# PPF: The Complete Guide to Rules, Limits, Withdrawals and Tax Treatment

Two numbers get mixed up on almost every PPF article. The first is the tax limit: ₹1.5 lakh is what you may *deduct*, not the level at which interest becomes taxable. Those are different questions with different answers. The second is what getting money out costs. Taking money out partway through a PPF is free. Closing one early is not, and the cost is not the one most articles describe.

**In short:**

- ₹500 minimum, ₹1,50,000 maximum per financial year, and one account per person. A joint PPF is not allowed.
- Interest is 7.1% per annum for the quarter 1 October to 31 December 2026. The Ministry of Finance resets it every quarter, and it is credited once a year, at the end of the financial year.
- The term is 15 years. After that you either extend in 5-year blocks and keep depositing, or keep the account open with no deposits and withdraw as you like.
- Before maturity you may withdraw 50% of the lower of two balances, once a year, from year 7. No penalty.
- In an extension block, all withdrawals together are capped at 60% of the balance the block opened with.
- Closing early is allowed on three grounds only, and the cost is an interest rate one point lower, not 1% of the payout.
- The contribution is deductible under section 123 up to ₹1,50,000 shared with other schemes. The interest is exempt under section 11 with a ₹5,00,000 threshold when your employer contributes nothing.

This is the whole scheme, from who can open one to what the bank pays you to the arithmetic at maturity. Every rule comes from the Public Provident Fund Scheme, 2019 (Ministry of Finance notification G.S.R. 915(E) dated 12 December 2019, which rescinded and replaced the 1968 Scheme), or from the Government Savings Promotion General Rules, 2018 (G.S.R. 1003(E)) where the Scheme sends you there.

## What a PPF actually is

A Public Provident Fund account is a government-backed savings account with a 15-year term. You put in a fixed amount each financial year. Interest is credited once a year, at the end of the financial year, at a rate the government fixes every quarter. At the end of 15 years the account matures and the whole balance is yours.

**Interest rate: 7.1% per annum for the quarter 1 October to 31 December 2026**, notified by the Ministry of Finance on 30 September 2026. The next revision is 31 December 2026. This rate is the one notified for this quarter — small-savings rates are reset quarterly by the Ministry of Finance, so check the current notification before you rely on any figure, including that one.

The rate in the Scheme itself (paragraph 7) is written as 7.9%. That is the base figure in the statute; the rate you actually earn is whatever the Ministry notifies for the quarter you are in.

## Who can open one

- **One account per person.** Paragraph 3(1) lets an individual open an account. Only one, per person.
- **On behalf of a minor or a person of unsound mind**, a guardian may open one account **for each minor** of whom he is the guardian (paragraph 3(2)). So a parent with two children may hold two accounts, one for each child — but only one account may ever stand in any one minor's name. Note that these share the single ₹1.5 lakh annual ceiling, which is covered under deposit limits below.
- **No joint account.** Paragraph 3(3) rules it out: "Joint account shall not be opened under this Scheme."
- **Eligibility** is set by rule 4(1) of the General Rules: an adult who is a resident citizen of India. A guardian opens the account for a minor, and both guardian and minor must be resident citizens.
- **Non-residents cannot open a fresh account.** If you become a non-resident later, rule 9(4) of the General Rules keeps the account earning interest up to maturity, with no interest after maturity, and the benefits available only on a non-repatriation basis. Extension is not open to you: the extension form (Form-4) requires you to declare that you are a resident citizen of India at the start of the block period.

So a husband and a wife can each run a PPF, and each has their own ceiling. A joint PPF is not an option.

**How to open one:** a post office or an authorised bank. For the passbook, statement and password mechanics, see [how to open a PPF account and get your statement or passbook with the password](https://thewealthblog.in/how-to-open-ppf-statement-pdf-password-full-guide-for-post-office-bank-ppf-accounts/). This page is about the rules governing the money once the account exists.

