What is the current PPF interest rate?

The PPF interest rate is 7.1% per annum for the April-June 2026 quarter, unchanged since April 2020. The rate is set quarterly by the Ministry of Finance, and interest is compounded annually and credited on 31 March. Because PPF is a government-backed scheme, the return is effectively risk-free.

How much can I invest in PPF and for how long?

You can invest between ₹500 and ₹1.5 lakh per financial year in a PPF account. The base tenure is 15 years, after which you can extend in blocks of 5 years indefinitely (with or without further contributions). The ₹1.5 lakh annual cap is shared with your overall Section 80C limit.

Is PPF really tax-free?

Yes. PPF has EEE (Exempt-Exempt-Exempt) status: contributions qualify for deduction under Section 80C, the interest is tax-free, and the maturity amount is tax-free. That makes the 7.1% return more valuable than it looks. For someone in the 30% slab, a taxable option would need to pay over 10% before tax to match PPF's after-tax return.

Does PPF beat inflation?

Modestly. At 7.1% tax-free against about 6% inflation, PPF gives a small return after inflation, better than most taxable fixed-income options after tax, but well below long-run equity. It works best as the safe, tax-free part of a portfolio, not as your only way to build long-term wealth, which is why many investors pair it with equity SIPs.

Country-specific · uses India rules

PPF Calculator

Work out the maturity value of your Public Provident Fund (PPF) at the current 7.1% rate, and see what those tax-free savings are really worth after inflation.

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Default inflation rate for India: 5.5% per year, based on Reserve Bank of India / MoSPI (CPI) data (2026). You can override it in each calculator’s advanced options. See data sources for full citations.

Methodology: Mathematical FormulasData Sources: Inflation & Tax CitationsDisclaimer: Legal Disclosures

How We Work It Out

PPF compounds annually; each year's deposit earns interest for the remaining tenure:

Maturity = A × (1 + r) × [ ((1 + r)ⁿ − 1) / r ]

Today's Value = Maturity / (1 + inflation)ⁿ

Where: A = annual deposit, r = 7.1% rate, n = years. Assumes you deposit at the start of each financial year.

Real-World Examples

Investing ₹1.5 lakh a year for 15 years at 7.1%

Depositing the maximum ₹1,50,000 every year for the full 15-year term at 7.1% grows to about ₹40.68 lakh: ₹22.5 lakh paid in and roughly ₹18.2 lakh of tax-free interest. After 6% inflation, that is worth about what ₹17 lakh buys today.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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