instalments, deciding whether to extend after 15 years, or planning a child's education fund around a guaranteed tax-free return.
PPF Calculator Features
- Real PPF interest rules — Interest on the lowest balance between the 5th and the end of each month, credited on 31 March, the way the scheme actually works
- Deposit timing compared — Shows what depositing by 5 April instead of late in the year is worth over the life of the account
- Extensions after 15 years — Add 5-year blocks with or without fresh deposits and see how far tax-free compounding takes the balance
- Loan and withdrawal limits — A year-by-year table with the balance, interest, and the most you could borrow or withdraw each year
How to Use PPF Calculator
Three inputs, and the maturity value updates as you move them
- Enter your deposit — Yearly or monthly, anything from ₹500 to ₹1.5 lakh in a financial year
- Pick timing and tenure — Deposit by the 5th or later, and add 5-year extensions if you plan to keep the account open
- Read the result — Maturity value, interest earned, and the balance at the end of every financial year
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the PPF interest rate right now?
7.1% a year for October to December 2026. The Finance Ministry sets small savings rates every quarter, and PPF has stayed at 7.1% since April 2020. The next decision, for January to March 2027, is due around 31 December 2026. The calculator uses 7.1% by default and lets you enter any other rate.
How much will ₹1.5 lakh a year in PPF give after 15 years?
About ₹40.68 lakh at 7.1%, if each deposit is made by 5 April. You put in ₹22.5 lakh and earn about ₹18.18 lakh in interest, all of it tax-free. The same deposit made on 31 March each year instead grows to about ₹37.99 lakh, because each payment misses a full year of interest.
How is PPF interest calculated?
Every month, interest is worked out on the lowest balance in the account between the close of the 5th and the last day of the month, at the yearly rate divided by 12. The monthly amounts are added up and credited once, on 31 March, so the account compounds yearly. Money deposited after the 5th therefore earns nothing for that month.
Why should I deposit before 5 April?
A deposit made by 5 April counts toward the lowest balance for all 12 months of the financial year, so it earns a full year of interest. The same amount paid later earns less that year, and paid on 31 March it earns nothing until the following year. Over 15 years at the maximum ₹1.5 lakh, the difference is about ₹2.7 lakh.
What is the minimum and maximum PPF deposit?
At least ₹500 and at most ₹1.5 lakh in each financial year, in one payment or several. Missing the ₹500 minimum makes the account inactive until you pay the missed amounts plus a small penalty. Anything above ₹1.5 lakh earns no interest and does not count for Section 80C.
Can I extend my PPF account after 15 years?
Yes, in blocks of 5 years, as many times as you like. You can extend with fresh deposits, which needs a request to your bank or post office within a year of maturity, or without deposits, in which case the balance simply keeps earning interest. The calculator shows both options for up to 30 years.
When can I take a loan or withdraw from PPF?
A loan is allowed from the 3rd to the 6th financial year, up to 25% of the balance at the end of the second year before the loan year. From the 7th year you can make one partial withdrawal a year, up to 50% of the lower of the balance four years earlier and the balance at the end of the previous year. The year table shows both limits.
Is PPF interest taxable?
No. PPF is EEE: exempt at all three stages. Deposits qualify for the Section 80C deduction under the old tax regime, and the interest and the maturity amount are tax-free under both the old and the new regime. The new regime does not allow the 80C deduction, but the tax-free interest still applies.
Is a monthly or a yearly deposit better?
A single yearly deposit made by 5 April earns the most, because the whole amount works for all 12 months. Monthly deposits are easier to fit into a salary and come close if each one is made by the 5th of the month: ₹12,500 a month gives about ₹39.45 lakh over 15 years, against ₹40.68 lakh for ₹1.5 lakh paid each April.
PPF calculator kaise use kare?