## Deposit limits: ₹500 to ₹1.5 lakh a year

|  | Amount |
|---|---|
| Minimum in the opening year | ₹500 |
| Minimum in each later year | ₹500 |
| Maximum in a financial year | ₹1,50,000 |
| All deposits must be in | multiples of ₹50 |

Paragraph 4(1) sets the range: a deposit "which shall not be less than five hundred rupees and not more than one lakh fifty thousand rupees in multiple of fifty rupees may be made in an account in a year."

Two details that catch people:

- **Your ₹1.5 lakh ceiling is shared.** Paragraph 4(2): the maximum is inclusive of deposits in your own account *and* in the account you hold for a minor. A ₹1.2 lakh deposit into your own account plus ₹50,000 for your child exceeds the ceiling — ₹1,70,000 in a single year.
- **After the opening year, ₹50 is the unit, not ₹500.** Paragraph 5(1) requires a minimum initial deposit of ₹500 to open the account, and thereafter "deposit of any sum in multiples of fifty rupees." The ₹500 floor is the year's total, not a floor per transaction.

Paragraph 5(2) allows the year's amount in one lump sum or in instalments. The Scheme sets no limit on the number of instalments. Deposits must be made within the financial year they are meant for; a top-up made in April counts towards the new year.

## The 15-year term, and the two things you can do after

The account matures 15 years from the end of the financial year in which it was opened (paragraph 11(1)). Then you have two genuinely different options, and the difference between them matters.

**Option 1 — continue with deposits, in 5-year blocks.** Paragraph 12(1) lets you extend for a further block period of five years and *keep depositing* under the same paragraph 4 limits — so the ₹1.5 lakh a year ceiling applies again in each block. You signal this on Form-4, and the option must be exercised before expiry of one year from maturity (paragraph 12(2)). Blocks repeat indefinitely: paragraph 12(5) applies the same terms to every subsequent five-year block. So an extension is not a five-year parking lot. It is a fresh 15-year-style term in miniature, with contributions.

Paragraph 12(3) is the trap. If you let the one-year window lapse, any deposit you then make is treated as irregular and refunded immediately without interest. Silence is not "hold my place" — it is "close my account."

**Option 2 — continue without deposits, for any period you like.** Paragraph 11(2) lets you keep the account open with no further deposits, and the balance keeps earning the notified rate. In this mode you may make one withdrawal each year of *any amount* within the balance — no percentage ceiling. This is the loosest access PPF ever offers, and it exists only after maturity.

Paragraph 11(3) closes the door in one direction: once you have run an account without deposits for more than a year, you cannot go back to depositing. And paragraph 12(6) lets you switch the other way — after one or more blocks with deposits, you may leave the account without deposits at the end of any block, and then make one withdrawal a year from it.

## Partial withdrawal: from year 7, up to 50%

This is the rule most PPF articles state wrongly, in one of three ways. Here it is in full, from paragraph 10(1):

> Any time after the expiry of five years from the end of the year in which the account was opened, the account holder may avail withdrawal by applying in Form-2, from the balance to his credit, an amount not exceeding **fifty per cent** of the amount that stood to his credit at the end of the **fourth year immediately preceding the year of withdrawal or at the end of the preceding year, whichever is lower** … Provided that the amount of loan outstanding, if any, along with interest shall be paid by the account holder before availing the facility of withdrawal … Provided further that the facility of withdrawal may be availed **only once in a year** only from the accounts which have not become discontinued.

Four things follow, and all four matter:

- **The ceiling is 50%, not 60%.** Sixty per cent is a different rule for a different stage of the account's life. See the next section.
- **The base is the lower of two balances.** Not the preceding year, not the fourth year back — whichever is *lower* of those two. This clause is the entire rule and it is where most published figures come from.
- **Outstanding loan comes off first.** Any loan you took and have not repaid, with interest, must be repaid before you withdraw.
- **The window is year 7 through maturity, one withdrawal a year.** It is not a single window in year 15. An account opened in financial year 2026-27 first qualifies in 2032-33, its seventh financial year, and the facility then runs every year to maturity.

