PPF Calculator

PPF Calculator — Know Your Tax-Free Maturity Value Before You Invest a Rupee

Last Updated: May 2026 | Reading Time: ~5 minutes By Saroj Yadav | Finance Educator, EasyInvestCalc

My colleague Rajan had been running a PPF account for eleven years. Every April he transferred ₹1.5 lakh, got his Section 80C receipt, and filed it away. He had never once calculated what his account would be worth at maturity.

When I showed him the projected number one afternoon — the interest accumulated, the 15-year maturity value, and what a 5-year extension would add — he sat quietly for a moment and said: “I wish someone had shown me this on day one.”

That is the exact purpose of this page. Use the PPF Calculator above right now. Enter your yearly deposit, the current interest rate, and your duration. Your maturity value appears in seconds. Then read on — it will make far more sense once you’ve seen your own number.

What Is the Public Provident Fund?

The Public Provident Fund is a long-term savings scheme backed entirely by the Government of India. You deposit money every financial year into your PPF account — anywhere between ₹500 and ₹1.5 lakh — and after 15 years, you receive the full corpus: your principal plus all the interest it earned, completely tax-free.

The current PPF interest rate for FY 2026-27 is 7.1% per annum, compounded annually. This rate is reviewed quarterly by the Ministry of Finance and has remained unchanged since April 2020.

What makes PPF genuinely different from every other savings option in India is its EEE tax status — Exempt at three separate stages:

Exempt on contribution: Deposits up to ₹1.5 lakh per year qualify for a Section 80C deduction under the old tax regime.

Exempt on interest: Every rupee of interest earned each year is completely free of income tax — no TDS, no filing adjustment.

Exempt on maturity: When the account matures, the entire corpus — principal plus all interest — comes to you with zero tax deducted.

No bank FD or commonly available retail savings instrument offers this combination of government backing and triple tax exemption.

How the PPF Calculator Works

The calculator needs just three inputs from you.

Yearly investment (₹): The amount you plan to deposit each financial year. The minimum is ₹500 and the maximum is ₹1.5 lakh. You can make this as a single annual lump sum or in up to 12 installments across the year.

Interest rate (%): The calculator defaults to 7.1% — the current government-declared rate. You can adjust this if you want to model a conservative scenario or test what a future rate change might mean for your corpus.

Duration (years): The standard PPF tenure is 15 years. But after maturity, you can extend in blocks of 5 years — indefinitely, in theory. Try entering 20 or 25 years into the calculator and watch what happens to your final number.

The calculator then shows your total deposits, total interest earned, and the final tax-free maturity value.

What PPF Actually Produces — Real Numbers

The power of PPF is invisible until you see it expressed in rupees across time. Here are two scenarios using the current rate.

Standard 15-year PPF at maximum contribution

You deposited ₹22.5 lakh over 15 years. You receive ₹40.68 lakh. That extra ₹18.18 lakh came entirely from annual compounding — and every single rupee of it is tax-free.

Extended to 20 years — same yearly deposit

Five additional years with the same deposit adds over ₹25 lakh to the final corpus. You contributed ₹7.5 lakh more, but the maturity value grew by ₹25.9 lakh. The difference is pure compounding — and it accelerates the longer you stay invested.

Start early, contribute every year, and extend after maturity. That is the entire PPF playbook.

The One Habit That Silently Adds Lakhs to Your PPF

Most PPF investors lose a meaningful amount of money over their 15-year tenure without ever realising it. Not by investing too little — but by investing at the wrong time of year.

Here is how PPF interest is actually calculated: interest is computed on the minimum account balance between the 5th and the last day of each calendar month. This interest is then credited to your account once a year, on March 31st.

The practical implication: if your yearly deposit lands in the account before April 5th, it earns interest for all 12 months of the financial year. If it lands after April 5th, that contribution earns interest for only 11 months.

On ₹1.5 lakh at 7.1%, missing the April 5th window costs you approximately ₹888 in that single year. That might seem small. But over 15 years with compounding, the cumulative loss from consistently depositing late runs into tens of thousands of rupees — money that should have been yours.

The rule: deposit your PPF contribution before April 5th every year. If a full ₹1.5 lakh upfront isn’t feasible, deposit whatever you can before the 5th and top up later. Even partial early deposits earn full-year interest on that amount.

PPF vs FD — The Post-Tax Reality

Both are safe. But the comparison changes entirely once you factor in tax.

A bank FD at 7% earns 7% gross — but that interest is taxable. In the 30% bracket, your effective post-tax return falls to around 4.9%. In the 20% bracket, it’s roughly 5.6%.

A PPF at 7.1% earns 7.1% — completely exempt from tax at every stage. No TDS, no ITR adjustment, no bracket-related reduction.

For any taxpayer, PPF’s real return consistently beats an equivalent FD. The higher your bracket, the bigger the gap.

Use PPF for money you won’t need for 15 or more years. Use FDs for shorter timelines or when you need flexibility. Try our FD Calculator to compare both side by side.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I withdraw from PPF before 15 years?

Partial withdrawals are allowed from the 7th financial year — after completing 6 full years. You can withdraw up to 50% of the balance at the end of the 4th year preceding the withdrawal year. Full premature closure before maturity is permitted only in exceptional circumstances — serious illness or higher education needs — and only after 5 years, with a 1% interest penalty applied on the withdrawn amount.

What if I miss depositing in a year?

Your account becomes inactive if you skip the minimum ₹500 annual deposit. To reactivate, pay ₹50 penalty per missed year plus ₹500 for each skipped year. Interest continues to accrue during inactive years — you only lose the Section 80C benefit for those years.

Does PPF still make sense under the new tax regime?

The Section 80C deduction on contributions is available only under the old tax regime. Under the new regime, you cannot claim it. However, the interest earned and the maturity amount remain completely tax-free under both regimes. So even without the upfront deduction, PPF gives you a guaranteed, government-backed, tax-free return — which still compares favourably to most alternatives for long-term savings.

Where can I open a PPF account?

PPF accounts are available at any Post Office branch and at authorised banks including SBI, PNB, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank. Most banks allow you to open and operate the account completely online. For official scheme details, visit the India Post PPF page or the National Savings Institute.

Important Disclaimer

The PPF Calculator on EasyInvestCalc.com is a free educational tool. Results are mathematical estimates based on annual compounding at the rate you enter, assuming consistent yearly deposits. Actual values may differ due to deposit timing, future government rate changes, partial withdrawals, or account inactivity. The current rate of 7.1% is subject to quarterly revision by the Ministry of Finance.

This calculator is not financial, tax, or legal advice. Consult a SEBI-registered advisor before investing. EasyInvestCalc.com is not a bank or registered financial institution.

Need more tools? Our SIP Calculator projects equity mutual fund returns, and the Lumpsum Calculator is useful if you have a one-time amount to invest alongside your PPF.