Public Provident Fund (PPF) 2026

The Public Provident Fund (PPF) is a long-term savings scheme of the Government of India. It started in 1968 and today runs under the Public Provident Fund Scheme, 2019. You deposit money every year for 15 years, and the government adds interest every year.

The money is safe because the government backs it. There is no tax on the interest or on the final amount. That is why many families use PPF to save for retirement or for their children.

1. Step 1Deposit every year₹500 to ₹1.5 L, in one go or in parts.
2. Step 2Interest is added7.1% a year, added every 31 March, tax-free.
3. Step 3Use it if neededLoan from year 3, part withdrawal from year 7.
4. Step 4Take it all or extendAfter 15 years, or extend by 5 years.

The PPF interest rate is 7.1% a year for October to December 2026. The Ministry of Finance reviews it every 3 months. Unlike a fixed deposit, the rate is not locked when you open the account: the new rate applies to the whole balance.

• Interest is worked out every month on the lowest balance between the 5th and the last day of the month.
• It is added to the account once a year, on 31 March. From then on, that interest also earns interest (compounding).
• A deposit made after the 5th earns no interest for that month. A yearly deposit made by 5 April earns interest for all 12 months.

See every past rate on the PPF interest rate page.

The value at 7.1%, for a deposit made by 5 April every year. The 20 and 25 year figures are for an account extended with deposits.

For your own amount and rate, use the PPF calculator.

• One account per person: you can have only one PPF account, at a post office or a bank, not both. Since 1 October 2024, a second account opened by mistake is merged into the first one, within the yearly limit. A third account earns no interest.
• Minors: the father or the mother can open the account for a child, but not both for the same child. Deposits in the child's account and the parent's own account share one ₹1,50,000 limit. At 18, the child takes over the account. For a boy, see the Ponmagan scheme page. For a girl, the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana pays a higher rate.
• NRIs: an NRI cannot open a new PPF account. If you opened it while living in India, you can keep depositing until it matures, on a non-repatriation basis (the money cannot be sent abroad freely). The rules do not clearly allow an NRI to extend the account, so ask your bank or post office before maturity.
• HUFs: no new HUF account can be opened since 13 May 2005.

1. Step 1Choose a post office or bankAny post office, or an authorised bank such as SBI or another public sector bank.
2. Step 2Fill in the opening formThe PPF account opening form, at the branch or on the India Post website.
3. Step 3Give KYC documentsAadhaar, PAN and a passport-size photo.
4. Step 4Make the first depositAt least ₹500, by cash, cheque or transfer.
5. Step 5Add a nomineeSo your family gets the money easily.
6. Step 6Get your passbookUpdate it with every deposit, or see it online at a bank.

Many banks let their customers open PPF online through net banking or their app. At the post office, you open it at the branch.

• Amount: at least ₹500 and at most ₹1,50,000 in each financial year (April to March), in multiples of ₹50.
• How often: any number of times in the year, by cash, cheque or online.
• Above the limit: any amount above ₹1,50,000 in a year earns no interest and gets no tax deduction. It is returned to you.
• For 15 years: you deposit every year until the account matures.

Inactive PPF account: if you deposit less than ₹500 in a year, the account becomes inactive (discontinued). The balance still earns interest, but you cannot take a loan or a part withdrawal. To revive it before maturity, pay ₹50 for each missed year plus the minimum ₹500 for each of those years.

Year 1 is the financial year in which you open the account. For Anita's account (₹1,00,000 a year), this is when she can take money out:

PPF loan rules:

• From the 3rd to the 6th financial year, you can borrow up to 25% of the balance at the end of the second year before the year you apply.
• The interest is 1% a year. The loan amount also stops earning PPF interest until you repay it, so in effect it costs 1% more than the PPF rate.
• Repay within 36 months, in one go or in instalments. If you do not, the interest becomes 6% a year.
• You can take a new loan only after you have fully repaid the earlier one.

PPF partial withdrawal rules:

• From the 7th financial year, once a year.
• Up to 50% of the balance at the end of the 4th year before, or at the end of the last year, whichever is lower.
• You do not pay it back, and there is no tax on it. You do not need to give a reason.

PPF premature closure: you can close the account before 15 years only after 5 years from the end of the year you opened it, and only for one of these reasons:

• A life-threatening illness of you, your spouse, your children or your parents (with a doctor's papers)
• Higher education of you or your children (with proof of admission or fees)
• You move abroad and become an NRI (with your passport and visa)

The interest for the whole period is then worked out at 1% less than the rates you earned.

A PPF account matures after 15 full financial years, not counting the year you opened it. At maturity, you can take out the whole amount, or extend the account in blocks of 5 years, as many times as you like.

• Extension with deposits: submit Form-4 within 1 year of maturity. You keep depositing ₹500 to ₹1,50,000 a year. Over each 5-year block, you can withdraw up to 60% of the balance at the start of the block, once a year. Deposits made after maturity without the form are treated as irregular and earn no interest.
• Extension without deposits: this happens on its own if you do nothing. The balance keeps earning interest, and you can take out any amount once a year.

1. Step 1NomineeAdd one or more nominees when you open the account, or later at the branch.
2. Step 2If the holder diesThe account is closed and the nominee or legal heirs get the balance with interest. No early-closure cut applies.
3. Step 3No continuationThe account cannot continue in the nominee's name. The nominee can open their own PPF.
4. Step 4TransferMove the account between post offices and banks, free. The opening date and rules stay the same.

• ₹1.5 LDeduction on depositsOld regime, Section 123 (earlier 80C)
• Tax-freeYearly interestBoth regimes
• Tax-freeMaturity and withdrawalsBoth regimes
• No TDSOn PPF interest

• E for the deposit: in the old tax regime, your PPF deposits count under Section 123 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (earlier Section 80C), up to ₹1,50,000 a year with your other tax-saving investments. Deposits in your spouse's or child's account also count. The new regime does not give this deduction.
• E for the interest: the yearly interest is not taxed, in either regime, and no TDS is cut.
• E for the maturity: the final amount, partial withdrawals and the amount paid on early closure are all tax-free.
• Show the PPF interest as exempt income in your income tax return.

At a 30% tax slab in the old regime, Anita's ₹1,00,000 deposit cuts her tax by about ₹30,000 a year, before cess.

Read PPF vs FD: which is better, or see the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana and NSC pages.