**Partial withdrawal carries no penalty.** That is the whole point of it.

Worked from the example below: an account opened in 2026-27 with unbroken ₹1.5 lakh deposits has ₹5,16,978 at the end of year 3 and ₹11,52,076 at the end of year 6. The year-7 ceiling is 50% of the lower of those two, ₹5,16,978 — so **₹2,58,489**, not ₹5,76,038. Miss a year and both balances are lower, so your ceiling is too. The number to check in your own passbook is the year-3 balance, not this one.

## In each 5-year extension block: 60% of the block

The 60% is a different rule. Paragraph 12(4) makes paragraph 10 available to an account extended with deposits, "subject to the condition that the total withdrawal during the block period of five years shall not exceed sixty per cent of the balance at credit at the commencement of the block period," and it may be taken "either in a single or in yearly instalments."

So 60% is a ceiling on the **whole five years together**, not on any one withdrawal. That is the distinction most pages miss, and it is the one that bites.

On the example below: maturity balance ₹40,68,209, so the block ceiling is 60% = **₹24,40,925**. You may take it in a single year, or spread it as ₹10 lakh in one year and ₹14,40,925 in the next. Either way **₹16,27,284 stays locked for the whole five years**. If you want more than ₹24.40 lakh out of that block, you cannot have it — until the block ends.

And remember: if you continue *without* deposits under paragraph 11(2) instead, the 60% cap does not apply at all. One withdrawal a year, any amount within the balance.

## Premature closure: three grounds, and a cut in the interest rate

Before maturity, the account can be closed early on three grounds only (paragraph 13(1)):

- **(a) Treatment of a life-threatening disease** of the account holder, their spouse, or dependent children or parents — on supporting documents and medical reports from the treating medical authority.
- **(b) Higher education** of the account holder, or of dependent children — on documents and fee bills confirming admission to a recognised institute of higher education in India or abroad.
- **(c) Change in residency status** — on production of a copy of the passport and visa, or the income-tax return.

And not before the expiry of five years from the end of the year in which the account was opened (paragraph 13(1), first proviso). Since that period runs from the close of year 1, the earliest an account can be closed early is **year 7** — the same year partial withdrawal opens.

Almost every article says premature closure costs 1% of the amount withdrawn. The Scheme says something else, in the second proviso to paragraph 13(1):

> … on such premature closure, interest in the account shall be allowed at a rate which shall be lower by **one per cent** than the rate at which interest has been credited in the account from time to time since the date of opening of the account, or the date of extension of the account, as the case may be.

Read that carefully. It is a **one percentage point cut to the interest rate**, applied to the whole account from the date it was opened — not a 1% deduction from your payout. Close in year 8 and the entire balance from year 1 onward is recalculated at 6.1% instead of 7.1%, and you are paid the resulting figure. The longer the account has run, the larger the amount of interest already credited that gets reversed.

Where an account has been extended and is then closed prematurely before the current five-year block ends, the reduction runs from the date of extension of the account rather than the original opening.

Put the three routes side by side:

|  | When | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Partial withdrawal, first 15-year term | Year 7 onwards, once a year | **Nothing.** Up to 50% of the lower of the two balances, less any loan outstanding |
| Partial withdrawal in an extension block | During the 5-year block | **Nothing.** But all withdrawals in the block together are capped at 60% of the block-opening balance |
| Withdrawal after maturity, no deposits | Year 16 onwards, once a year | **Nothing.** One withdrawal a year of any amount in the balance |
| Premature closure | Only on the three grounds, and never before year 7 | **Interest rate cut by one percentage point**, from the date of opening or extension |

## Loans against a PPF: years 3 to 6

Paragraph 8(1) allows a loan:

> At any time after the expiry of one year from the end of the year in which the initial subscription was made but before expiry of five years from the end of the year in which the initial subscription was made … a sum of whole rupees not exceeding **twenty-five per cent of the amount that stood to his credit at the end of the second year immediately preceding the year in which the loan is applied for**.

An account opened in 2026-27 can therefore borrow from its **third** financial year (2028-29) and the window closes at the end of its **sixth** (2031-32). Note the base: the balance at the end of the **second** year before you apply, not the preceding year. For a first loan in year 3, the base is the year-1 balance.

