₹7,231.38✓ matches
RD Scheme, 2019, Table 1.1: accounts opened 12 December 2019 to 31 March 2020: ₹7,231.38.
The rule ↗FD, RD and Post Office Schemes Calculator
Enter a one-time amount or a monthly saving, the term and your tax slab. The calculator works out a bank FD or RD at SBI’s card rate, or your own bank’s, against every Post Office scheme that runs for that term, each by its own rules: Time Deposit, NSC, KVP, Monthly Income, Senior Citizens’ Savings, RD, PPF and Sukanya Samriddhi. It ranks them by the money in your hands at the end, after tax, and shows the yearly return, the payouts, getting out early, the deposit insurance and the TDS.
Post Office rates for October to December 2026 (India Post; NSI) · National Savings Schemes, 2019 · SBI retail term deposit card rates w.e.f. 15 December 2025, page updated 19 October 2026 · DICGC cover ₹5 lakh · Income-tax Act, 2025: sections 123 and 393(1) · reviewed 21 October 2026
What you are putting away
₹
A Time Deposit, NSC or KVP takes ₹1,000 or more
₹
PPF and Sukanya take up to ₹1.5 lakh a year, ₹12,500 a month
The Post Office’s own terms; 9 years 7 months is the KVP’s
The Post Office RD runs 5 years, PPF 15; a bank RD 1 to 10
You
Seniors get more from a bank, and the SCSS
The rate your next rupee of income pays; 4% cess is added
For the 5-year TD, NSC, SCSS, PPF, Sukanya and a 5-year tax-saver FD, on up to ₹1.5 lakh a year, if you have that room left
Sukanya Samriddhi is open only in her name
The bank
Empty: SBI’s card rate for the term and your age
Type the rate from that bank’s own page
Today’s rates, side by side
Post Office rates for October to December 2026, from India Post and the National Savings Institute; SBI’s card rates for deposits below ₹3 crore, from SBI’s rate page. The default comparison, ₹1 lakh for 5 years at a 20% slab, puts National Savings Certificate first with ₹1,35,563 in hand after tax, against ₹1,27,734 from an SBI FD.
- Time Deposit6.9%–7.5%1, 2, 3 or 5 years · paid yearly5 years: 80C
- Recurring Deposit6.7%5 years · compounded quarterly
- Monthly Income7.4%5 years · paid monthlyUp to ₹9 lakh
- Senior Citizens’8.2%5 years · paid quarterly60+ · 80C
- NSC7.7%5 years · compounded yearly80C
- Kisan Vikas Patra7.5%doubles in 115 months
- PPF7.1%15 years · tax-free80C
- Sukanya Samriddhi8.2%21 years · tax-free80C
- SBI FD, 1 year6.25%senior 6.75%
- SBI FD, 2 years6.4%senior 6.9%
- SBI FD, 3 years6.3%senior 6.8%
- SBI FD, 5–10 years6.05%senior 7.05% with We-care
Checked against the schemes’ own figures
Each card runs the calculator’s own formula on a figure the scheme’s rules or India Post print, and sets the two side by side. The Recurring Deposit Scheme prints the maturity value of a ₹100 account; the calculator gives it to the paisa.
₹6,969.67✓ matches
Table 1.1 as substituted on 5 May 2020: accounts opened on or after 1 April 2020: ₹6,969.67.
The rule ↗₹1,999.85✓ matches
India Post: 7.5% compounded yearly, doubles in 115 months: ₹2,000.00.
The rule ↗₹7,714 a year✓ matches
TD Scheme, 2019: compounded quarterly, paid at the end of each year, rounded to the rupee: ₹7,714 a year.
The rule ↗₹5,550 a month✓ matches
India Post: 7.4% a year, payable monthly: ₹5,550 a month.
The rule ↗₹61,500 a quarter✓ matches
NSI: interest paid every quarter, on the first working day of April, July, October and January: ₹61,500 a quarter.
The rule ↗How the comparison is made
- Each scheme by its own rules
A bank FD compounds quarterly; a TD compounds quarterly but pays yearly; MIS and SCSS pay out; NSC and KVP compound yearly.
In detail
The bank FD is a cumulative deposit, as in SBI’s Reinvestment Plan, where interest is compounded quarterly and paid at the end; a part quarter earns simple interest. An RD compounds each instalment quarterly for the months it is in. The Post Office TD compounds quarterly and pays the interest out each year; MIS pays every month and SCSS every quarter, and the deposit comes back at the end. NSC compounds yearly and pays at five years; KVP doubles in 115 months. PPF and Sukanya earn on the lowest balance between the 5th and the end of each month, credited once a year. - Tax in the year it is earned
Your slab plus 4% cess, each year, on that year’s interest. PPF and Sukanya pay none.
