Corrected: 20-Jan-2013
Post office Term Deposit better than bank fixed deposit?
Post office offers variety of small saving schemes. One among is Term deposit. Post office term deposit is similar to bank fixed deposit. However, there are several features associated term deposit offered by Post office.
What is Post office term deposit?
Post office offers term deposits for 1 year, 2 years, 3 years and 5 years period. Any investor who wants to invest a lump sum amount for such periods can invest in such term deposits.
Who is eligible to open?
Any individual adult either single or jointly can open the account. Group accounts, institutions, trust and welfare funds are not eligible to open the account.
How much can we invest?
- Minimum of Rs 200, multiples of Rs 200 thereof.
- Maximum – No limit
Penalty for premature withdrawals
If the time deposit is withdrawn from 6 months period to 1 year period, only simple interest rate would be payable
If the time deposit is withdrawn from 1 year, but before the maturity period, then while interest would be paid based on the interest rate applicable for the tenure the time deposit is there, one percent penalty would be deducted.
What are the rates of interest?
Below are the rates of interest. Interest would be compounded every quarter.
- 1 year – 8.2%
- 2 year – 8.3%
- 3 years – 8.4%
- 5 years – 8.5%
What about Tax
- If you invest for 5 years in post office term deposit, you would be eligible for income tax exemption under 80C.
- There is no TDS deducted on the interest.
Is post office term deposit is better than bank fixed deposit ?
Below are the major differences among these two
- Tenure of deposit
- Term deposit offered by Post office is available for 1, 2, 3 and 5 years period
- Bank fixed deposits are available from 15 days period to 10 years period.
- Interest rates:
- Post office deposit rates are between 8.2% to 8.5% p.a.
- Bank fixed deposit interest rate varies between 7.5% to 9.25% p.a.
- TDS
- For Post office term deposit, there is no TDS deducted by Post office.
- For Bank Fixed deposits, TDS would be deducted on interest.
- Opening the deposit account
- Post office term deposit can be opened only by adult individuals either single or jointly. Others cannot open the deposit account.
- Bank fixed deposits can be opened by any one
- Safety
- Post office run by Govt. of India, hence term deposits are 100% safe.
- Bank fixed deposits does not provide any safety. However investment up to 1 lac in bank fixed deposits are covered under insurance.
Conclusion: Term deposits offered by Post office and bank fixed deposits have their own advantages and disadvantages. Select the fixed deposit which is best suitable for you to maximize your returns.
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Suresh
Post office Term deposit better than bank fixed deposit?
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Clarify
Do you pay interest annually for 5 year TD or only on maturity at the end like a cumulative deposit since the rate of interest is higher. This is not clear for a depositor. Reply e mail harijagada@gmail.com immediately.
Hello Dr. Hariharan, In Post office Term Deposits, the interest is compounded quarterly, but paid annually. Generally this is credited to your Post office saving account
I had a query.
What does post office do with the money it collects by various deposit schemes?
Does it invest into something like lic does or uses it for it’s own functioning?
Retired employees should not take any risk in depositing their hard earned money in bank FDs. They should go for investments in Government departments though the interest rates are marginally less compared to banks. Go for Post office term deposits. The safest way to protect your investments.
I agree with your views
I have deposited some amount for the period of 5 years in post office (Fixed).
Now can I withdraw it before 5 years. If I can please tell me how and what are the formalities for this.
sir
iam Ravi Kumar
iam not understanding what is different between depositing in bank and post office
iam a student so u can explain me how my planning should be .
Hi Ravi, Post office schemes are backed up govt of India for security. However, for banks (unless they are nationalised banks), these are not backed up with any security.That is the major factor. Otherwise, one would invest based on interest rates.
Sir ,
I am 46 year old ,
My requirements are below.
If i invest a 3000-5000 per month for pension plan for 10 years (That is upto 56 years my age)
Can i get monthly interest/bonus after 1 year accumulation (that is 12*5000=60000) with tax benefitial
Investing in Bank is good or invest in post office is good?
If invest in bank which plan is good like
sbi-saral pension scheme,
Investing in Bank of india (SuD life insurance)
Please advice of best PENSION PLANCE IN ANY BANK?
Please ADVICE TO ME.
