A monthly deposit, a yearly rate and a tenure give the maturity. Interest compounds every quarter, which is how banks and the post office run a recurring deposit.
At least ₹100, in steps of ₹10. There is no scheme maximum.
₹
₹100₹25,080₹50,050₹75,030₹1 Lakh
At least ₹100, in steps of ₹10. There is no scheme maximum.
The post office rate for 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026 is 6.7%. One rate is used for the whole tenure.
1.0%3.8%6.5%9.3%12.0%
The post office rate for 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026 is 6.7%. One rate is used for the whole tenure.
5 years is the scheme term. 6 to 10 years means you keep depositing after maturity, at this same rate.
5 years6 years8 years9 years10 years
5 years is the scheme term. 6 to 10 years means you keep depositing after maturity, at this same rate.
Maturity, rounded to the rupee
Maturity ₹71,366Maturity₹71,366
You deposit ₹60,000 over 60 months. Interest is ₹11,366. The rate compounds every quarter.
Deposited
₹60,000₹60,000
60 monthly deposits
Interest
₹11,366₹11,366
After the nearest-rupee step
Tenure
60 months60 months
Post office scheme
Rate used
6.7%6.7%
Post office rate for 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026
A post office recurring deposit does not show up on the income-tax department’s bank TDS line. The interest is still taxable at your slab. This page does not subtract tax.
The maturity is each monthly deposit grown at a quarter of the yearly rate, for the months that deposit stays in. In symbols, that is R times ((1 + i) to the power n, minus 1), divided by (1 minus (1 + i) to the power of minus one-third). Here i is the yearly rate divided by 400, and n is the number of quarters.
The National Savings Recurring Deposit Scheme, 2019 prints a table per ₹100 and then scales it. The amount actually paid is rounded to the nearest rupee. 50 paise rounds up. Banks use the same quarterly shape for a recurring deposit.
Post office rules
The scheme term is five years: 60 monthly deposits. The minimum is ₹100 a month, in multiples of ₹10. There is no maximum. The rate for 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026 is 6.7%. The Ministry of Finance left small-savings rates unchanged on 30 September 2026.
You can keep depositing for up to five more years after maturity. Typing 6 to 10 years does that, at one unchanged rate. Up to four missed instalments can be repaired, with a fee of ₹1 per ₹100 of the missed instalment for each month of delay. Paying six or twelve months ahead earns a small rebate. Closing before five years, which the scheme allows after three years, earns the post office savings-account rate instead. None of those side paths is calculated.
A worked example
₹100 a month for 60 months at 6.7% comes to ₹7,137. You deposited ₹6,000. Interest is ₹1,137. The unrounded figure is ₹7,136.58, which is the same style as the printed table, and the payment rounds to ₹7,137.
₹5,000 a month on the same terms matures at ₹3,56,829. Interest is ₹56,829. At the 7.2% rate printed with the 2019 scheme, ₹100 a month matures at ₹7,231.38 before rounding, and ₹7,231 after it.
Tax and TDS
RD interest is income. It is not exempt the way PPF or Sukanya Samriddhi interest is. Section 393 (this was Section 194A) lets a bank deduct 10% when interest on time deposits crosses ₹50,000 in a tax year, or ₹1,00,000 if you are 60 or older. A recurring deposit has counted as a time deposit since 1 June 2015. The threshold is for that bank, not one branch.
The department’s list does not put a post office recurring deposit on the bank line. It does list TDS on the Senior Citizens’ Savings Scheme. This calculator does not subtract TDS or slab tax from either maturity. TDS is a collection, not the final tax. A senior citizen’s deduction for interest, outside the new regime, is also not applied, because the rest of the interest is unknown.
Assumptions and limits
One rate is used for the whole tenure. A bank or a later quarter can change it.
6.7% is the post office rate. It is not an SBI or any other bank card. Type the rate on your receipt for a bank RD.
Missed instalments, the default fee, the advance-deposit rebate, and premature closure are not modelled.
Keeping the maturity amount without new deposits is not modelled. Continuing the monthly deposit is.
The final payment is rounded to the nearest rupee. 50 paise rounds up.
This is an estimate for learning, not advice. Read the disclaimer.
Questions
How does a recurring deposit compound?
You pay every month. Interest is compounded every quarter. Each instalment grows at one quarter of the yearly rate for the months it stays in. The last instalment is treated as staying one month. Banks use this same shape. A bank can round its own screen a rupee differently.
What does the post office pay on ₹100 a month?
At 6.7% for 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026, ₹100 a month for five years comes to ₹7,136.58 before rounding, and ₹7,137 once it is rounded to the rupee. The 2019 scheme table, printed at 7.2%, was ₹7,231.38 for the same ₹100. The formula here matches that table.
Is RD interest tax-free?
No. It is taxed at your slab. A bank may deduct 10% under Section 393 (this was Section 194A) when the interest it credits in a tax year crosses ₹50,000, or ₹1,00,000 if you are 60 or older. From 1 June 2015 a recurring deposit counts as a time deposit. The income-tax department applies that line to a bank, for the bank as a whole. It does not put a post office recurring deposit on that line. The interest is still taxable. This page does not subtract TDS.
Can a post office RD run past five years?
Yes. After 60 deposits you can keep paying the same monthly amount for up to five more years. This page uses one rate for the whole stretch you type. The printed extension table in the 2019 scheme was calculated at 7.2%. At today’s 6.7% the same formula is the right method. Leaving the maturity amount in without new deposits is a different choice, and it is not calculated.