In detail
Interest is taxable as it accrues, even on a cumulative FD or an NSC that pays only at the end, so the calculator takes the tax out at the end of each year. That makes a cumulative FD and a payout deposit comparable. Surcharge, the new regime’s rebate and any other income are not modelled: pick the slab your next rupee of income falls in. - Ranked by the money in your hands
What is paid to you along the way and at the end, less the tax, plus any section 123 saving.
In detail
Payouts from a TD, MIS or SCSS are counted as received, not reinvested: income deposits are for spending, and reinvesting them would add a little more. Beside each total is the yearly return after tax, worked as an internal rate of return on the month-by-month cash flows, so a deposit that pays you early gets credit for it. - Checks you would want to know
The ₹5 lakh DICGC cover, the TDS threshold, and who can open each scheme.
In detail
A bank deposit above ₹5 lakh at one bank is flagged, since DICGC insures up to ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank. Interest above ₹50,000 a year (₹1 lakh for a senior citizen) is flagged for TDS. SCSS is shown only from 60, Sukanya only for a daughter under 10, and each scheme’s limits are applied: MIS ₹9 lakh alone or ₹15 lakh jointly, SCSS ₹30 lakh, PPF and Sukanya ₹1.5 lakh a year.
The rules behind the calculator, and where each comes from
Where it comes from
TD 1 year 6.9%, 2 years 7%, 3 years 7.1%, 5 years 7.5%; RD 6.7%; MIS 7.4%; SCSS 8.2%; NSC 7.7%; PPF 7.1%; Sukanya 8.2%; KVP 7.5%, maturing in 115 months. India Post lists them as current; the NSI table shows them unchanged since 1 January 2024.
Where it comes from
Interest is compounded quarterly and payable at the end of each year. The account can be closed after six months; before a year, simple interest at the Post Office savings rate is paid. The 5-year TD qualifies under section 80C (now section 123). NSI; the 2019 scheme.
Where it comes from
At least ₹100 a month, in multiples of ₹10; matures in five years; can be closed after three years at the savings rate; half the balance can be withdrawn after a year. The scheme’s Table 1.1 gives the maturity value of a ₹100 account: ₹7,231.38 for accounts opened from 12 December 2019, ₹6,969.67 from 1 April 2020. NSI; the 2019 scheme.
Where it comes from
Matures in five years; at least ₹1,000; at most ₹9 lakh in a single account and ₹15 lakh in a joint one. Can be closed after a year, with 2% of the deposit deducted before three years and 1% after. NSI.
Where it comes from
Open at 60, or from 55 to someone retired under superannuation, VRS or special VRS (defence retirees from 50); at most ₹30 lakh; interest paid on the first working day of April, July, October and January; qualifies under section 80C (now 123). Closed early, the interest paid is recovered within a year, 1.5% is deducted in the second year and 1% after. NSI; the 2019 scheme.
Where it comes from
NSC: 7.7% payable at maturity, compounded yearly; five years; at least ₹1,000; qualifies under section 80C (now 123). KVP: 7.5% compounded yearly, doubling in 115 months; encashable after two and a half years. India Post; NSI on NSC and KVP.
Where it comes from
Interest on the lowest balance between the close of the fifth day and the end of each month, credited yearly; ₹500 (PPF) or ₹250 (Sukanya) to ₹1.5 lakh in a financial year; interest free of tax. PPF matures after fifteen complete financial years from the end of the year it was opened, so the exact date depends on the month you open; the calculator shows 15 years of deposits. Sukanya takes deposits for 15 years and matures at 21. NSI on PPF; on Sukanya; PPF Scheme, 2019; Sukanya Scheme.
Where it comes from
Below ₹3 crore: 1 to under 2 years 6.25% (senior 6.75%); 2 to under 3 years 6.4% (6.9%); 3 to under 5 years 6.3% (6.8%); 5 to 10 years 6.05% (7.05%, including the 50 bps We-care premium). Over-80s get 10 bps more under SBI Patrons, not on an RD or the tax-saver. SBI rate page, updated 19 October 2026.
Where it comes from
Reinvestment Plan: interest compounded quarterly and paid at the end of the term; closed early, 0.50% less than the rate for the time it ran (1% above ₹5 lakh), nothing under 7 days (SBI). RD: 12 to 120 months, from ₹100 a month, at the term-deposit rate for public and senior citizens; six missed instalments close it (SBI). Tax-saver: 5 to 10 years, quarterly compounding, ₹1.5 lakh a year at most, no early withdrawal (SBI). The calculator gives a senior RD of 5 years or more the senior rate without the We-care premium, which SBI lists for term deposits; type your branch’s rate if it differs.
