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How to use the ppf calculator
- 1Enter your yearly deposit — anything from ₹500 to the ₹1,50,000 annual cap.
- 2Check the interest rate; it is pre-filled with the notified rate but editable as the government revises it.
- 3Leave the tenure at 15 years, or extend in five-year blocks the way the scheme allows.
- 4Open the year-by-year table to watch interest overtake your own deposits in the later years.
Why PPF compounds better than its rate suggests
The headline rate understates the deal, because PPF is exempt-exempt-exempt: the deposit earns an 80C deduction going in, the interest is untaxed as it accrues, and the maturity amount is untaxed coming out. A 7.1% tax-free return equals roughly 10.1% pre-tax for someone in the 30% bracket — a comparison worth making before dismissing the rate as modest.
Fifteen years of that compounding produces the number that surprises people: ₹1,50,000 a year at 7.1% matures to about ₹40.7 lakh, of which only ₹22.5 lakh is your own money. The year-by-year table above makes the crossover visible — around year ten, the annual interest credit starts rivalling the deposit itself.
Timing matters more than in most products: PPF interest is computed on the lowest balance between the 5th and the end of each month, so a deposit made before April 5th earns for the entire year. The projection above models exactly that best case — one deposit at the start of each year.
The rules that shape the projection
The annual cap is ₹1,50,000 across all your PPF accounts combined, the minimum to keep the account active is ₹500, and the term is 15 complete financial years — which is why an account opened mid-year matures a little later than intuition says. After maturity you may extend in five-year blocks, with or without fresh deposits, and the balance keeps compounding either way.
Liquidity is deliberately poor and partially relaxed: partial withdrawals become available from the seventh year, loans against the balance from the third to the sixth, and premature closure after five years only on specific grounds with a rate penalty. Treat the 15 years as real.
The rate is set by the government every quarter, and this page does not pretend otherwise: the pre-filled figure is the notified rate at the time it was captured, the hint says so, and the field is editable. Over a 15-year projection, assume the rate will move — re-run the projection with a pessimistic figure to see the floor.
Where PPF fits in a portfolio
PPF is the debt anchor of an Indian tax-saver's portfolio: government-backed, tax-free, immune to market moods and locked away from impulse. Its job is not to beat equity — over 15 years a SIP at market returns will likely finish far ahead, as the SIP Calculator will show — but to be the part of the plan that cannot fail.
It pairs naturally with the 80C budget: the same ₹1,50,000 that fills the PPF cap also fills the deduction, provided you are in the old tax regime. Under the new regime, the deduction disappears but the EEE treatment of the interest and maturity remains — the Income Tax Calculator linked below prices the difference.
For a child's education fund with a 15-year horizon, an account in the child's name (within the combined cap) is a common and legitimate structure — the maturity conveniently lands near college age.
Frequently asked questions
What is the current PPF interest rate?
The government notifies it quarterly; the calculator pre-fills the rate as captured at publication and the hint states when. Check the latest notification before relying on a projection — and re-run with the new figure when it changes, since the field is editable.
Is PPF interest really tax-free?
Yes — PPF is exempt at all three stages: the deposit qualifies for 80C (old regime), the interest accrues untaxed, and the maturity is untaxed. That EEE status is the scheme's whole advantage over an FD at a similar rate.
Can I invest more than ₹1,50,000 a year?
No — the cap applies across all your PPF accounts combined, including one in a minor child's name. Amounts above it earn no interest and no deduction, and are refunded.
What happens after 15 years?
Three choices: withdraw everything tax-free; extend five years with fresh deposits (choose within a year of maturity); or extend without deposits, which happens by default and keeps the balance compounding with one withdrawal allowed per year.
When in the year should I deposit?
Before April 5th, in one lump sum, if you can. Interest counts the lowest balance between the 5th and month-end, so an early-April deposit earns for all twelve months — the exact case this calculator projects.
Is my data uploaded?
No. The projection is a small loop running in your browser; nothing you enter is transmitted or stored.