1) What is PPF?
PPF stands for Public Provident Fund. It is a tax saving cum investment scheme issued under central government with the lock in period of 15 years. It encourages saving and helps to build a big corpus which saves tax also. It is a safe investment option to earn guaranteed returns and save taxes.
2) What are the features of PPF?
Public Provident Fund is amongst the famous saving instrument among citizens of India due to its following features:
- Everyone with a PAN/Aadhar card can open a PPF account.
- The minimum investment amount is Rs 500 and maximum limit is Rs 150000. However, the account can be opened by Rs 100 also.
- You can deposit money in PPF account either in lumpsum or in any frequency you are convenient in, but maximum 12 installments are allowed in a year. However, minimum deposit of Rs 500 per year is compulsory.
- Investors can take a loan on PPF account between 3rd and 5th year.
- For emergency situations, investors can withdraw partially after 7 years.
- PPF interest rate is compounded annually and the rate are set by government every quarter.
- The PPF interest rate is tax free up to Rs 1,50,000.
3) How is the PPF Interest Rate calculated?
The PPF interest is compounded annually. The Ministry of Finance decides the interest rate applicable and it changes very quarter. The PPF interest rate 2021 for Q4 is 7.10%. The interest is calculated monthly on PPF, but it is credited to account at the end of financial year. The PPF interest is calculated on the amount which is deposited before 5th of that month. If we deposit the amount after 5th then the interest on that is calculated from the next month onwards.
4) What are the tax benefits on PPF?
Under section 80-C of Income Tax Act, 1961, PPF comes under the EEE (Exempt, Exempt, Exempt) category. It means that the investment and PPF returns up to Rs 1.5 lakhs annually are completely exempted from taxation.
5) What is the tenure of PPF?
PPF has a lock in period of 15 years. Investors can extend the tenure after maturity in multiple of 5 years. There’s an option to withdraw partially in case of emergency after 7 years. Also, one can take a loan against PPF which is available after completion of 3years till the end of 6th year.
6) How to use online PPF Interest Rate Calculator?
To calculate how much interest you will earn and what will be the maturity amount of PPF, you can use our PPF calculator. All you need to do is enter 3 things, i.e., deposit frequency (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually), your investment amount and the tenure which start from minimum of 15 years and in multiples of 5 thereof. After entering these values, you will get your maturity amount, the deposited amount and the interest earned without the need of remembering any formulas.