EPF Calculator
Your EPF (Employees’ Provident Fund) grows from two deposits every month: 12% of your basic salary plus DA from you, and 12% from your employer. Part of the employer’s 12% goes to the pension scheme (EPS) and the rest to your EPF. On a ₹30,000 basic salary that rises 7% a year, you would have about ₹1.59 crore at age 58, assuming 8.25% interest every year. Enter your own salary below to see yours. The interest rate changes every year, so treat the result as an estimate.
- Month 1: you pay ₹3,600 (12% of ₹30,000). The employer pays ₹3,600 (12%): ₹2,083 goes to the pension scheme (EPS) and ₹1,517 to your EPF.
- Each month's balance earns 8.25% ÷ 12; the year's interest is added on 31 March, and your salary rises 7% a year.
- Your contributions: ₹34,86,144 (22.0%)
- Employer contributions: ₹27,86,256 (17.6%)
- Interest: ₹95,82,092 (60.4%)
| Year | Monthly basic + DA | You paid | Employer (EPF) | Interest | Closing balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (age 30–31) | ₹30,000 | ₹43,200 | ₹18,204 | ₹2,744 | ₹64,148 |
| Year 2 (age 31–32) | ₹32,100 | ₹46,224 | ₹21,228 | ₹8,306 | ₹1,39,906 |
| Year 3 (age 32–33) | ₹34,347 | ₹49,464 | ₹24,468 | ₹14,846 | ₹2,28,684 |
| Year 4 (age 33–34) | ₹36,751 | ₹52,920 | ₹27,924 | ₹22,479 | ₹3,32,007 |
| Year 5 (age 34–35) | ₹39,324 | ₹56,628 | ₹31,632 | ₹31,335 | ₹4,51,602 |
| Year 6 (age 35–36) | ₹42,077 | ₹60,588 | ₹35,592 | ₹41,555 | ₹5,89,337 |
| Year 7 (age 36–37) | ₹45,022 | ₹64,836 | ₹39,840 | ₹53,298 | ₹7,47,311 |
| Year 8 (age 37–38) | ₹48,173 | ₹69,372 | ₹44,376 | ₹66,736 | ₹9,27,795 |
| Year 9 (age 38–39) | ₹51,546 | ₹74,220 | ₹49,224 | ₹82,059 | ₹11,33,298 |
| Year 10 (age 39–40) | ₹55,154 | ₹79,416 | ₹54,420 | ₹99,478 | ₹13,66,612 |
| Year 11 (age 40–41) | ₹59,015 | ₹84,984 | ₹59,988 | ₹1,19,224 | ₹16,30,808 |
| Year 12 (age 41–42) | ₹63,146 | ₹90,924 | ₹65,928 | ₹1,41,551 | ₹19,29,211 |
| Year 13 (age 42–43) | ₹67,566 | ₹97,296 | ₹72,300 | ₹1,66,739 | ₹22,65,546 |
| Year 14 (age 43–44) | ₹72,295 | ₹1,04,100 | ₹79,104 | ₹1,95,094 | ₹26,43,844 |
| Year 15 (age 44–45) | ₹77,356 | ₹1,11,396 | ₹86,400 | ₹2,26,956 | ₹30,68,596 |
| Year 16 (age 45–46) | ₹82,771 | ₹1,19,196 | ₹94,200 | ₹2,62,695 | ₹35,44,687 |
| Year 17 (age 46–47) | ₹88,565 | ₹1,27,536 | ₹1,02,540 | ₹3,02,718 | ₹40,77,481 |
| Year 18 (age 47–48) | ₹94,764 | ₹1,36,464 | ₹1,11,468 | ₹3,47,472 | ₹46,72,885 |
| Year 19 (age 48–49) | ₹1,01,398 | ₹1,46,016 | ₹1,21,020 | ₹3,97,446 | ₹53,37,367 |
| Year 20 (age 49–50) | ₹1,08,496 | ₹1,56,228 | ₹1,31,232 | ₹4,53,179 | ₹60,78,006 |
| Year 21 (age 50–51) | ₹1,16,091 | ₹1,67,172 | ₹1,42,176 | ₹5,15,259 | ₹69,02,613 |
| Year 22 (age 51–52) | ₹1,24,217 | ₹1,78,872 | ₹1,53,876 | ₹5,84,335 | ₹78,19,696 |
| Year 23 (age 52–53) | ₹1,32,912 | ₹1,91,388 | ₹1,66,392 | ₹6,61,113 | ₹88,38,589 |
| Year 24 (age 53–54) | ₹1,42,216 | ₹2,04,792 | ₹1,79,796 | ₹7,46,370 | ₹99,69,547 |