Adhi venkatesh
I intend to invest Rs. 20,00,000/- in PO F.D. Pl. Tell me the rate of interest on yearly basis.
very useful information. Thanks a lot. I have cleared all my doubts on noticing this site.
Now a days, when private financial institutions fail, these POs and Banks are the only alternatives for making investment for our hard earned money. Safety first and interest next.
For this purpose PO investment is the best.
In our country, a poor earns Rs.3000 per month, and gives his wife. His wife spends 2900 and balance 100 is deposited in our Bank/post offices. Small drops make ocean. This is our concept. Do not be attracted by higher rate of interest. But see that your principal is safe first.
Let us invest in our India. Make India strong. Let our money be used for our people and our Government for our development as we love our soil.
I want to invest 50000. EEither in PO or in Canara bank wherever rate of interest is more fore 1 year. Pl advice.
my name is amitabh kapoor
sir, i want to know that if i invest rs10,000 per month as fix deposit in bank till 10 years then after 20 years how much amount i get
For 10 years, ₹18, 50000. For 20 years, ₹55,73915. Assuming you start the deposit in a bank giving 7% interest for RDs.
THANKS @ TON 4 THIS VALUABLE UPDATION …………………!
As per my personal experience i found, the main problem of post office term deposit comes out at the time of maturity of a TD a/c,because some factors like frequent LINK FAILURE , UNDER PROCESS etc makes the consumer embarrassed, Last time i had to struggle for several days (some time it increases up to a month) to close a TD a/c. Modern technology become a curse in this matter, as i didn’t got my money back from 1 year TD in time for which I had to suffer a lot.
Hello sir,
Rgarding Vivek question,Can we invest 10K monthly per month in Fixed deposit,Because as per my knowledge , FD is one time investment,Please correvt me if i am wron,and if the above thing is posible plase let me know how we can do it,Thaks in Advance
Hello Sir,
I have an HDFC salary account,I would like to open an Fixed deposit of 20000 rupees , Shall i open it in Post office term deposit or fixed deposit in HDFC,Please advice
-vinitSir;this is regarding sukanya samurrudhi yojna.my daughter is going to complete her 10 years within 4 days.my questions related to this scheme are as follows.1)whether I have to invest up to 14 years means 2015+14=2029 or 14 years of her age I.e.2019.2)can I invest any time in year any amt up to 1.5 lakhs.3) can I invest varying amt each year I.e.50000 rs this year & 10000 rs next year.4)maturity will be after 21 years of her age I.e.2015+11(since currently she is 10 years old)or 2015+21years.5)lastly should I opt for sip in mutual funds to get better amt comparatively. Thanks -vinit
sir can monthly 5000/- be deposited in post office as term deposit for 1 year if so how much it will come
Sir…
I was thinking to invest 1 lakh per month for an year so that the interest received can be a source of a fixed monthly income…
Kindly direct me to the prevalent best and safe schemes so I make the best out of it the lowest possible income tax deductions
Please advise on Tax Saving scheme on FD & Term deposits in Banks & Post Offices
Hi,
Currently my age is 25. I want to invest 10000 per month. What is the best way to invest.
Actually what I am thinking I’ll invest 10K per month in FD for 8 years @9%. So after 8 years every month I’ll get each FD return that is 20K. So its kind of a fixed monthly income.
What do you say ? Or do you have any better idea to invest.
It depends on your risk appetite. If you are low risk investor, yes you can go for RD. Alternatively if you can take risk, you can invest in large cap funds or balanced funds.
Is there any facility for opening RD a/c. from HDFC salary a/c. to RD post office a/c.
No Uma.
I invest five year Rs. 10000/- nsc, so after five year how my given.
sir i want to invest 9 lakh in post officein monthly income scheme is there any tax on this?
There is no TDS on the Post Office MIS, but the interest income is taxable in your hands
MY FATHER HAD AN FD WITH INDIAN POST AND HE HAD AN ACCIDENTAL DEATH? WOULD THAT BE COVERED BY INDIAN POST INSURANCE FOR A CLAIM?IF YES HOW MUCH AND IF NO THEN WHY?KINDLY REPLY ON MY EMAIL ADDRESS.