The other loan conditions:

- **Once a year** (paragraph 8(4)).
- **No second loan until the first is repaid in full with interest** (paragraph 8(3)).
- **Repay the principal within 36 months** of the first day of the month following the month of sanction, in one lump sum or instalments (paragraph 9(1)).

On the cost of the loan, two rates exist and it matters which one you are reading:

- **The Scheme's own terms (paragraph 9(2)).** After the principal is repaid, you pay interest on the principal at **1% per annum**, in no more than two monthly instalments. And the proviso: if the loan is not repaid, or only partly repaid, within 36 months, interest on the outstanding amount is charged at **6% per annum instead of 1%**. That penal rate is the part that hurts — it runs from the month after you took the loan until the month it is finally repaid.
- **Bank practice.** Banks and post offices typically lend at a rate about 1% above the notified PPF rate, which would be about 8.1% against the current notified 7.1% for the Oct–Dec 2026 quarter. That is market convention, not the Scheme. The mechanics and how it stacks against PMVVY are in [loan against PPF and PMVVY](https://thewealthblog.in/loan-against-ppf-pmvvy/).

There is no overlap between the two money-access windows. Loans run in years 3 to 6; partial withdrawal opens in year 7. By the time you can take money out, you can no longer borrow against it.

## If you miss a year's ₹500

Miss the minimum deposit in any year after the opening year and the account is treated as discontinued (paragraph 6(1)).

- You may revive it **during its maturity period**, on a fee of ₹50 plus arrears of ₹500 for each defaulting year (paragraph 6(2)).
- Until you revive it, **no loan and no partial withdrawal** (paragraph 6(3)).
- While discontinued you **cannot open another PPF**, and you stay barred until the discontinued account is finally closed (paragraph 6(3)).
- The balance keeps earning the notified rate in the meantime. If you never revive it, it still earns until maturity (paragraph 6(2), proviso) — but there is no reviving after maturity.

Paragraph 6(4) states the underlying principle: loan and partial-withdrawal facilities are for regular accounts only.

## Worked example: ₹1.5 lakh a year for 15 years at 7.1% (Oct–Dec 2026 quarter)

**Assumptions.** ₹1,50,000 deposited in the first week of each financial year, so the deposit is in the account well before the fifth of the month. Interest at the notified 7.1% per annum for the Oct–Dec 2026 quarter, computed monthly and credited once at the end of each financial year. Under paragraph 7(1) interest for a calendar month is earned on the lowest balance between the close of the fifth day and the end of that month, so an early-month deposit earns the full year's interest.

**Step 1 — the rate you actually earn.** The Scheme does not compound quarterly. Interest is computed month by month on the lowest balance between the close of the fifth day and the end of that month (paragraph 7(1)), and then **credited once, at the end of the financial year** (paragraph 7(2)). "Monthly" describes how the interest is worked out; "annual" describes how often it is added to the account. So the notified 7.1% for the quarter is the rate that compounds, once a year, and there is no quarterly uplift anywhere in the scheme.

> r = **0.071** (7.1% per annum, credited annually)

**Step 2 — the future value.** Each year's deposit sits in the account for the rest of the term, which makes this an annuity with deposits at the start of each year:

> FV = P × \[(1 + r)ⁿ − 1\] ÷ r × (1 + r)

With P = ₹1,50,000, r = 0.071 and n = 15:

- (1 + r)¹⁵ = 1.071¹⁵ = 2.79796
- \[(2.79796 − 1) ÷ 0.071\] = 25.32343
- × (1 + r) = 27.12139
- FV = 150,000 × 27.12139 = **₹40,68,209**

**Year by year.** Interest each year is 7.1% (the Oct–Dec 2026 quarter rate) of the opening balance including that year's deposit; the closing balance is opening balance plus deposit plus interest. Cumulative interest is the running sum of the interest column.

