PPF Calculator

What is the Public Provident Fund (PPF)?

The Public Provident Fund is a long-term, government-backed savings scheme in India that combines safe, guaranteed returns with attractive tax benefits. It is one of the most popular ways to build a retirement or long-term corpus because your capital is fully protected and the interest is entirely tax free.

PPF accounts have a base tenure of 15 years, after which you can extend the account in blocks of 5 years. You can deposit between ₹500 and ₹1,50,000 in a single financial year, either as a lump sum or across a maximum of twelve instalments.

How PPF interest is calculated

This calculator assumes you deposit your full yearly amount at the start of each year, and that interest is compounded annually. The balance for each year is worked out as:

balance = (previous balance + yearly deposit) × (1 + rate / 100)

Because each year's opening balance also earns interest, your money grows faster the longer you stay invested. The final year's balance is your maturity amount.

15-year PPF maturity example

Suppose you invest the full ₹1,50,000 every year at the current 7.1% rate for the base 15-year term. You would contribute ₹22,50,000 of your own money and receive roughly ₹40,68,209 at maturity — about ₹18,18,209 of that is tax-free interest. The table below shows how the balance snowballs at key milestones:

Notice how the interest earned in year 15 (₹2,69,695) is larger than the ₹1,50,000 you deposit that year. That is compounding at work: the longer you stay invested, the more of your growth comes from interest rather than fresh deposits.

Extending your PPF beyond 15 years

Maturity is not the end of the road. Once the initial 15 years are over you have three choices:

• Withdraw the full balance, entirely tax free, and close the account.
• Extend without fresh contributions. The balance keeps earning the prevailing PPF rate and you may make one withdrawal of any amount each financial year.
• Extend with contributions in 5-year blocks by submitting the prescribed form within one year of maturity, so you continue to enjoy the Section 80C deduction on new deposits.

Repeated 5-year extensions let disciplined savers turn PPF into a serious retirement vehicle. Because the term is so long, it helps to check how much that future corpus will actually be worth using our inflation calculator.

Reaching ₹1 crore in PPF

This is the milestone most long-term savers ask about, and PPF alone can get you there — but only with extensions. Depositing the full ₹1,50,000 every year at an illustrative 7.1%, the balance crosses ₹1 crore during the 25th year, which means the base 15-year term plus two 5-year extensions:

The striking part is the split. At 25 years you will have deposited ₹37.5 lakh and earned about ₹65.6 lakh in interest — nearly twice your own contribution, entirely tax free. Stretch to 35 years and your ₹52.5 lakh of deposits becomes ₹2.27 crore, with interest making up roughly 77% of the total. Nothing changes about the yearly deposit; only the time does the work.

Loans and partial withdrawals

PPF is built for the long haul, so access to your money is restricted in the early years. There are two escape valves before maturity:

A PPF loan is typically charged at around 1% per annum over the prevailing PPF rate and must be repaid within 36 months. Only one partial withdrawal is permitted per financial year, and the amount withdrawn is completely tax free.

Why PPF is tax efficient

PPF enjoys the coveted Exempt-Exempt-Exempt (EEE) tax status:

• Your yearly contribution (up to ₹1.5 lakh) qualifies for deduction under Section 80C.
• The interest earned each year is completely tax free.
• The maturity amount is also fully tax exempt.

PPF's catch is its fifteen-year lock-in. Over a five-year horizon the National Savings Certificate is the closer comparison — a higher 7.7% and the same 80C deduction, though its interest is taxable where PPF's is not.

Keep in mind that the ₹1.5 lakh 80C ceiling is shared with instruments such as EPF, ELSS and life-insurance premiums, and the deduction is available only under the old tax regime. Very few options in India offer this triple tax advantage combined with a sovereign guarantee — see how it stacks up in our EPF vs PPF vs NPS guide.

PPF vs EPF

Both are government-backed retirement tools with EEE tax treatment, but they suit different people:

Many salaried Indians use both: EPF runs automatically from salary, while PPF adds a self-directed corpus that stays with you regardless of your employer. Model your provident fund with the EPF calculator, or a market-linked pension with the NPS calculator.

Making the most of your PPF

1. Invest the maximum of ₹1.5 lakh each year if you can, to build the largest tax-free corpus.
2. Deposit as early in the year as possible — ideally before 5 April — to maximise the interest credited.
3. Stay invested for the full 15 years and consider extending in 5-year blocks to benefit from compounding.
4. Never let the account lapse; a single missed year makes it inactive until you revive it.

Who should consider PPF?

PPF suits conservative investors, salaried individuals seeking Section 80C deductions, and anyone building a low-risk, long-term goal such as retirement or a child's education. If you want a shorter, more flexible savings habit alongside it, a bank recurring deposit can complement PPF nicely. PPF is not ideal if you need ready liquidity, since withdrawals are restricted in the early years.