| Year 25 (age 54–55) | ₹1,52,171 | ₹2,19,132 | ₹1,94,136 | ₹8,40,956 | ₹1,12,23,771 |
| Year 26 (age 55–56) | ₹1,62,823 | ₹2,34,468 | ₹2,09,472 | ₹9,45,800 | ₹1,26,13,511 |
| Year 27 (age 56–57) | ₹1,74,221 | ₹2,50,872 | ₹2,25,876 | ₹10,61,919 | ₹1,41,52,178 |
| Year 28 (age 57–58) | ₹1,86,416 | ₹2,68,440 | ₹2,43,444 | ₹11,90,430 | ₹1,58,54,492 |
Read the guide: EPF Wage Ceiling Raised to ₹25,000: What It Means for Your PF
How to use the epf calculator
- Enter your age now and the age at which you plan to retire (58 is the usual EPF age).
- Enter your monthly basic salary plus DA. Look at your payslip: EPF is worked out on this figure, not on your gross salary.
- Keep your own contribution at 12%, or enter a higher number if you also pay voluntary PF (VPF). Add the yearly raise you expect and the EPF balance you already have.
- Choose how your employer’s pension (EPS) share is calculated. If you are not sure, check the EPS line on your payslip. Then read your balance at retirement and the year-by-year table.
Formula
Every month:
Your contribution = Basic + DA × your % ÷ 100
Employer’s contribution = Basic + DA × 12% ÷ 100, split into EPS (pension) = 8.33% × (Basic + DA, up to the wage ceiling) and EPF = employer’s 12% − EPS
Interest for the month = (Balance after this month’s deposits) × r ÷ 1200
Here r is the yearly interest rate in percent. EPFO works out interest every month on the running balance but adds it to your account only once a year, on 31 March, so there is no compounding inside a year. Your balance at the end of each year is carried into the next year, and your salary grows by the yearly raise you enter. Deposits and yearly interest are rounded to the nearest rupee. Only the EPF part of the employer’s share is added to your balance; the EPS part funds your monthly pension later.
Worked examples
Where the first month’s money goes
Basic + DA of ₹30,000: you pay ₹3,600 (12%) and your employer pays ₹3,600 (12%). The pension share is 8.33% of ₹25,000, which is ₹2,083, so ₹1,517 reaches your EPF. Under the old ₹15,000 ceiling the pension share was ₹1,250, so ₹2,350 reached your EPF. The employer’s total of ₹3,600 is the same either way.
Age 30 to 58 on a ₹30,000 salary
With a 7% raise every year and 8.25% interest, you pay ₹34,86,144 over 28 years and your employer adds ₹27,86,256 to your EPF. Interest adds ₹95,82,092, so you retire with ₹1,58,54,492. More than half of it is interest.
Raises matter more than you think
The same person with no raises at all (₹30,000 basic for 28 years) retires with ₹63,79,104. The 7% yearly raises lift the balance by ₹94,75,388, because every higher deposit also earns interest for the years that remain.
Already have a balance
If you already have ₹5,00,000 in EPF today, the ₹1,58,54,492 above becomes ₹2,04,56,551, which is ₹46,02,059 more.