Hello sir am looking for a huge investment which would be the better and how much i can opt for the post office i would like tominvest around 25 lacs sir so please give me advise
hi suresh,
i recently got job & i can save upto 1500 every month upto 6 months duration. Can u suggest me in choosing the best policy in order to get the maximum profit.
Vasu, since you want to invest for 6 months only best way is to open RD
Dear Sir,
Now,I am having 10 laks. for the savings of past 12 years. I want to investment for my future. after 10 years (ie 2024). I would like to retirement,
So, helpme to choose best investment options.
Thanks & Regards
Vinoth
Hi, Suresh
Let me first thank you for the wonderful service u r providing us
I am a USA Citizen , and can also take a Dual Citizenship from India. And the PIO card ( Person of Indian Origin )
I am worried about my kids education, they are 12 and 7 years, as the cost of educating them, in USA is very high,
I can invest Rs. 12,00,000 or 15,00,000 lakhs now
which is the best option for me–POST OFFICE FD or BANK FD
Please reply
I do not know whether you would fall under NRI category (Non resident Indian). If yes, you can open NRE account with any of the bank. Returns are around 9% which is tax free on such NRE FD schemes
Thanks for providing valuable information, Very informative.
Sir, i have invest of 25,000 every month's, what's best invest post fd bank fd, after 5 years ??? amount in my hand (my child education purpose).
Hiren, Best is bank FD as interest rates are high
Hello sir,
I want to invest 30000 for one year without any risk where can i invest
Bhanu, You are looking for short term investment. Better to invest in bank FD or post office saving schemes.
Dear Suresh,
Need your support on the short term & Long term investment.
My CTC is 12 Lakhs and yearly saving is aprox 4 lakhs…My planning is that will do job for more 10 years..ie upto 2025….
Now,request you please give the guidence in which investment plan should spent so after retirement(ie 40 years) will be getting some good amount…so that my family life will be OK in all respect.
Thanks Sir…
waiting for your positive response.
Invest in largecap or diversified funds like ICICI Pru focussed blue chip fund,HDFC Top-200, Birla SL Frontline fund, BNPP Equity fund, UTI Opps fund and Quantum long term equity fund. You can pick any of these funds.
Jay bharat sir
Sir have u a any informetion about fd spcialy for chind girl in post office. I want fd or term diposit in post which scheme sute me my daughter is now only 3 month so what am I do?
Guide me sir
Hi Vikas, There is no such scheme. However you can opt for any bank FD or post office FD scheme and it is immaterial as they provide good returns now.
I have invested in ICICI RD for 15 months starting from May 2014 and amount of 10000 per month. However, i have another 10000 available per month. Where should i invest my another 10000 (FD, RD, Post Office)?
Vishal, Open another RD. However try other than ICICI Bank as this bank offer low interest rates for RD
Thanks.
Sir, Will you please clarify the difference between T D S & IncomeTax?? If income exceeds above the prescribed limit, Bank will deduct TDS but what about IncomeTax? IncomeTax also deducts according their rules separately??
Chandrasekhar, TDS is Tax Deducted at Source. It is a part of income tax. If your income exceeds the taxable income limit, your employer will deduct tax every month provisionally or at the end of financial year from your salary itself. At the end of financial year when you file IT return, you have to calculate the final Income tax payable by you for the whole year. If it exceeds the TDS, you have to pay byn Challan in Bank. If the IT falls short of that collected by your employer you can claim refund from the IT department.
Which is beneficial?POtime deposits,bank fd's or ppf??
what is the interest rate of invidual. cud u pls explain each of the scenario in detail??
Thanks
Hi Eshwar, Each of them have their own pros and cons. e.g. POTD interest rates are at 8.4% to 8.6%, whereas banks are offering 8.5% to 9%. PPF on other hand comes with good benefits like lock-in period of 15 years, high rate of interest of 8.75% per annum and 80’c tax benefits. This could be good retirement benefit option.
HI Mr.SUresh,
My father had invested in MIS in post office. Due to various reasons we could not take the the deposit amount out of the post office for another two years after maturity. Are we entiltled for any interest for the two years after maturity?
Hi Usha, After maturity, Post office would pay 4% interest rates on any post office saving scheme. After that they would not pay any interest amount.
