PPF Calculator
Public Provident Fund maturity
Inputs
Maturity
Tax-free at maturity (EEE — Exempt-Exempt-Exempt). Deposits qualify for 80C up to ₹1.5 L/year.
How PPF works
Public Provident Fund is a Government of India savings scheme with a 15-year lock-in. Annual deposits earn interest at the prevailing rate (revised quarterly), compounded annually. Interest is calculated on the lowest balance between the 5th and last day of each month, so deposits made before the 5th earn that full month's interest.
Why it's still relevant
PPF is one of the few EEE (Exempt-Exempt-Exempt) instruments left in India — deposits are 80C-deductible, interest is tax-free, maturity is tax-free. For risk-averse savers and as the "debt" portion of a long-horizon portfolio, it's hard to beat on a post-tax basis when comparing against bank FDs.
For investors comfortable with equity risk, the ~7% PPF return looks weak next to a 12% equity mutual fund — but in real (post-inflation, post-tax) terms over a 15-year horizon, the gap narrows considerably.