EPF, EPS and VPF: where each rupee goes
Every month your employer pays 12% of your basic + DA, but not all of it lands in your EPF. A part goes to the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), which pays you a monthly pension later. The pension share is 8.33% of your wages up to the wage ceiling, which is ₹25,000 from 17 September 2026. Here is the first month for three salaries:
| Basic + DA | You pay (12%) | Employer pays (12%) | To EPS (pension) | To your EPF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹15,000 | ₹1,800 | ₹1,800 | ₹1,250 | ₹550 |
| ₹30,000 | ₹3,600 | ₹3,600 | ₹2,083 | ₹1,517 |
| ₹60,000 | ₹7,200 | ₹7,200 | ₹2,083 | ₹5,117 |
Notice that the pension share stops growing once your wages pass the ceiling, so the higher your salary, the more of the employer’s 12% reaches your EPF. If your employer still applies the old ₹15,000 ceiling, the pension share is capped at ₹1,250 instead. For the ₹30,000 salary in the example above, that would mean ₹1,68,92,968 at age 58 instead of ₹1,58,54,492, which is ₹10,38,476 more in EPF, because more of each month’s employer money reaches your EPF. The money that goes to EPS is not lost: it builds your pension entitlement.
If you want to save more, VPF lets you pay above 12% into the same account at the same interest rate. Just remember the tax rule: the interest on your own contributions above ₹2.5 lakh a year is taxable.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using your gross salary. EPF is based on basic + DA only, and basic is often 40–50% of the total. Read the figure from your payslip.
- Adding the employer’s pension (EPS) share to your balance. Up to 8.33% of the wage ceiling goes to the pension scheme, which pays a monthly pension later, not a lump sum into your EPF.
- Assuming 8.25% will last for 28 years. EPFO announces the rate every year, and it has moved in the past. Try a lower rate such as 7.5% to see a safer estimate.
- Ignoring tax on large contributions. If you pay more than ₹2.5 lakh into EPF in a year, the interest on the extra amount is taxable (see the FAQ).
- Withdrawing the money early. Every year you leave it in earns interest on the whole balance, so early withdrawals cost much more than the amount you take out.
Frequently asked questions
What is the EPF interest rate now?
EPFO has notified 8.25% a year for FY 2025-26. EPFO announces each year’s rate near the end of that financial year, so this calculator uses the latest notified rate as an assumption. You can type any other rate to test it.
How is EPF interest calculated?
Interest is worked out every month on your running balance at one-twelfth of the yearly rate. The 12 months of interest are added to your account together on 31 March. It starts earning its own interest only from the next financial year.
What changed with the EPF wage ceiling in September 2026?
The Cabinet raised the wage ceiling for mandatory EPF coverage from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month from 17 September 2026. More employees must now join EPF, and the pension (EPS) share, which is 8.33% of wages up to the ceiling, can now be up to ₹2,083 a month instead of ₹1,250. Your employer’s total 12% does not change, but a bigger part of it can go to pension if your employer applies the new ceiling. That is why this calculator lets you choose the ceiling.
Is EPF interest taxable?
Interest is tax-free on your own contributions up to ₹2.5 lakh a year. It is taxable on contributions above that. If your employer does not contribute at all, the limit is ₹5 lakh. At a 12% contribution you cross ₹2.5 lakh only if your basic + DA is above about ₹1,73,611 a month. Use our income tax calculator to see the tax. From tax year 2026-27 the Income-tax Act, 2025 renumbers these provisions; the limits quoted here are unchanged, and your return utility shows the section references to use.
What is VPF?
VPF (Voluntary Provident Fund) lets you pay more than 12% of your basic + DA into the same EPF account, and it earns the same interest. Your employer does not add anything extra for it. Enter a higher percentage above to see the effect.
When can I withdraw my EPF?
You can claim the full balance when you retire at 58. EPFO has changed its rules for withdrawals and advances before retirement in recent years, so check the current rules on the EPFO website before you plan one. Taking money out early also reduces the interest you earn.
EPF or PPF: which is better?
You do not have to choose. EPF is tied to your job, comes with an employer contribution and has a rate set by EPFO. PPF is open to anyone, you deposit on your own, and the rate is set by the government every quarter. See the PPF calculator to compare. Both are tax-free within limits, and neither rate is guaranteed for the future.
Sources: PIB — EPFO wage ceiling raised from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 (16 Sep 2026) · All India Radio — EPFO notifies 8.25% interest for FY 2025-26 · EPFO — Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation · Income Tax e-filing portal (tax on EPF interest, Sections 10(11) and 10(12))