Skip to main content

You can close PPF after 5 years for a medical emergency or for higher education

You can close PPF after 5 years
 
The premature withdrawal, however, comes with a penalty--you will get 1% less interest as applicable from time to time
 
The finance ministry notified on Monday that account holders of the Public Provident Fund (PPF) can prematurely close their account if it has completed at least five years and the reason for closure is medical emergency and higher education 
 

The change
According to this recent change, a PPF subscriber shall be allowed premature closure of her account or account of a minor of whom she is the guardian on grounds that the amount is required for treatment of serious ailments or life-threatening diseases of the account holder, spouse or dependent children on production of supporting documents from competent medical authority. Similarly, you will be able to prematurely close your PPF account for higher education needs only if you produce documents and fee bills showing confirmation of admission in a recognised institution in India or abroad. The premature withdrawal, however, comes with a penalty-you will get 1% less interest as applicable from time to time

Earlier you were not allowed to prematurely close your PPF account. You had to complete 15 years to close it. So, even if you left the account inactive, you could only get the money after 15 years. Earlier you could only do partial withdrawal from the seventh financial year onwards. For partial withdrawals, earlier the rule was capped at 50% of the total balance at the end of the fourth year, counting back from the year of withdrawal or 50% of the total balance at the end of the year before the year of withdrawal, whichever is lower. Withdrawals could be made only once in a financial year.

 

What you should know
PPF is a risk- and tax-free product and enjoys the exempt-exempt-exempt (EEE) tax status. This means the contribution, accumulation and withdrawal are all exempt from tax. You can invest a minimum of Rs.500 and a maximum Rs.1.5 lakh in one financial year and this entire Rs.1.5 lakh qualifies for deduction under section 80C of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The initial tenure is 15 years, with the option to extend for five years at a time after completion of this period. The returns are pegged to the average government securities (G-secs) yield. Hence, every year the return on your investment may vary. For this financial year, it is offering 8.1% per annum.

 

Since PPF is a long-term instrument, the interest on your account has more time to compound. Also, you can avail a loan on your PPF between the third and the sixth financial years. When you take a loan, the amount is restricted to 25% of the balance in your PPF. You can avail the loan at 2% higher than the PPF interest rate. The loan has to be repaid in 36 months.

 

PPF has the ability to generate real return thanks to its tax-free status. So, when it comes to PPF you need to stick to your asset allocation and use it as a tool to maximise your long-term debt investment.

-----------------------------------------------
Invest Rs 1,50,000 and Save Tax under Section 80C. Get Great Returns by Investing in Best Performing ELSS Mutual Funds

Top 10 Tax Saver Mutual Funds to invest in India for 2016

Best 10 ELSS Mutual Funds in india for 2016

1. BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund

2. Axis Tax Saver Fund

3. Franklin India TaxShield

4. ICICI Prudential Long Term Equity Fund

5. IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) Fund

6. Birla Sun Life Tax Relief 96

7. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund

8. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund

9. Religare Tax Plan

10. Birla Sun Life Tax Plan

Invest in Best Performing 2016 Tax Saver Mutual Funds Online

Invest Online

Download Application Forms

For further information contact Prajna Capital on 94 8300 8300 by leaving a missed call

---------------------------------------------

Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them

OR

You can write to us at

PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com

OR

Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300

-----------------------------------------------

 

Popular posts from this blog

Atal Pension Yojana contribution Tax Benefit for spouse

Contributions to Atal Pension Yojana (APY) are eligible for the same tax benefits as the NPS. This means that the contributions can be claimed under Section 80CCD (1B). The current limit for Section 80CCD (1B) is   Rs   50,000, over and above the   Rs   1.5 lakh limit under Section 80C. Section 80 CCD (1) is a different one, meant to cover employers' contribution towards NPS . You cannot get tax benefit by investing in the name of your spouse under Section 80 CCD . ------------------------------ ----------------- Invest Rs 1,50,000 and Save Tax under Section 80C. Get Great Returns by Investing in Best Performing ELSS Mutual Funds Top 10 Tax Saver Mutual Funds to invest in India for 2016 Best 10 ELSS Mutual Funds in India for 2016 1. BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund 2. Axis Tax Saver Fund 3. Religare Tax Plan 4. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund 5. Franklin India TaxShield 6. ICICI Prudential Long Term Equity Fund 7. IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) Fund 8. Birla Sun Life Tax Relief 96 9. ...
Read more

Franklin India High Growth Companies Fund

Franklin India High Growth Companies Fund Online One of the key developments that the Street is keenly waiting for is a cut in interest rates by Reserve Bank of India . With demand rising gradually, a rate cut is expected to boost earnings growth for companies. In such a situation, schemes which invest in high growth companies are best suited, especially when seen from a long-term perspective. One such scheme is Franklin India High Growth Companies Fund. Fund managers Anand Radhakrishnan, Roshi Jain and Srikesh Nair strictly follow valuation parameters when it comes to choosing stocks.Valuation parameters, such as enterprise value, price-to-earnings growth ratio, forward price-to-sales ratio and discounted earnings per share, play a critical role in selecting companies for investments. Taking into account these parameters, the fund managers invest in companies which are poised for high growth in their respective sectors. This approach has been in favour of the scheme and it has perform...
Read more

Avoid NFOs

  Don't get taken in by the flurry of new fund offers. You will be better off sticking to the tried and tested schemes.   For the past one year, to cash in on the bull run in equities, mutual fund houses have gone on a new fund offer (NFO) overdrive. But experts are unanimous in their advice: avoid NFOs . While past performance is not an indicator of how a fund will fare in the future, it does tell the investor how skilful the fund manager is. This crucial information is missing in an NFO. Not only is there no track record to judge an NFO by, many NFOs are similar to funds that already exist. If the new fund is similar to existing funds, you are better off investing in the latter. Around 67% of the new launches in 2014 were closed-end products. Investing in the NFO of a closed-end fund is doubly risky. In case the fund's performance is lacklustre, a closed-end fund does not allow you to exit. Even though closed-end funds are listed on the stock...
Read more

Debt Mutual Fund Dividends are Taxable

DDT is deducted when a non-equity fund declares dividends. Equity and balanced fund dividends are tax-free The AMC is correct to deduct the dividend distribution tax (DDT) as it is mandated by tax laws. DDT in mutual funds is deducted every time a non-equity fund declares dividends. Equity fund and balanced fund dividends are tax-free . It is possible that you have invested in a non-equity fund for the first time or have received the dividend under a non-equity fund for the first time. That is why this is the first occasion when you have come across DDT.   The rate at which non-equity schemes deduct DDT has also gone up after the July 2014 budget. This is due to a change in calculation methodology. Earlier, if the fund has to declare a dividend of R 100, it used to make a provision for R 128.3, paying R 28.3 to the taxman and distributing the balance to the investor. This allowed the investor to bear less tax since the effective tax rate was 22.07 per ce...
Read more

Mutual Fund Exit Load Changes

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300 Mutual Fund Exit Load Changes AMCs don't communicate about any change in exit load directly with investors, but do update on their website   The exit load applicable to your investments is the load which existed at the time when you invested in the particular fund. Any subsequent changes in the exit load will not be applicable to your investments.   However, Asset Management Companies ( AMCs ) periodically publish addendums in the newspapers, which state any change in exit loads of specific schemes managed by them. Such changes are also posted on their websites. However, a direct communication to an investor is not made, considering the costs involved in doing so. In their own interests, investors should not only track the performance of the funds they i...
Read more
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Applications
Transact Mutual Funds Online Invest Online
Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now