Free PPF Calculator

The Public Provident Fund (PPF) is a government-backed savings scheme you can open at a post office or bank. The government sets the interest rate every quarter. It's 7.1% a year for October to December 2026, the same as for many quarters before, but it can change, so the calculator lets you edit it.

Interest is worked out every month on the lowest balance between the 5th and the end of the month, and credited once a year at the end of March. So a deposit made by 5 April earns interest for the whole financial year. The calculator assumes you deposit the same amount by 5 April every year, which gives: closing balance = (opening balance + deposit) × (1 + rate).

Depositing the full ₹1,50,000 every year for 15 years at 7.1% puts in ₹22.5 lakh and grows to about ₹40.68 lakh, of which about ₹18.18 lakh is interest. Extending for 5 more years with deposits takes it to about ₹66.58 lakh, and 10 more years to just over ₹1 crore: compounding does most of its work in the later years.

A few rules worth knowing. Check the latest scheme rules with your bank or post office, as they can change:

• Deposit at least ₹500 and at most ₹1,50,000 each financial year. The limit covers your own account and any account you hold for a minor child together. Amounts above it earn no interest.
• The account matures after 15 full financial years. You can then close it, or extend it in blocks of 5 years, with or without fresh deposits.
• Partial withdrawals are allowed from the seventh financial year, up to a limit based on your earlier balance.
• You can take a loan against your PPF balance from the third to the sixth financial year.
• Closing the account early is only allowed after five years, for specific reasons such as serious illness or higher education, and with a small cut in the interest rate.
• If you miss the minimum deposit, the account becomes inactive until you pay the missed amount plus a small penalty.

PPF has EEE (exempt, exempt, exempt) status: your deposits can be claimed as a deduction under the old tax regime, and both the interest and the maturity amount are tax-free under either regime. That makes its 7.1% worth more than the same rate on a fixed deposit, whose interest is taxed at your slab rate.

The trade-off is the long lock-in. PPF suits long-term, low-risk goals such as retirement or a child's education. Some people pair it with a mutual fund SIP, which can earn more over long periods but with no guarantee, or keep shorter-term savings in FDs and RDs. Our SIP and FD calculators help you compare.