Hi Suresh,
Good Morning.
I want to invest 100000/- in NSC for 10yrs.kindly help me in understanding, will i need to pay the total amt once or it need to be paid monthy till 10yrs. How can we claim the amt after the completion of the term.
Is this amt would be excemption from tax and what is TDS means.
Hi Kali, If you want to buy NSC, simply to go Post office, pay cash or cheque and get NSC ceritificate for 5 or 10 years. You can claim Income tax as per section 80C up to Rs 1 Lakh maximum. At Maturity, you can surrender NSC certificate and take cheque which contains investment amount + interest.
Dear Suresh,
Thanks for your advice, but I want to know, as I'm based in Kuwait (NRI), (I should have told you earlier), can I make a bank fixed deposit of 40,000 Rs. in my son's name for 2 years, as a local account to avoid tax (that through form 15G) that I have to apply, or can I apply as an NRI account to evade the tax. What's your proposition?
Hi William, You can open bank account even when you are out of India. You may contact HDFC or ICICI Bank where they are offering such services. You can submit form 15G and TDS would not be deducted.
Thank You, Mr. Suresh.
i want to invest 100,000/- in post office deposit pls i want some adivice…………
Kamlesh, You can do it. However post office schemes offer 8.5% to 8.7% based on tenure of deposit. Alternative you can invest in bank FD schemes which offer 9% returns.
Hi Suresh,
I am planning to invest 50,000 for 5 years, had two options in mind, Bank FD and Post office 5 yers term deposit.
I did go through your blog, as it is mentioned that for Post offic eterm there is no TDS deducted from Post Office, we will still have to pay the tax by oursleves (please correct me if I am wrong!). In that case, as far as tax is concerned, both FD and Post office are the same.
If the above is true, then as the interest rate in FD is more and also compounded quartely, isn't investing in Bank FD a better choice.
Please advise.
Thanks in advance
Prijitha
Hi Prijitha, You are 100% right. However choose a good and safe bank while investing. Don’t invest in smaller banks as there would be some risk.
Thanks a lot for your advise Suresh!!
As you said, fixed deposit in bank is the right option if you look for good return. Bank are 100% safe if you are investing < 100000. Because till 1 lac, insurance is covered 🙂
If you keep fixed deposit of Rs.50,000 now, After 5 years you will get approximately as follows:
Bank name current Interest Amount after 5yrs
SBI – 8.5% – 76140
TMB – 9.3% – 79,178
ICICI – 8.75% – 77,077
SBM – 9.0 – 78,025
BOB – 9.1 – 78,408
Sir today I hav invested 1lac in bank as fixed deposit for 1year at rate of 9.25 p.a. should I pay tax on interest income or not? Will bank return interest after deduct TDS nd what rate they will charge? Can I invest in another FD without paying tax? Is there another option to invest smartly?
Sachin, It depends on your taxable income. Interest on bank FD’s needs to be added every year and you need to pay tax. If you have submitted PAN number to bank they would deduct 10% TDS. However if you are in 20% tax bracket, you need to still pay balance 10% just before filing income tax returns. You can look for tax free investments if you look for tax free returns which could be PPF, tax free bonds, equity mutual funds which would be redeemed after 1 year etc.
I am going to retire shortly. I could get retire ment benefits around 15 lakhs. If if invest this moneyin SB or MIS scheme of any bank, how mmuch I can get monthly as permanent income
Hi Varadarajan, Post office MIS scheme would fetch you 8.5% returns i.e. Rs 15L investment you would get Rs 10,600 per month (approx). Similarly if you invest in any bank you may get little higher. However as a senior citizen, you would get up to 9.5% interest in any bank which translates to Rs 11,875 per month.
Dear Sir,
What is ppf account?and ppf account is better than fixed depositekindly explain it in detail.
Santosh, Public Provident Fund (PPF) can be opned with post office or with SBI etc. You can get tax exemption u/s 80C up to Rs 1 lakh. Also the interest is tax free. Hence people prefer this as good investment option in case of long term. FD’s are for short term to long term. If you do not want money for next 15 years and save tax and want tax free income, open PPF account and start investing.
