The maturity period of Public Provident Fund (PPF) is 15 years. But it is not that after 15 years you have to withdraw your money and close the account. It is not necessary for the depositor to close the account. You can extend it indefinitely in 5-5 years. After 15 years you can extend your account in two ways.
Method 1: You can extend the account with fresh deposit
if you can extend your account for 5 years after the maturity of the account. To increase the PPF account, you have to submit the form within a year. For this, the application has to be made one year before the completion of maturity. During these 5 years, you can also withdraw money if needed.
Method 2: Proceeding the account without fresh deposit The
PPF account remains active even after maturity. If you do not choose the above option, then automatically your PPF maturity date gets extended for 5 years. It does not require any paperwork. In this you will not even need to make any kind of contribution and you keep getting interest. You can invest for any number of years in both the modes.
The benefit of tax exemption is available on PPF
PPF comes under the category of EEE. That is, you get the benefit of tax exemption on the entire investment made in the scheme. Also, no tax has to be paid on the interest earned and the entire amount of investment in this scheme. In this, under section 80C of the Income Tax Act, the benefit of tax exemption can be taken on investments up to Rs 1.5 lakh annually.
Account can be opened in
a post office or bank A PPF account can be opened in a post office or bank in his own name and by any other person on behalf of the minor. However, as per the rules, a PPF account cannot be opened in the name of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF).