Where it comes from
DICGC insures principal and interest up to ₹5 lakh per depositor in one bank; deposits at different branches of the same bank are added together. DICGC, a guide to deposit insurance.
Where it comes from
A bank, co-operative society or post office deducts 10% TDS once interest in the year crosses ₹50,000, or ₹1 lakh for a resident senior citizen (formerly section 194A). The TDS calculator covers every section.
FD, RD and Post Office schemes: the questions people ask
Which is better, a bank FD or a Post Office Time Deposit?
For the same term the Post Office Time Deposit pays more than SBI’s card rate for the public: 7.5% against 6.05% for 5 years, 6.9% against 6.25% for 1 year. A senior citizen gets 7.05% from SBI for 5 years, still below the TD. The TD pays its interest out every year, while a cumulative FD keeps compounding until the end, and a bank deposit is insured only up to ₹5 lakh per depositor in one bank. Some banks pay more than SBI; type their rate into the calculator to compare.
How is interest on a Post Office Time Deposit calculated?
It is compounded every quarter and paid to you at the end of each year, rounded to the rupee (National Savings Time Deposit Scheme, 2019). So ₹1 lakh in a 5-year TD at 7.5% pays ₹7,714 a year, ₹38,570 over the five years, and the ₹1 lakh comes back at the end. Interest you leave unwithdrawn earns nothing more.
Is a Post Office RD better than a bank RD?
At today’s rates the Post Office RD pays 6.7%, compounded quarterly, against SBI’s 6.05% for 5 years. The Post Office RD runs only for 5 years (it can be extended for 5 more) and can be closed early only after 3 years, at the 4% savings rate. A bank RD can run from 1 to 10 years and be closed early with a 0.50% penalty at SBI.
How is FD and Post Office interest taxed?
Interest from a bank FD or RD, a Post Office TD, RD, MIS, SCSS, NSC or KVP is added to your income and taxed at your slab, in the year it is earned, even when it is paid only at maturity. The calculator counts it that way. PPF and Sukanya Samriddhi interest is tax-free. A bank or post office deducts 10% TDS once the interest crosses ₹50,000 in a year (₹1 lakh for a senior citizen) under section 393(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (formerly 194A); Form 15G, or 15H at 60 and above, stops it where your income is below the taxable limit.
Is money in the Post Office safer than in a bank?
Post Office savings schemes are Government of India schemes, framed under the Government Savings Promotion Act, 1873. A bank deposit is insured by DICGC up to ₹5 lakh per depositor in one bank, principal and interest together, counting all the branches of that bank. Above ₹5 lakh in one bank, the rest is not insured; splitting deposits across banks keeps each within the cover.
Which deposits save tax under section 80C?
In the old regime: the 5-year Post Office TD, NSC, SCSS, PPF and Sukanya Samriddhi, and a bank’s 5-year tax-saver FD (at SBI, the Tax Savings Scheme, 2006: ₹1.5 lakh at most in a year, no early withdrawal). Under the Income-tax Act, 2025 the deduction is section 123, formerly 80C, with the same ₹1.5 lakh limit shared with PF, insurance and the rest. The new regime allows none of it. Switch on the old-regime box to count the saving.
How long does Kisan Vikas Patra take to double?
115 months, 9 years and 7 months, at today’s 7.5% compounded yearly. It can be encashed after two and a half years, at the rates the scheme sets, and there is no upper limit on the amount.
How much does the Post Office Monthly Income Scheme pay?
At 7.4%, ₹5,550 a month on ₹9 lakh, the most one person can put in, and ₹9,250 a month on ₹15 lakh in a joint account, for five years. The deposit comes back at the end. It can be closed after a year, with 2% of the deposit deducted before three years and 1% after.
What does the Senior Citizens’ Savings Scheme pay?
At 8.2%, ₹61,500 a quarter on ₹30 lakh, the most it takes, for five years. Interest is paid on the first working day of April, July, October and January. It is open to those aged 60 or more, and from 55 to someone who has retired under superannuation or VRS; it qualifies under section 123 (80C) in the old regime.
Do Post Office interest rates change?
The Government sets them every quarter; the rates here are for October to December 2026, unchanged since 1 January 2024. A TD, RD, MIS, SCSS, NSC or KVP keeps the terms of the period in which it was opened: the RD and KVP rules, for example, set the maturity value and the doubling period by the date of opening. PPF and Sukanya balances earn whatever rate is notified from time to time.
See also the investment returns calculator for a SIP or lump sum in a fund, the article on whether to prepay a home loan with a maturing FD, the clubbing rule for an FD in your spouse’s name, the income tax calculator to find your slab, the TDS calculator, or all calculators.
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