Post Office FD Calculator

Calculate Post Office Time Deposit returns across all four tenures.

Tenure

Deposit Amount

₹

5Cr

Rate of Interest (p.a)

15%

Picking a tenure loads its notified rate; you can override it if the quarter has moved on. Only the 5-year deposit qualifies for a Section 80C deduction, and only under the old regime.

Effective Annual Yield

7.71%

Interest Paid Each Year

₹38,568

Total Interest

₹1,92,840

If Left To Compound

₹7,24,974

Total Received

₹6,92,840

Principal

Interest

What Is a Post Office FD Calculator?

A Post Office FD calculator, more formally a Post Office Time Deposit calculator, estimates your returns based on your deposit, chosen tenure, and the interest rate for that tenure. Post Office Time Deposits work much like a bank fixed deposit but carry a sovereign guarantee.

Current Post Office Time Deposit Rates

Tenure	Indicative interest rate
1 year	Around 6.9% per annum
2 years	Around 7.0% per annum
3 years	Around 7.1% per annum
5 years	Around 7.5% per annum

Rates are notified quarterly by the Finance Ministry. Only the 5-year Time Deposit qualifies for a Section 80C deduction, and only under the old regime.

Compounded Quarterly, Paid Out Annually

This is the detail that trips up most Post Office FD calculators. The scheme rule reads: interest shall be compounded on a quarterly basis and payable to the account holder at the end of each year during the period of deposit.

In other words, the quarterly compounding lifts the effective yield slightly above the headline rate, but the money leaves the account every year. The deposit itself never grows.

Interest paid each year = P × [(1 + r ÷ 4)⁴ − 1]

Notional compounded value = P × (1 + r ÷ 4)^(4n)

Worked Example

A ₹5,00,000 deposit in a 5-year Post Office Time Deposit at 7.5% per annum:

Quarterly compounding gives an effective annual yield of about 7.71%.
Interest paid out each year is approximately ₹38,570.
Total interest across 5 years is approximately ₹1,92,850, plus your ₹5,00,000 principal back.
Had the interest been left to compound instead, the deposit would have reached about ₹7,25,000. That figure is notional only, since India Post pays the interest out.

Post Office TD vs Bank FD vs NSC

Feature	Post Office TD	Bank FD	NSC
Backing	Government of India	Bank, DICGC insured up to ₹5 lakh	Government of India
80C eligible	Only the 5-year TD	Only 5-year tax-saver FD	Yes, 5-year lock-in
Premature withdrawal	After 6 months, at a reduced rate	Usually allowed, with penalty	Only in specific cases
Payout	Annual	Cumulative or payout	Cumulative, at maturity

Key Takeaways

Post Office Time Deposits offer tenures of 1, 2, 3 and 5 years, with rates currently ranging from roughly 6.9% to 7.5% per annum.
Only the 5-year Time Deposit is eligible for a Section 80C tax deduction; shorter tenures are not.
Interest compounds quarterly but is paid out annually to your linked account, rather than compounding within the deposit itself.
The Post Office TD carries a sovereign guarantee, making it comparable in safety to the strongest bank FDs, though liquidity terms differ.

FAQs

The 5-year tenure currently offers the highest rate among the four options and is the only one eligible for Section 80C benefits, but it also locks in your money for the longest period.