PPF calculator
Estimates what a PPF account — the government’s Public Provident Fund — could be worth at maturity, based on what you deposit each year.
Illustrative only — this is not a projection or a promise of returns. Figures assume the current government-set rate stays the same for the whole term; it is reviewed every quarter.
What this is, and what it isn’t
This is arithmetic on the numbers you typed. It compounds them at the rate you chose and shows you the result. That is all it does.
It is an illustration, not a projection. It is not a forecast, not a recommendation, and not an offer. Nobody knows what any investment will return, so the rate you enter is an assumption you are making, not a rate anyone is offering you. Real returns arrive unevenly — good years, flat years and falling years, in an order nobody can predict — and that order matters as much as the average.
Use the output the way you’d use a rough estimate on the back of an envelope: to see whether the shape of a plan is roughly right, not to decide what a specific rupee amount will be worth on a specific date.
Because the government resets the rate every quarter, the maturity figure here is an illustration at one rate rather than an amount anyone has promised you. Re-run it whenever the rate changes.
What this calculation assumes
Interest compounds once a year on the year’s balance. Five things this assumes:
- Today’s rate, held for fifteen years. It won’t be. The government reviews the PPF rate every quarter and has changed it many times. The rate on the day you open the account does not lock in for the term, but every year of this illustration uses the single rate showing in the field.
- The annual limit. PPF accepts up to ₹1,50,000 a year across all accounts in your name. Anything above that earns nothing.
- A fifteen-year term, counted from the end of the financial year in which the account was opened, so it usually runs a little over fifteen calendar years. Extensions come in five-year blocks.
- Deposit timing. Interest is worked out on the lowest balance between the 5th and the last day of each month, so a deposit made on the 6th earns nothing for that month. The calculator assumes your deposits land in time. Interest is credited once, at the end of the financial year.
- The money is locked in. Partial withdrawal is allowed from the seventh year, within limits, and a loan from the third. A PPF balance is not an emergency fund.
New to the idea behind this? SIP or a fixed deposit walks through it in plain language.
About these calculators
Is this figure a projection of what I will earn?
No. Every figure here is an illustration produced from the numbers you type in, at a rate of return you choose yourself. It is arithmetic, not a forecast: mutual fund returns are market-linked and not assured, and the actual outcome will differ.
Does this account for tax, expense ratio or exit load?
Unless a field asks for it, no — the core calculators show how compounding works on the inputs you give. Real outcomes are reduced by the scheme’s expense ratio, by any exit load, and by tax on your gains.
Why do your figures differ from another site’s calculator?
Almost always because of the assumptions, not the maths — the return rate, whether tax and costs are included, and how compounding frequency is handled. Change those to match and the numbers converge. Every one of these is an illustration of arithmetic, not a claim about a real scheme.
Is an SIP better than investing a lump sum?
Neither is universally better — they suit different situations. An SIP spreads your investment across many dates, which fits money that arrives monthly and takes the timing decision off your plate; a lump sum puts money to work at once, which fits money you already hold. Which applies to you depends on your cash flow and goal, so it is a conversation rather than a rule. SIP or lump sum, compared goes deeper.
Talk to us
If you’d rather go through your own numbers with a person than a form, that’s what we’re for. You’ll speak to Himani, who runs H2 — the same person every time.
Other calculators
See all calculators. None of these ask for your name, your phone number or your PAN. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere. Use them as often as you like without hearing from us.