Hi Suresh,
If i invest 50000rs in post office fixed depost for a period of 5yrs, i will get tax benefit of 50000rs for the current financial year only or i will get tax benefit of each year 50000rs for the next 5yrs?
Whether the interest generated on the 5yrs FD in post office scheme will be taxable?
Kindly reply.
Raja, It would be only for 1st financial year. Yes interest generated is taxable and you need to show this as “Other income” in your tax returns and pay necessary tax on this.
Hi Suresh, Thanks for your reply. Can you please explain on the below points.
•For Post office term deposit, there is no TDS deducted by Post office.
•For Bank Fixed deposits, TDS would be deducted on interest.
Hi Raja, Yes. However though post office would not deduct TDS, we need to show this as part of our IT returns and pay tax.
Sir I can invest only 2000 per annual please suggest me best option. I dont know any idea
Amit, It depends on your risk appetite. Are you high risk, medium risk and low risk investor?
Sir I can invest 2000 monthly and I m low risk invester .Please tell me best option
Hi Amit, You should go for balanced mutual funds like ICICI Balanced fund or HDFC Balancd fund
Mr. Suresh, can you tell me whether my mother (68 years old) should deposit her money in post office or nationalized bank (say Bank of Baroda – Goa) for a 'fixed deposit' of 1 year, but renewable every year. Kindly reply.
Hi William, Post office offers just 8.5% (approx) whereas banks are offering more than 9.5% for Senior citizens. Hence you should go for nationalised banks FD scheme.
I would like to know if i invest in po's fd than it will take 9 years for the amount to double right?
and in other banks approximately 8 years! when i enquired about the fd in sbi they told me that any amount above 25lks would not have tax benifit (sorry i dont know how to put it in appropriate tearms)
so i want to ask if i were to invest 50lks how much tax will they deduct after the amount gets doubled?
please give me the step by step details on how to calculate tax and how to calculate the interest rates, for when they told me it is 9% that i simply calculated 9% of the amount and divided it with invested amount so it gave me 11.12321423 years so i thought it would take those many years to double up the amount where as in the above discussions i learnt that i was wrong.
Thanking you for your help!
Sarvesh, 1) There is no limit about getting tax benefit. All banks would deduct TDS of 10% of interest if you have submitted PAN or if you have not submitted PAN, they would deduct 20%. If you are not falling in tax bracket, you can fill necessary form and they would not deduct any TDS 2) Interest computation would be simple. Opening balance x interest rate for that year. e.g. if you have invested Rs 100,000 @ 9%, first year interest would be Rs 109,000. However second year it would be Rs 109,000 x 9%. 3) To compute how much time it takes to double your money is simple thumb rule of 72 divided by interest rate or years. e.g. if you want to double your money of Rs 100,000 at 9%, divide 72/9 = 8 years. Means you can double your money in 8 years @ 9%. Similarly if you want to double your money in 7 years, you can divide 72/7 = 10.3. Means you need to get 10.3% interest if you want to double your money in 7 years.
Thank you for the help, I really appreciate your keen interest in helping people.
sir i want to invest Rs 50000 in NSC post office saving for 5 yrs. Can i get tax exemption ( rebate) per years ( mean contionous five years or only one year). and which is best for tax rebate for continous five years .. FD OR NSC THANK YOU.
Hi Manoj, You would get only 1 year tax benefit if you invest now. Bank Tax saver FD (5 years tenure) or NSC (5 years tenure) or ELSS Mutual funds (min 3 years tenure) are some of the options available for u/s 80C.
helllo sir ,can any one tell me that in how many yrs take post office to double the amount ,and if i do fd of 2.5lk than what is return after 35 yrs pls give me a very specific ans and also tell me that i go with indian post office or a bank…thanks
Yadvendra, If you invest in post office @ 8.5% returns, your money would double in 8.5 Years. If you invest in bank @ 9% interest rate, it would be less than 8 years. You should choose a good bank and invest. Don’t invest in small banks. Also you can diversify by investing up to Rs 1 Lakh in a bank so that your deposit is secured by deposit insurance.
sir i want to get monthly income from my investments , i want to invest 30 lacks rupee …is any tax in post office fixed term deposit ………..or is this possible to deposit this much huge amount ?