| Year | Interest that year | Balance at year end | Cumulative interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹10,650 | ₹1,60,650 | ₹10,650 |
| 2 | ₹22,056 | ₹3,32,706 | ₹32,706 |
| 3 | ₹34,272 | ₹5,16,978 | ₹66,978 |
| 4 | ₹47,355 | ₹7,14,334 | ₹1,14,334 |
| 5 | ₹61,368 | ₹9,25,701 | ₹1,75,701 |
| 6 | ₹76,375 | ₹11,52,076 | ₹2,52,076 |
| 7 | ₹92,447 | ₹13,94,524 | ₹3,44,524 |
| 8 | ₹1,09,661 | ₹16,54,185 | ₹4,54,185 |
| 9 | ₹1,28,097 | ₹19,32,282 | ₹5,82,282 |
| 10 | ₹1,47,842 | ₹22,30,124 | ₹7,30,124 |
| 11 | ₹1,68,989 | ₹25,49,113 | ₹8,99,113 |
| 12 | ₹1,91,637 | ₹28,90,750 | ₹10,90,750 |
| 13 | ₹2,15,893 | ₹32,56,643 | ₹13,06,643 |
| 14 | ₹2,41,872 | ₹36,48,515 | ₹15,48,515 |
| 15 | ₹2,69,695 | **₹40,68,209** | **₹18,18,209** |

**The bottom row reconciles.** You put in 15 × ₹1,50,000 = **₹22,50,000**. The account pays **₹18,18,209** of interest, and ₹40,68,209 − ₹22,50,000 = ₹18,18,209 exactly. Your money is 1.81 times your contributions — and none of the return is taxable, which is the point.

Note the shape of the table. Year 1 earns ₹10,650 and year 15 earns ₹2,69,695, over twenty-five times as much on the same ₹1.5 lakh. The return accelerates because the balance is compounding, not because the rate changed.

For scale, on the same assumptions and rate: **₹50,000** a year ends at about **₹13,56,070** (₹6,06,070 interest) and **₹1,00,000** a year at about **₹27,12,139** (₹12,12,139 interest).

**Extending.** Continue with deposits for one further five-year block under paragraph 12 and keep depositing ₹1.5 lakh a year, and the balance after 20 years is **₹66,58,288**. Continue without deposits instead — paragraph 11(2) — and ₹40,68,209 grows to about **₹57,32,586** over years 16 to 20, which is ₹16,64,377 more for five years of doing nothing at all. That is the whole argument for extending: once the contributions stop, the compounding is the entire return.

To run your own numbers, use the [PPF calculator](https://thewealthblog.in/calculators/ppf-calculator/).

## The tax treatment: two separate things

Two provisions are at work here. They answer different questions, and neither produces the other. Most confusion about PPF tax comes from running them together.

### 1. The deduction — what you paid in

**Section 123 of the Income-tax Act, 2025** allows an individual or HUF to deduct amounts paid in the tax year that fall within the aggregate of the sums listed in **Schedule XV**, up to **₹1,50,000**. Schedule XV paragraph 1 lists, among others:

- **(d)** — contribution to any provident fund under the Provident Funds Act, 1925 (this covers **PPF**)
- **(f)** — employee contribution to a recognised provident fund (**EPF**)
- **(h)** — subscription to a security or deposit scheme notified by the Central Government in the name of an individual or any girl child (**PPF** and **SSY**)
- **(i)** — subscription to a savings certificate under section 3(k) of the Government Savings Banks Act, 1873 (**NSC**)

₹1,50,000 a year into your PPF therefore sits inside a **₹1,50,000 ceiling shared with ELSS, EPF, LIC, tuition fees and the principal on a home loan**. It is not a PPF-only allowance. This is the replacement for the old section 80C.

### 2. The exemption — what you earned

**Section 11 read with Schedule II of the Income-tax Act, 2025** exempts interest on the notified government certificates and deposits. **Schedule II, entry 3** sets the threshold, and it is conditional:

- **₹5,00,000** in a tax year where the **employer makes no contribution** to the fund
- **₹2,50,000** in other cases

A self-contributory PPF is the first case — no employer contribution — so the threshold is **₹5,00,000**.

