How to Calculate PPF Maturity Amount (With 7.1% Examples)

By HSP · Published October 21, 2026 · 7 min read · Money & Finance

The Public Provident Fund (PPF) is one of the most popular long-term savings schemes in India. It is backed by the Government, the interest is tax-free and it is easy to open at a post office or a bank. But "what will I get after 15 years?" is a harder question than it looks, because PPF interest is calculated monthly, credited yearly, and the rate itself can change every quarter. This guide shows you how the maths works, with real numbers, so you can check any PPF calculator (including ours) and plan your deposits better.

The PPF rules that change your maths

Before you calculate anything, these rules from the PPF scheme matter:

• Deposit limits: at least ₹500 and at most ₹1,50,000 in a financial year (April to March), in multiples of ₹50. The ₹1.5 lakh cap includes deposits you make in a minor's account as guardian.
• Interest rate: set by the Ministry of Finance every quarter. For 1 October to 31 December 2026 it is 7.1% a year, the same as in the previous two quarters.
• Compounding: interest is worked out every month but added to your account only once, at the end of the financial year. So it compounds yearly.
• The 5th-of-the-month rule: each month's interest is calculated on the lowest balance between the close of the 5th day and the end of the month. Money that arrives on the 6th earns nothing for that month.
• Term: the account matures after 15 full financial years, counted from the end of the year in which you opened it. You can then extend it in blocks of 5 years.

Step 1: The simple yearly formula

If you deposit once a year, before 5 April, the whole deposit earns interest for all 12 months. Each year then looks like this:

Closing balance = (opening balance + this year's deposit) × (1 + rate)

With ₹1,50,000 a year at 7.1%:

• Year 1: (₹0 + ₹1,50,000) × 1.071 = ₹1,60,650 (interest ₹10,650)
• Year 2: (₹1,60,650 + ₹1,50,000) × 1.071 = ₹3,32,706 (interest ₹22,056)
• Year 3: (₹3,32,706 + ₹1,50,000) × 1.071 = ₹5,16,978 (interest ₹34,272)

Keep going for 15 years and you reach about ₹40,68,209. Notice how the interest grows each year even though the deposit stays the same: that is compounding at work. By year 15, the yearly interest is far bigger than in year 1.

Step 2: The shortcut formula

Because the deposit (D) and the rate (r) are the same each year, you can skip the year-by-year table with the future value of an annuity paid at the start of each year:

Maturity = D × [((1 + r)ⁿ − 1) ÷ r] × (1 + r)

With D = ₹1,50,000, r = 0.071 and n = 15, this gives the same ₹40.68 lakh. On a phone calculator: 1.071 to the power 15 is about 2.797; subtract 1, divide by 0.071, multiply by 1.071 and then by 1,50,000. Our PPF calculator does this for you and shows the full year-by-year table.

Worked examples at 7.1% for 15 years

These figures assume the rate stays at 7.1% for all 15 years. It won't necessarily: the rate is reviewed every quarter, and over the life of an account it can move up or down. A good habit is to rerun the numbers once a year with the latest rate.

Step 3: Why the deposit date matters so much

Because of the 5th-of-the-month rule, the same yearly amount can earn noticeably different interest depending on when you pay it.

• Lump sum by 5 April: ₹1,50,000 a year for 15 years gives about ₹40.68 lakh.
• ₹12,500 every month, paid on or before the 5th: each instalment earns from its own month onward, and the 15-year total comes to roughly ₹39.45 lakh.
• ₹12,500 every month, paid after the 5th: every instalment misses its first month of interest, and the total drops to roughly ₹39.22 lakh.
• One lump sum late in the year: our calculator's "later in the year" option assumes the deposit earns about half a year of interest on average, which gives about ₹39.33 lakh.

The gap between the best and worst case is more than ₹1.4 lakh, for exactly the same money deposited. If you can, pay early in April. If you pay monthly, set up a standing instruction that goes through before the 5th.

Step 4: What happens after 15 years

At maturity you can close the account and take everything, or extend it in blocks of 5 years. There are two ways to extend:

• Without new deposits: the balance keeps earning interest. ₹40,68,209 left for 5 more years at 7.1% grows to about ₹57.33 lakh.
• With deposits: you must tell your bank or post office within a year of maturity. Keep putting in ₹1,50,000 a year and the total reaches about ₹66.58 lakh after 20 years and about ₹1.03 crore after 25 years (at a constant 7.1%).

That jump from 15 to 25 years is the best illustration of compounding you will find in Indian savings: in the last 10 years you add ₹15 lakh of deposits but the balance grows by more than ₹62 lakh. The rule of 72 gives the intuition: at 7.1%, money roughly doubles every 10 years.

Loans and partial withdrawals (and how they affect the maths)

PPF is meant to be locked away, but it is not completely frozen. From the third to the sixth financial year you can take a loan of up to 25% of the balance at the end of the second year before the year you apply. From the seventh year you can make one partial withdrawal a year, up to 50% of the balance at the end of the fourth year before, or at the end of the previous year, whichever is lower. Anything you take out stops compounding, so a withdrawal in year 8 reduces your maturity amount by much more than the rupee amount you took. Check the exact conditions with your bank or post office before you apply.

Is the PPF maturity amount taxable?

PPF interest and the maturity amount are tax-free. Whether your yearly deposits also reduce your taxable income depends on the tax regime you choose, so check the current rules on the Income Tax Department's website or with a tax professional. You can compare your overall tax under each regime with our India income tax calculator.

How PPF compares with an FD and a SIP

• Fixed deposit: FD interest is usually taxed at your slab rate, so a similar headline rate leaves you with less. See how to calculate FD maturity or try the FD calculator.
• Mutual fund SIP: returns are not guaranteed and can be higher or lower than PPF. Our SIP returns guide and SIP calculator show how to estimate them.
• Inflation: ₹40 lakh in 15 years will buy less than ₹40 lakh today. The inflation calculator shows what a future amount is worth in today's money.

VSH take: what most savers get wrong

The most common surprise we see is people expecting "7.1% of ₹22.5 lakh" and getting confused by the bigger figure, or the opposite: assuming monthly compounding like an FD. PPF compounds once a year, and the date you pay matters more than people think. Many savers on forums say PPF is "boring but reliable", and that is the point: it is the safe, tax-free base of a plan, and many people keep it alongside riskier investments rather than instead of them. If your goal is a big trip, a course or exam fees, our flight deals hub and exam guides can help you put a number on it first.

This guide is general information, not financial or tax advice. The examples assume a constant 7.1% rate and are rounded; actual interest depends on the rate in each quarter, the exact dates of your deposits and the rules in force. Confirm the details with your bank, post office or the official National Savings Institute and Ministry of Finance sources. ViralScopeHub is not affiliated with the Government of India, India Post or any bank.