Basha, You can invest, but instead invest in various options like Bank FD, Post office Term deposit etc. I am planning to write an article next week about investing options which gives monthly or regular returns. You can consider them too.
Sir I am confused bw fd rd and po 5 year scheme as I want to invest 10000 pm in rd uf there is fd or po5 year scheme ill open a fd every month of 10000.which will be better in terms of returns including taxess
Namit, Comparing to PO Term deposit, FD’s score more as we get higher returns
Hi Suresh,
Good article, I am thinking of investing in the PO 5 year fixed, about £20,000, as it is 100% safe. But on maturity how do we get the money back to UK in £'s
Pankaj
Pankaj, If you are NRI, you cannot invest in post office schemes. If you have your spouse or parents at India, you can invest indirectly in their name. The rate of interest is already specified in this article, based on this you would get interest.
I think fixed deposit is better than post office scheme..
Sir,my father want to invest around 10 lakh.He require a fix amount to be get every month.What would be best investment options available….with regards
Prasad, You can invest in Bank FD, Post office MIS scheme to get regular fixed monthly income. These are safer investment options for your father.
I want to invest the money in which I require a fix amount per month for a portion and balance should be FD
Hi
I am going to open a fixed depost account for an amount 40k. I came to know that if we select 5 year tenure for fixed deposit we can avoid paying tax for the amount deposited.
Can someone please tell me what if I withdraw the amount after 1 year. Still it is acceptable and I will be tax saver for 40k
Regards,
Abhinav
Abhinav, Often people get confused about Tax saving options Vs Tax free options. If you invest in 5 year FD, you can claim tax benefit for the entire amount under section 80C in your income tax statement. However the returns from FD are still taxable. e.g. if you invest Rs 50,000 in 5 years bank FD, you can claim Rs 50,000 as tax benefit under section 80C (where max benefit is Rs 100,000). However, every year you would get interest on Rs 50,000 which is taxable and would be added to your income. I understand that some banks are providing facility to withdraw such deposits with penalty.
Thanks a lot sir,
Dear Suresh,
If I deposit 30000 in post office for 5 years only I'm exempted from tax benifit?
In my company Income Tax decleration form I see "5 Years of Fixed Deposit in Schedule Bank" option but for post office term deposit I didn't see 5 year mandatory. Could you please confirm.
Please let me know which is best option and riskless to deposit an amount of 50000 to get good returns and riskless. in between what are these schedule banks?
This is how I planned
Exemptions u/s 10,17 & Deduction Under Chapter VIA
Maximum
Invested
1
Leave Travel Assistance(LTA)(Enter least of Actual LTA paid or amount spent for FY2013-14. Original bills, tripsheet, boarding pass in case of air journey,copy of Leave Card to be submitted)
60000.00
60000.00
2
Medical Reimbursement()
15000.00
15000.00
8
80C-Life Insurance Premium
100000.00
12000.00
9
80C-Mutual Funds
100000.00
12000.00
10
80C-NHB Scheme
100000.00
10000.00
11
80C-Post Office Term Deposit
100000.00
40000.00
Kishore, All 5 years post office term deposit of bank FD are exempted from tax, Re-check with them before you proceed. Scheduled banks are like any other banks which are also monitored by RBI. However their operations are limited as they are small in size.
Dear Sir,
please advice for fix deposit …..how many year post office will take the time time souble amount.
if you provide proper advice than i m interested for FD in post office
Rajkumar, Use the thumb rule 72. If you get interest rates of 8.5% p.a. divide 72 by 8.5 which is 9 years (approx).
Sir tds not deducted and tax free are two different things .Post office is also taxable at marginal rate of tax……
Harish, Thanks for the comments. There was an error which I have corrected now. I agree, Post office, they would not deduct TDS, however an investor need to pay income tax on interest. It is not tax free. Appreciate your feedback.
Interesting one. I am not aware of PO FD's. Will try one. Thanks. Also can you say about NPS.
Chitti, Thanks. NPS already available. Here is the link. You can search on search box for any think you would like to search on my blog. https://myinvestmentideas.com/2012/10/retirement-investment-plan-nps-new-pension-scheme-india/
Good info Suresh, Post office term deposit, there is no TDS deducted…. Thanks…