How to Extend PPF Account after Maturity?

Public Provident Fund (PPF) is one of the most preferred investment options for small investors who want tax saving, safety of investment and enticing interest rates. PPF comes with a lock-in period of 15 years. After the maturity of your PPF account i.e. after 15 years, you can either withdraw the entire amount from your PPF account or alternatively, you can choose to extend it, indefinitely, in 5-year blocks.

If you have no requirement of entire PPF account balance at once, it is beneficial for you to extend it.

PPF Account Extension Rules

• Only following PPF accounts are eligible for further extension,
  • Which got matured with regular contributions
  • Which have been regularized before maturity
• You can extend your PPF account on the expiry of 15 years from the end of the financial year in which the account was opened.
• The application of extension of account must be submitted by you before the expiry of 1 year from the maturity of the account.

PPF Extension on Maturity

PPF account can be extended in following two ways,

How to Extend PPF Account with Fresh Deposits after Maturity?

You can extend the PPF account by five years with contributions. The stepwise process is given below,

• Step 1: You need to inform to your branch about extension of PPF account with fresh deposits in writing by filling out Form H, if you wish to continue your PPF account and make new contributions as well.
• Step 2: For making 'PPF Extension with Fresh Deposits', you need to apply in Form H (PPF Account Extension Form). Form H is used to extend the tenure of the PPF account in a block of 5 years.
• Step 3: You can continue to make fresh deposit for a further block period of 5 years. Interest will be earned on new contributions. You can avail tax benefits on the new contributions too.
• Step 4: You will also get tax benefit under section 80C of the income tax act towards fresh deposits made by you maximum Rs.1.50 lakhs per year.

If you continue to deposit without submitting this Form H, all further deposits will be treated as irregular and no interest will be paid on them.

How to Extend PPF Account without Fresh Deposits after Maturity?

You can extend the PPF account by five years without contributions. The stepwise process is given below,

• Step 1: You need to inform to your branch about extension of PPF account without fresh deposits in writing for a period of 5 years.
• Step 2: In case you do not inform the bank or post office about PPF extension after 15 years, this will be the default extension option for your PPF account.
• Step 3: The balance in your PPF account will continue to earn interest at the notified rates.

PPF Withdrawal Rules after Extension

You can make partial withdrawals, subject to certain conditions.

How to Calculate Maturity Date of a PPF Account?

PPF comes with a lock-in period of 15 years. The important fact is that its maturity date is not calculated from the date of the opening of account. The maturity date is calculated from the last date of the financial year in which the first PPF deposit was made as per the Public Provident Fund Scheme Rules, no matter in which month or date the PPF account was opened. It is very easy to calculate exactly when does your PPF account mature.

Let's understand the maturity date of a PPF account with the help of an example,

It is to be noted that PPF maturity will always fall on 1st April and not on any other date of any year. It is a usual practice that people add 15 years to the date of opening of PPF account to find out the maturity date which is wrong.

Important Points regarding Extension of PPF Account

• In case you do not withdraw money from the account after maturity, it is automatically assumed that you want to extend the tenure.
• Form H is available on the website of your bank or post office.
• you will be unable to deposit funds into your PPF account unless you submit Form H
• If you do not submit Form H within 1 year of PPF maturity, it will be treated as 'PPF extension without contribution' any new deposit you make in the account in this five-year period will be considered irregular & will not earn you any interest and further, you will not be eligible for any tax benefits on any deposits you make in the account in this five-year period.