Now the gap that gets misquoted more than any other figure on this scheme. **₹1.5 lakh is the section 123 deduction ceiling** — a cap on what you may claim against taxable income. **₹5 lakh is the exempt-interest threshold** — the level of interest at which the exemption stops applying. Claiming the deduction does not make the interest exempt. The interest is exempt because Schedule II says so; you claim the deduction because Schedule XV says so. They are independent facts about the same scheme, and the ₹1.5 lakh you contribute sits comfortably inside the ₹5 lakh exempt band.

The practical consequence: **no tax is payable on PPF interest, and no TDS is deducted on it either.** Nothing to report, nothing to claim on the interest side. That, not the deduction, is what makes PPF a zero-tax instrument.

For completeness: the section 123 deduction is available only under the **old tax regime** — the new regime has no section 123 deduction. On the new regime the exemption still stands, but the ₹1.5 lakh deduction does not.

### What is not exempt

**Senior Citizens Savings Scheme interest is taxable.** The Schedule II exemption covers the notified certificates and deposits, and SCSS interest is not in that set. It is taxed at your slab as income from other sources, qualifying only for capped relief under **section 153** (up to ₹10,000, or ₹50,000 for a senior citizen, on deposit interest). If you hold SCSS alongside PPF, plan for the SCSS interest as taxable income rather than assuming the PPF treatment carries over.

## Nomination: nominate, and choose the kind

Nominate. Then read rule 14 of the General Rules, 2018, because the detail nobody prints is the important part.

**You may nominate one or more individuals, but not more than four** (rule 14(1)). The nomination is made in Form-10 at the time of opening the account, and you state three things: the nominee's name, the percentage share each is to receive, and — the part that matters —

> (c) Whether the nominee shall receive the amount as a **beneficiary with absolute and exclusive right of ownership**, or as a **trustee for the benefit of the legal heirs of depositor**.

**So the nominee does not just receive the interest accrued to the date of death.** That is a widespread error. The nominee applies on Form-11 for payment of the **entire eligible balance** (rule 15(2)), and the choice you made in rule 14(1)(c) decides what that means: either the nominee takes it outright as owner, or they hold it as trustee for your legal heirs. Choose the second if you want the money to follow your will and succession rather than the nomination.

One point on this where our two pages differ, and it is worth knowing before you sign. Our [loan against PPF and PMVVY post](https://thewealthblog.in/loan-against-ppf-pmvvy/) takes the stricter reading: that the owner-or-trustee entry is a legal status rather than a free preference, so a nominee holds as trustee for the legal heirs unless they are themselves a legal heir, and declaring "owner" for someone who is not is a misdeclaration that transfers nothing. That reading comes from bank practice — an SCSS FAQ from HDFC states it that way — rather than from the wording of rule 14(1)(c) itself, which puts the choice to the depositor without a default. We have not reconciled the two, so take the cautious route: **nominate a legal heir and let the entry read trustee.** That is correct on either reading. For anything touching a specific estate, take a lawyer's view.

Other points from the rules:

- **A nominee may be a minor.** Rule 14(2) requires you to appoint an individual to receive the payment during the nominee's minority. If the nominee dies, their share passes to the surviving nominees in the proportions specified (rule 15(4)).
- **An account for a minor can carry a nomination.** Rule 14(5) provides that the nomination in such an account is made by the guardian, who may nominate any individual including himself.
- **You may vary or cancel the nomination any time before maturity** (rule 14(3)), on a fresh Form-10 with the passbook. There is a ₹50 fee for cancellation or change of nomination (Schedule II).
- **A nomination stands cancelled** if all nominees die, or if the account is pledged as security under rule 16 (rule 14(6)). A fresh nomination is then required.
- **With no nomination**, if the eligible amount does not exceed **₹5 lakh** and no succession certificate is produced within six months, the authorised officer may pay a person appearing to be the rightful claimant, on a death certificate, the passbook or statement, an affidavit (GSPR-13), a letter of disclaimer (GSPR-14) and a bond of indemnity (GSPR-15) — rule 15(6). Above ₹5 lakh, a succession certificate is required.