Pehle chuniye ki aap har saal paisa jama karenge ya har mahine, phir amount daaliye. Interest rate abhi 7.1% hai, jo pehle se bhara hua hai. Agar aap 5 tarikh se pehle jama karte hain to woh option chuniye, aur 15 saal ke baad account badhana ho to tenure badhaiye. Maturity amount aur har saal ka balance turant dikh jaata hai.
How PPF interest is actually calculated
PPF interest is not simply the yearly rate applied to your balance. Every month, the bank or post office looks at the lowest balance in your account between the close of the 5th and the last day of the month, and calculates interest on it at one twelfth of the yearly rate. Those twelve monthly amounts are added together and credited to the account once a year, on 31 March. Because the credited interest then earns interest the following year, PPF compounds annually.
The 5th-of-the-month rule is what makes timing matter. A deposit made on or before the 5th counts toward that month's lowest balance; a deposit made on the 6th does not count until the following month. For a yearly depositor the effect is large: money paid by 5 April earns interest for all twelve months of the financial year, while money paid on 31 March earns nothing until the next year. At the maximum ₹1.5 lakh a year over 15 years, that one-year delay on every deposit costs about ₹2.7 lakh at 7.1%.
The calculator follows these rules month by month rather than using a single formula, so it gives the right answer for monthly deposits, late deposits and extensions as well as the common yearly case. For ₹1.5 lakh paid each April at 7.1%, it returns ₹40,68,209 after 15 years, the same figure banks and India Post quote.
Extending PPF after 15 years
A PPF account matures after 15 full financial years, counted from the end of the year in which it was opened. At that point you can close it and take the whole balance tax-free, or extend it in blocks of five years. There is no limit on the number of extensions.
You can extend in two ways. With contributions, you keep depositing up to ₹1.5 lakh a year and the account works as before; this needs a request to your bank or post office within one year of maturity, or deposits made after maturity will not earn interest. Without contributions, which is the default if you do nothing, you stop depositing and the existing balance keeps earning interest at the prevailing rate. Withdrawal rules are more flexible during an extension, but they depend on which option you chose, so check with your bank before taking money out.
Extensions are where PPF compounding does its best work, because by year 15 the balance is large and every year of interest adds more than the year before. At ₹1.5 lakh a year, one 5-year extension with deposits takes the maturity value from about ₹40.7 lakh to about ₹66.6 lakh. Even without new deposits, the balance grows to about ₹57.3 lakh.
PPF compared with other safe savings options
PPF's main strength is its tax treatment. It is one of very few investments that is exempt at all three stages: the deposit can be deducted under Section 80C in the old regime, the interest is not taxed each year, and the maturity amount is tax-free. Bank fixed deposits and recurring deposits often pay a similar headline rate, but their interest is added to your income and taxed at your slab rate, so the return you actually keep is lower for anyone above the lowest bracket.
The cost of that tax benefit is liquidity. Money in PPF is locked for 15 years, with only a loan in years 3 to 6 and limited partial withdrawals from year 7. Early closure is allowed only after five years and only for specific reasons, such as serious illness or higher education, and it costs 1% of interest. Treat PPF as long-term money, not an emergency fund.
Equity mutual funds have historically returned more over long periods, but with no guarantee and with tax on gains. Many savers use PPF as the guaranteed, tax-free part of a plan and a SIP for growth. Use this calculator alongside the SIP and FD calculators to compare them on your own numbers.
| PPF | Bank FD | Equity SIP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return | 7.1% (set quarterly by government) | Bank's rate, fixed at deposit | Market-linked, not guaranteed |
| Interest or gains taxed | No (EEE) | Yes, at your slab rate | Yes, capital gains above the exemption |
| Lock-in | 15 years | Chosen term, early exit with penalty | None (3 years for ELSS) |
| Section 80C (old regime) | Yes, up to ₹1.5 lakh | Only the 5-year tax-saver FD | Only ELSS |
| Risk | Government-backed | Bank deposit insurance up to ₹5 lakh | Market risk |
PPF trades access to your money for a guaranteed, fully tax-free return. Compare on your own numbers before choosing.
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