Fifteen years of tax-free compounding.

How is PPF interest calculated?

PPF compounds annually at a government-set rate (currently 7.1%, revised quarterly by the Ministry of Finance based on prevailing government bond yields). This calculator assumes the full year's contribution is made at the start of each year — depositing before the 5th of April each year maximizes interest, since PPF interest is calculated on the minimum balance between the 5th and month-end.

Why is PPF called EEE?

Exempt-Exempt-Exempt: the contribution qualifies for Section 80C deduction (old regime), the interest earned is tax-free, and the maturity amount is tax-free — a combination almost no other Indian instrument offers, which is what makes PPF's effective post-tax return hard to beat for its risk level, since it's backed by the Government of India with essentially zero credit risk.

Can I withdraw before 15 years?

Partial withdrawals are allowed from year 7, and loans against the balance from year 3 — but full withdrawal requires completing the 15-year term. After 15 years, the account can be extended in 5-year blocks, with or without fresh contributions, making PPF effectively usable as a very long-horizon retirement vehicle well beyond the initial 15 years if desired.

What's the minimum and maximum contribution?

Minimum ₹500 per year to keep the account active, maximum ₹1,50,000 per financial year — contributions above the cap earn no interest and no tax benefit, so there's no advantage to depositing more than the ceiling in a single account.

What's the equivalent of PPF outside India?

No other country has an exact match — PPF's specific combination of a government-guaranteed fixed rate, full tax exemption on contribution, growth, and withdrawal, and a long mandatory lock-in is fairly unique to India. The closest conceptual relatives are tax-advantaged retirement accounts elsewhere, though each differs in important ways: the US 401(k)/Traditional IRA defers tax on contributions and growth but taxes withdrawals in retirement (not EEE, more like EET), while a Roth IRA is closer in spirit — post-tax contributions, tax-free growth and withdrawal — though without PPF's government-guaranteed fixed rate, since Roth IRA funds are typically invested in market securities. The UK's ISA (Individual Savings Account) offers tax-free growth and withdrawal similarly to PPF, but again typically holds market-linked investments (a Cash ISA is the closer match rate-wise) rather than a fixed government rate, and has no long mandatory lock-in. None of these fully replicate PPF's specific guarantee-plus-full-tax-exemption combination, which is a reasonable part of why PPF remains a cornerstone of conservative Indian retirement planning specifically.

How does PPF compare to EPF (Employee Provident Fund)?

Both are government-backed, tax-advantaged long-term savings vehicles with similar EEE tax treatment, but EPF is tied to formal employment (with mandatory employer + employee contributions as a percentage of salary) and generally offers a slightly higher rate than PPF in most years, while PPF is open to anyone, including the self-employed, non-salaried individuals, and even EPF subscribers wanting to save beyond their EPF contribution. Many salaried Indians hold both simultaneously.

Should I contribute to PPF every year, or can I skip years?

You can skip years and still keep the account active as long as the ₹500 annual minimum is met (a small reactivation penalty applies if you miss it entirely), but skipping years obviously means missing that year's compounding — since PPF's advantage compounds over 15+ years, consistent annual contributions, ideally maximized and made early in the financial year, produce meaningfully more than sporadic ones even with the same total amount contributed over time.

Worked example: ₹1,50,000 invested at the start of each year for 15 years at 7.1% grows to roughly ₹40.7 lakh — ₹22.5 lakh of contributions plus about ₹18.2 lakh of entirely tax-free interest, an outcome very few other instruments in any country can match for a risk-free, government-backed product.