What is the PPF contribution limit?

₹1,50,000 per financial year is the current maximum that earns interest and qualifies for an 80C deduction; depositing more doesn't earn additional interest and may be refunded without interest. The minimum is ₹500 a year to keep the account active.

Can I withdraw from PPF before 15 years?

Partial withdrawal is allowed from the 7th financial year onward, up to a limit tied to the balance a few years prior. The account can also be extended in blocks of 5 years after maturity, either with or without further contributions.

Is PPF really fully tax-free?

Yes — PPF is one of the few Indian instruments with exempt-exempt-exempt (EEE) tax status: the contribution qualifies for an 80C deduction, the interest earned is tax-free, and the maturity withdrawal is tax-free too. No other common deduction-eligible instrument matches this on all three stages.

Can I have more than one PPF account?

No — only one PPF account per person is allowed (a separate account can be opened for a minor child, with a combined ₹1,50,000 limit across both if you're the guardian). Opening a second account in your own name is against the rules and can forfeit the interest on it.

Investment planningIndia only

PPF Calculator

Estimate your Indian Public Provident Fund maturity value from your yearly contribution and the current interest rate.

Yearly contribution₹1,50,000

Interest rate (p.a.) %7.1%

Duration (Years)15 Years

₹1,50,000 is the current annual limit that earns interest and qualifies for an 80C deduction.

Maturity amount

₹40,68,209

Interest earned₹18,18,209

Total invested₹22,50,000

Illustrative only — the government-declared rate resets quarterly, so your actual return over 15+ years will differ from a single rate held constant throughout.

What is a PPF calculator?

The Public Provident Fund is a long-term, government-backed savings scheme open to any Indian resident, with a 15-year lock-in (extendable afterward in blocks of 5 years) and an interest rate set by the government each quarter. A PPF calculator estimates what your yearly contributions grow to by maturity, factoring in that compounding.

It's one of the few instruments available to anyone, not just salaried employees with access to EPF — and its exempt-exempt-exempt tax treatment (see the FAQ below) makes it genuinely rare among deduction-eligible options.

How is PPF maturity calculated?

Each year's contribution compounds annually until maturity:

Each year: Balance = (Balance + Contribution) × (1 + Rate)

Contributing the full ₹1,50,000 a year for 15 years at 7.1% grows to roughly ₹40,68,209, from ₹22,50,000 actually deposited — about ₹18,18,209 in interest, all of it tax-free. Extending the same contribution for a further 5-year block (20 years total) grows it to roughly ₹66,58,288, showing how much of PPF's real value comes from staying in past the initial 15-year lock-in rather than withdrawing at the earliest date.

Benefits of PPF

Fully tax-free

Contribution, interest and maturity are all exempt — a genuinely rare combination among 80C-eligible instruments.

Government-backed

Among the lowest-risk long-term investments available, with returns set and guaranteed by the government.

Open to anyone

Unlike EPF, PPF doesn't require a salaried job — self-employed and non-earning individuals can open an account too.

Partial liquidity after year 7

Despite the 15-year lock-in, limited withdrawals and loans against the balance are allowed from the 7th year.

LessonNPS vs PPF vs EPF — India's three big retirement vehicles, and how their lock-ins and tax treatment actually differ.
CalculatorRetirement Calculator — The corpus a fixed monthly investment builds by the time you retire.

Common questions

PPF interest is actually computed monthly on the lowest balance between the 5th and the last day of the month, then credited to the account once a year. This calculator simplifies that to annual compounding on your yearly contribution, which is accurate enough for planning but won't match your passbook exactly — deposit before the 5th of the month to earn interest on that month's contribution for real.