Paragraph 14(1) of the Scheme adds that on death the account is closed, and the nominee or legal heir may not continue operating it. The balance earns interest until the end of the month before payment.

## Is PPF worth it? The honest version

PPF is not the highest-returning instrument available. Equity funds have historically beaten it over long horizons, and if your goal is the largest possible corpus and you can tolerate market risk, PPF is not the optimal choice.

What PPF offers is a specific combination: a **government-notified rate you know in advance**, **zero tax on the return**, a **15-year floor** that stops you touching it, and a contribution ceiling that forces money in rather than out. If your goal is a guaranteed, tax-free, self-discipline-proof pot for a known date fifteen years out, it is very hard to beat.

One comparison worth making, if you have an employer EPF: the [EPF vs PPF vs VPF vs NPS cheat sheet](https://thewealthblog.in/epf-vs-ppf-vs-vpf-vs-nps-2026-salary-optimization-cheat-sheet/) sets out how the four divide your salary. The short version is that EPF is not optional and PPF is, so PPF is where the discretionary tax-free savings go.

**The rate is the number most articles bury: 7.1% per annum for the 1 October to 31 December 2026 quarter, notified 30 September 2026.** Rates are reset quarterly — next revision 31 December 2026.

## Key takeaways

- One PPF per person, no joint account, and one account **for each minor** a guardian looks after — though those minor accounts share the single ₹1.5 lakh annual ceiling. Non-residents cannot open one; a resident who becomes non-resident keeps earning until maturity, at the non-repatriation basis, and cannot extend.
- ₹500 to ₹1.5 lakh a year, deposits in multiples of ₹50, and the ₹1.5 lakh ceiling is shared between your own account and any account you hold for a minor.
- 15 years to maturity. After that: extend **with deposits** in 5-year blocks (option within one year of maturity, ₹1.5 lakh ceiling again in each block), or continue **without deposits** for any period. Missing the one-year option means later deposits are refunded without interest.
- Partial withdrawal from year 7, once a year, up to **50% of the lower of** (balance at end of the fourth year immediately preceding the withdrawal) and (balance at end of the preceding year), less any loan outstanding. **No penalty.**
- In each extension block, all withdrawals together are capped at **60% of the block-opening balance**, takeable in one go or spread across the five years. Continue without deposits instead and there is no percentage cap at all — one withdrawal a year of any amount.
- Premature closure is allowed on three grounds only (life-threatening disease, higher education, change of residency), never before year 7, and the cost is an interest rate **one percentage point lower** from the date of opening or extension — not 1% of the payout.
- Loans: years 3 to 6, up to 25% of the balance at the end of the **second** year before you apply, one a year, previous loan repaid in full first. Principal within 36 months, otherwise 6% per annum instead of 1% under the Scheme's own terms.
- Miss the ₹500 and the account is discontinued: ₹50 plus arrears to revive, during the maturity period only, and no loan or withdrawal until you do.
- **Tax: section 123 with Schedule XV for the ₹1,50,000 deduction; section 11 with Schedule II entry 3 for the interest exemption, whose threshold is ₹5,00,000 where the employer makes no contribution (₹2,50,000 otherwise).** Unrelated provisions. Interest is exempt and no TDS is deducted on it. SCSS interest is taxable — do not carry the PPF treatment across.
- Nominate in Form-10, up to four people, and decide whether the nominee takes the whole balance outright or as trustee for your legal heirs. If you are unsure, nominate a legal heir and let the entry read trustee. They do not receive only the interest to the date of death.

## Do one thing today

Open your bank's PPF page and check two things. Whether you already nominate someone on an existing account. Whether your standing instruction for next April is set. If the second answer is no, set it now, because the ₹500 that misses a year is the one mistake on this list you cannot repair afterwards at any price.

*This is for educational purposes only. Rules cited are the Public Provident Fund Scheme, 2019 (G.S.R. 915(E), 12 December 2019) and the Government Savings Promotion General Rules, 2018 (G.S.R. 1003(E)). Every rate on this page is the one notified for the quarter named beside it. Consult a qualified financial advisor for personalised advice.*