PPF Maturity: Withdraw, Extend With or Without Deposits

When your PPF account completes 15 years, you have three choices: withdraw everything, let it run without new deposits (the default if you do nothing), or extend it with fresh deposits in 5-year blocks by submitting Form H within one year of maturity. The balance keeps earning the PPF rate, 7.1% for October–December 2026, tax-free, so unless you need the money, extending is often the better choice. The right option depends on whether you still want to invest, need regular access, or need the lump sum now.

When exactly does PPF mature?

A PPF account matures 15 full financial years after the end of the financial year in which it was opened. An account opened in, say, June 2011 (FY 2011-12) matures on 1 April 2027, not June 2026. Check the maturity date in your passbook or net banking.

Your three options at a glance

All three are tax-free. You can extend repeatedly, block after block, as long as you choose each time.

Option 1: Close and withdraw

Choose this if you need the whole amount for a defined goal, such as a child's education, a house down payment or clearing a high-interest loan.

Submit the closure form (often called Form C or the account closure form, depending on the bank or post office) with your passbook. The full balance including interest is paid to your linked bank account.

Watch out: money moved into a savings account or FD starts earning a taxable and often lower rate. If you are not spending it right away, closing early can cost you tax-free returns.

Option 2: Extend without contribution (default)

If you do nothing within a year of maturity, the account automatically continues without new deposits.

• The whole balance earns the prevailing PPF rate.
• You can withdraw any amount, once every financial year, up to the full balance.
• You cannot later switch to "with contribution" for that block.

Choose this if you have no surplus to invest, want maximum flexibility, but do not need the whole sum now. It works like a tax-free, government-backed account from which you take one withdrawal a year.

Option 3: Extend with contribution (Form H)

Submit Form H (extension form) at your bank or post office within one year of maturity. The account then runs for another 5 years with deposits allowed.

• Deposit ₹500 to ₹1.5 lakh per financial year, as before.
• Deposits qualify for the deduction under Section 123 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (old Section 80C), if you use the old regime.
• Withdrawals: one per financial year, and in total over the block up to 60% of the balance at the start of the extension.

Important: if you deposit money after maturity without submitting Form H in time, that money is treated as irregular, earns no interest and gets no deduction.

Choose this if you still have surplus income, want tax-free compounding on new money, and do not expect to need more than 60% of the balance over the next five years.

Worked example: a ₹40.68 lakh maturity

Suppose you deposited ₹1.5 lakh a year for 15 years, and your account has matured with ₹40,68,209, which is what ₹1.5 lakh a year at a constant 7.1% produces (as worked out in PPF vs FD vs ELSS). The rate is held at today's 7.1% for five more years for simplicity; this is illustrative, as the rate is reset each quarter.

Option 1: Withdraw now You receive ₹40.68 lakh, tax-free. If you put it in a 7% FD and are in the 30% slab, the post-tax return falls to about 4.8% a year.

Option 2: Extend without contribution, no withdrawals ₹40,68,209 × (1.071)^5 ≈ ₹57.33 lakh after 5 years. First-year tax-free interest alone is about ₹2.89 lakh.

Option 3: Extend with ₹1.5 lakh a year, no withdrawals Each year: (balance + ₹1,50,000) × 1.071 After 5 years ≈ ₹66.58 lakh, of which ₹7.5 lakh is new money.

Withdrawal limit under Option 3 60% × ₹40,68,209 ≈ ₹24.41 lakh, in total across the 5-year block, taken at most once a year.

To model your own balance and deposits, use the PPF calculator.

How to decide

Ask three questions:

1. Do I need the money within a year? If yes and for the full amount, close it. If you need only part, Option 2 lets you take any amount once a year while the rest keeps compounding tax-free.
2. Do I still have surplus to invest in safe, tax-free debt? If yes, Option 3 lets you keep adding up to ₹1.5 lakh a year.
3. Am I using the old regime? The deduction for new deposits matters only in the old regime. Under the new regime, Option 3 still gives tax-free growth on new money, which compares well with taxable FDs. See new vs old tax regime.

Also consider your overall asset mix. A large PPF balance is a solid debt holding. If you are years from retirement, you might keep PPF as the stable part and direct new savings to equity for growth; read EPF vs PPF vs NPS for how PPF fits with other retirement products. If you are near or in retirement, a matured PPF account extended without contribution can act as a flexible, tax-free reserve inside a retirement bucket strategy.

Rules to keep in mind (as of October 2026)

• Form H deadline: One year from maturity. Miss it and the extension is automatically without contribution for that block.
• Rate: The extended account earns whatever PPF rate applies each quarter, not the rate when you opened it.
• One withdrawal per year in both extension types.
• Premature closure during an extension: Under the PPF (Amendment) Scheme, 2023, if an extended account is closed early on permitted grounds, the 1% interest reduction applies only to the current extension block.
• Loans are not available after the original 15 years.
• NRIs: Residents who later become NRIs can keep the account until maturity but, under the current rules, cannot extend it; check with your bank, as NRI rules for small savings schemes have been revised in the past.
• Nomination: Review and update nominees at extension time.

Key takeaways

• PPF matures 15 years after the end of the financial year of opening; check the exact date.
• Doing nothing extends the account without deposits; you can then withdraw any amount once a year.
• To keep depositing, submit Form H within one year of maturity; withdrawals are capped at 60% of the block-opening balance.
• Extended balances keep earning the prevailing PPF rate, 7.1% for October–December 2026, tax-free.
• Illustratively, ₹40.68 lakh grows to about ₹57.3 lakh in five years without new deposits, or ₹66.6 lakh with ₹1.5 lakh a year.
• Close the account only if you need the money, since replacing tax-free PPF returns is hard.