EPF Calculator

EPF is a mandatory retirement-savings scheme for salaried employees in India, run by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). Any establishment with 20 or more employees must enrol staff earning Basic + DA. Both you and your employer contribute every month, the balance earns a government-declared rate of interest, and the corpus is paid out (largely tax-free) at retirement, resignation, or as allowed partial withdrawals. It is distinct from the PPF (Public Provident Fund), which is a voluntary scheme open to anyone.

The EPFO's latest declared rate is 8.25% per annum (for FY 2025-26, retained from FY 2024-25) – the rate used as the default in this calculator. The rate is recommended each year by EPFO's Central Board of Trustees and notified by the government, so it can change annually (it has held 8.25% since FY 2023-24, up from 8.15% in FY 2022-23). Because it is reviewed yearly rather than locked, you can override the rate slider to model a more conservative assumption over a long horizon.

Interest is calculated on the monthly running balance but credited only once, at the end of the financial year (31 March). So your opening balance earns the full annual rate, and each month's fresh contribution earns interest for the remaining months of that year – there is no month-on-month compounding within a year. This calculator uses exactly that EPFO method: for a year with opening balance B and constant monthly contribution C, the interest credited is (rate ÷ 12) × (12·B + 78·C).

You contribute 12% of your Basic + DA, and the entire 12% goes to your EPF account. Your employer also contributes 12% of Basic + DA, but it is split: 8.33% goes to the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) – capped at 8.33% of ₹15,000, i.e. ₹1,250 a month – and the remaining balance (3.67% when your wage is ₹15,000 or less, more above it) goes to your EPF account. This calculator builds the corpus from your full 12% plus the employer's EPF share; the EPS portion is shown separately because it funds a monthly pension, not the lump sum.

The 8.33% that flows to the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS), capped at ₹1,250/month, does not add to your withdrawable EPF lump sum. Instead it funds a monthly pension after 58 under EPS-95, calculated roughly as (pensionable salary × pensionable service) ÷ 70, with the pensionable salary generally capped at ₹15,000. That is why the corpus headline excludes EPS – including it would overstate the lump sum you actually receive.

The Voluntary Provident Fund (VPF) lets you contribute more than the mandatory 12% of Basic + DA – up to 100% – into the same EPF account, earning the same EPFO rate. The employer is not obliged to match the extra. Raise the "Your contribution" slider above 12% to model VPF. Note the tax rule below: from FY 2021-22, interest on employee contributions (EPF + VPF combined) above ₹2.5 lakh in a year is taxable.

Largely yes – EPF is broadly Exempt-Exempt-Exempt (EEE). Your contribution qualifies under §80C (old regime, up to ₹1.5 lakh), the interest accrues tax-free, and withdrawal after 5 years of continuous service is tax-free. Two caveats: (1) from FY 2021-22, interest on employee contributions exceeding ₹2.5 lakh in a financial year (₹5 lakh where there is no employer contribution) is taxable; (2) withdrawal before 5 years of continuous service is taxable, and TDS applies if the amount exceeds ₹50,000 and PAN/Form 15G-15H rules are not met.

Full withdrawal is allowed at retirement (58), or after two months of unemployment following resignation. Partial advances are allowed for specific needs – a house purchase or construction, home-loan repayment, marriage, education, medical treatment, or one year before retirement – each with its own eligibility (years of service) and limit. Withdrawing the full balance when you change jobs resets the clock; transferring the balance to your new employer via your UAN keeps the corpus compounding and preserves continuous-service tax benefits.

They serve different people. EPF is only for salaried employees, gets an employer match, currently pays 8.25%, and is largely EEE. PPF is open to anyone (including the self-employed), has no employer match, pays 7.10% right now, has a hard 15-year lock-in, and is fully EEE with a ₹1.5 lakh annual cap. If you are salaried, EPF is your default forced-savings base (the employer match is "free" money); PPF is a useful tax-free top-up, especially for the self-employed or to invest beyond the EPF you already accumulate.

Use your UAN: log in to the EPFO Member portal (unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in), use the UMANG app, give a missed call to 9966044425 from your registered mobile, or SMS "EPFOHO UAN ENG" to 7738299899. Our EPF balance check & withdrawal guide walks through each method – plus UAN activation and the online withdrawal/transfer claim process – step by step.