PF Calculator India 2026: Project Your EPF Corpus

What the EPF actually is

The Employees Provident Fund is a retirement-savings scheme under the EPF and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. Any establishment with 20 or more employees has to register. Draw basic plus DA up to ₹15,000 a month and coverage is mandatory. Earn more and you can still opt in, which most people do because the employer match is essentially free money. EPFO declares the interest rate every financial year, holds the money, and pays it out at retirement or in approved partial withdrawals.

The 12% plus 12%, and the split you don't see on your payslip

Both you and your employer contribute 12% of basic plus DA. That much is on the slip. The slip rarely shows how the employer's 12% gets carved up:

• 8.33% to EPS (Employees Pension Scheme), capped at the ₹15,000 wage ceiling. Maximum ₹1,250 per month. Builds your monthly pension, not your PF balance.
• 3.67% to EPF. Goes into your PF account and earns the EPFO interest rate.
• 0.5% to EDLI (Employees Deposit Linked Insurance). Capped at ₹75 per month. Pays your nominee a life-cover amount if you die in service.
• 0.5% PF admin and 0.005% EDLI admin. Employer cost, doesn't affect your balance.

So when you hear "employer pays 12%", only 3.67% actually lands in your PF passbook. The rest is pension and insurance.

How EPFO interest works

EPFO declares one rate per financial year. Recent rates: FY 2022-23 at 8.15%, FY 2023-24 at 8.25%. For FY 2025-26 the rate sits in the 8% to 8.5% band EPFO has held for the last decade, but the official figure is announced annually after the Central Board of Trustees meets, so treat any forward projection as an estimate. Compounding is annual, calculated on the monthly running balance. Each month's contribution earns interest from the month after it's credited. The calculator handles this so the numbers match what your passbook eventually shows.

Worked example: ₹40,000 basic plus DA

Take a 30-year-old engineer with basic plus DA of ₹40,000 a month, retiring at 60.

• Employee at 12%: ₹4,800 per month, ₹57,600 a year.
• Employer to EPF at 3.67%: ₹1,468 per month, ₹17,616 a year.
• Combined annual credit to EPF: ₹75,216.
• Employer to EPS: capped at ₹1,250 per month (8.33% of ₹15,000), ₹15,000 a year. Pension only.

Project ₹75,216 yearly credit at 8.25% interest with monthly compounding on running balance over 30 years and the EPF corpus lands around ₹89,80,000 to ₹90,00,000 on flat salary. Layer in a 5% annual increment on basic plus DA and the 30-year horizon comfortably crosses ₹1,50,00,000 to ₹2,00,00,000. This is a projection. Actual corpus depends on the EPFO rate each year and how your basic plus DA grows. The calculator uses constant assumptions you can override.

EPS pension, the bit you almost forget

The 8.33% going to EPS is not lost. After 10 years of contributory service and at age 58, you start drawing a monthly pension. Formula: pensionable salary times pensionable service, divided by 70. Pensionable salary is capped at ₹15,000, so the maximum EPS pension under the old formula sits around ₹7,500 a month for 35 years of service. Modest, and separate from your PF lump sum. Treat EPS as a small floor and EPF as the main retirement pot.

Withdrawal rules and tax treatment

Full withdrawal at retirement (age 58) or after two months of unemployment. Partial withdrawals are allowed for medical treatment, buying or building a house, repaying a home loan, marriage, higher education, and pre-retirement (up to 90% of balance after 54).

Tax: with 5 or more years of continuous service, the full amount is exempt under Sections 10(11) and 10(12). Pull out before 5 years and it's taxable, with TDS at source if the amount crosses ₹50,000. Since FY 2021-22, interest on employee contributions above ₹2,50,000 a year is also taxable, so heavy VPF users need to plan for it.

Common questions

Can I increase my PF contribution?

Yes, through Voluntary Provident Fund. You can contribute up to 100% of basic plus DA over and above the mandatory 12%. Employer doesn't have to match. You earn the same EPFO rate and the contribution qualifies for 80C under the old regime.

What is UAN and how do I check my balance?

Universal Account Number is a 12-digit number that ties all your PF accounts together across employers. You get one for life. Check balance via the EPFO member portal at epfindia.gov.in, the UMANG app, or by sending EPFOHO UAN ENG to 7738299899 from your registered mobile number.

What happens to PF when I switch jobs?

It doesn't follow you automatically. Raise an online transfer request once your new employer activates your UAN. The balance plus interest moves over without breaking service continuity, which matters for the 5-year tax exemption.

Is PF interest taxable?

For most employees, no, it's exempt under Section 10(11). The exception: if your own contribution in a year crosses ₹2,50,000 (or ₹5,00,000 where the employer doesn't contribute), interest on the portion above that threshold is taxable as income from other sources.

From projection to monthly compliance

This calculator is for one employee asking one question. If you run payroll for a team of 30 or 300 and need PF, EPS, EDLI, and admin charges computed every month with ECR generated and challans ready, our payroll software for India handles it. Pricing starts at ₹49 per employee per month with the first three months free.