PPF CALCULATOR

PPF or Public Provident Fund account is one of the most popular government-backed saving schemes in India. The PPF scheme was launched by the government to benefit small savers and offers guaranteed returns along with tax benefits as it falls under the Exempt-Exempt-Exempt (EEE) category. If you are investing in PPF, you would like to know how much your money would grow during the investment tenure. The PPF Calculator can help you compute the year-wise PPF returns you can earn by contributing to your PPF account over a pre-determined period and with a specific frequency.

The current PPF interest rate is 7.1% (Q3 of FY 2023-24), the minimum investment tenure is fixed at 15 years while the investment amount can range between Rs. 500 to Rs. 1.50 lakh in a financial year. However, since PPF interest rate, maturity, taxation, and withdrawal rules are set by the government, there is no need for separate bank-wise calculators, such as SBI PPF Calculator, PNB PPF Calculator, India Post PPF Calculator, HDFC PPF Calculator, ICICI PPF Calculator, etc.

How to Use PPF Calculator

To use the PPF calculator correctly, you will need to provide the following data:

Tenure of the PPF account – Minimum 15 years to maximum 50 years with an option of extension in blocks of 5 years.

Deposit/Payment Frequency – This can be chosen as monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, and annually. In case of quarterly deposits, payments need to be made every quarter, half-yearly mean twice each year and so on.

Deposit Amount – This amount is to be deposited in the PPF account as per the deposit frequency. Thus if the deposit amount is Rs. 1,000 and the Deposit Frequency is monthly, the total PPF deposit for the year will be Rs. 12,000 and automatically calculated by the PPF calculator.

Interest Rate – This is the PPF rate of return/PPF rate of interest that you are expecting on your investment.

Check the latest PPF interest rates

Once you have provided the above data into the PPF calculator, just click on “Calculate” to get instant information about PPF maturity amount, PPF Interest earned, total PPF investment, and much more.

Important Points Related to PPF Calculation

There are some key rules that you need to bear in mind too. They are as follows:

• The maximum amount you can invest in a year is Rs. 1.5 lakh annually
• The minimum you can invest in a PPF account is Rs. 500 annually
• Compounding of interest occurs once every year at the end of the financial year
• The maturity of PPF account is in 15 years and the proceeds are completely tax-free
• PPF interest rate is liable to change every quarter as per announcements made by the Finance Ministry

How to Understand the PPF Calculator Results

The results provided by the online PPF calculator include a table displaying key data that current and prospective PPF subscribers need to be aware of:

Opening Balance: This is the PPF account balance at the start of the year.

Amount Deposited: This is the PPF account balance at the end of the year after additional deposits have been made during the year.

Interest Earned: This is calculated based on the account balance at the end of the year. The balance in a PPF account is compounded on an annual basis.

Closing Balance: This is calculated by adding the interest earned from the current year to the opening balance and the additional deposits for the year.

Loan (Max.): Loan on PPF is available from completion of the 3rd year onwards till the end of the 6th year calculated from the date of account opening. The maximum loan available equals 25% of the opening balance of the PPF account for the previous year. After completion of the 6th year from the date of PPF account opening, no loan can be opted for but partial withdrawals can be made. The maximum loan amounts in the table are based on the assumption that no loan has been taken during the previous year.

Withdrawal (Max.): Partial withdrawal from PPF account is allowed after completion of the 6th year i.e. the beginning of the 7th year onwards. The maximum withdrawal amount is the lesser of the following:

• 50% of the account balance at the end of the previous year is calculated from the year in which withdrawal is made
• 50% of the account balance at the end of the 4th year preceding the year in which withdrawal was opted for.

The Withdrawal (Max.) amounts provided by the PPF calculator online are based on the assumption that no withdrawals/loans have been taken by the account holder in the previous year.

Read in Detail: PPF Withdrawal Rules

PPF Calculation Examples for Different Investment Tenures

Since PPF is annually compounded, the longer you stay invested in PPF the more benefit you can avail. To understand how the power of compounding works in your favour when it comes to PPF calculation, let’s consider the following table which shows the principal invested, the PPF interest earned, and the PPF maturity value for 15, 20, and 30-year tenures.

In this PPF calculation example, we have assumed that the annual investment amount is Rs. 10,000 and the PPF interest rate is 7.1% per annum (the current PPF interest rate for Q3 of FY 2023-24 is 7.1%).

The above example shows the power of compounding when investing in PPF – your maturity amount increases from Rs. 2.9 lakh to Rs. 12 lakh just by investing Rs. 1.5 lakh more over a 15-year period as long as you stay invested in your PPF account for 30 years instead of 15 years.

Advantages of Using PPF Calculator

PPF Calculator is an easy-to-use online tool that can give you an estimate of the interest that you would be earning and the maturity value for a given investment amount and investment period.  Some key benefits of using an online Post Office PPF calculator are:

• PPF account calculator helps you have a clear idea of the amount of interest you would be earning with a certain investment amount and investment period.
• PPF maturity calculator can also help you decide on a maturity period for your investment as per your convenience. However, do remember that the minimum maturity period is 15 years which can be extended in blocks of 5 years, up to a maximum of 50 years.
• PPF return calculator also provides an estimate of the total investment in a financial year and can help you seek a balance between the investment amount and the desired returns.
• It eliminates the errors resulting from manual calculations and saves time.
• PPF calculator can also be used at the tax-planning stage for better planning of investments.

PPF Interest Rates FY 2023-24

As of FY 2023-24 Q3 (October-December), the PPF interest rate is 7.1% p.a. and the PPF account balance is compounded annually. The interest rate applicable to the Public Provident Fund is decided by the Ministry of Finance and is liable to change every quarter. You can use the calculator to get PPF returns based on different interest rates. The following are the recent quarter-wise historic PPF interest rates:

Read : Different Modes of Payment for Public Provident Fund

FAQs

Q1. What is the minimum tenure and investment amount to open a PPF account?

The minimum tenure is 15 years and the minimum investment amount required to open a PPF account is Rs. 500.

Q2. How much interest rate can I get on my PPF account?

The current PPF interest rate is 7.1% for Q3 of FY 2023-24. PPF interest rate is regulated by the government of India and reviewed every quarter. The interest on PPF is computed monthly, compounded annually and credited at the end of the financial year, that is, 31st March.

Q3. What is the maximum amount that I can invest in my PPF account in a year? Can I pay more than 1.5 lakh in PPF?

The maximum amount that you can invest in your PPF account in a financial year is Rs. 1.5 lakh. Any amount beyond that will not earn any earning interest and would not be eligible for deductions under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Read more.

Q4. Which amount is taken into consideration for calculating interest on PPF?

Interest on PPF is calculated every month on the lowest balance in the PPF account after the 5th of every month to the last day of the month. This amount is then credited to the PPF account at the end of every financial year.

Q5. How much will I get in PPF after 15 years?

The amount you get in your PPF account will vary based on your investment amount and the interest rate.

Q6. Is PPF compound interest?

Yes, the amount invested in PPF account along with the interest amount earns compound interest.

Q7. Can I use the PPF calculator for calculating PPF for minors?

Yes, you can use the Post Office PPF calculator to calculate the interest and maturity amount on the invested amount for minors. Read more about PPF for minors here.