How to use this FD calculator
This FD calculator works for every Indian Fixed Deposit product (SBI / HDFC / ICICI / Axis / Kotak / PNB / BoB / small finance banks). Four inputs drive the maturity projection:
- Principal amount — the lump-sum rupee amount you’re depositing. For an RD (toggle), this becomes the monthly recurring deposit instead.
- Annual interest rate — the rate quoted by your bank for your specific tenure. Rates vary by tenure band (7-14 days, 15-45 days, 46-179 days, 180-364 days, 1-2 years, 2-3 years, 3-5 years, 5-10 years) — always use the exact rate card the bank publishes.
- Tenure — from 7 days (ultra-short) to 10 years (long-term). The FD calculator accepts any value and computes quarterly-compounded maturity automatically.
- Options — senior citizen toggle (adds 0.5% to rate), compounding frequency (monthly / quarterly / annual), TDS simulation (Section 194A), and premature withdrawal penalty modelling. For a deeper break-vs-hold analysis, our dedicated FD Premature Withdrawal Penalty Calculator handles the exact haircut per bank.
Every input auto-saves to the URL — useful if you’re comparing rates across banks or bookmarking the calculation for next year’s renewal. The FD calculator result shows gross maturity, net-of-TDS maturity, total interest earned, and the effective annualized yield.
How the FD & RD calculator works
Fixed Deposits (FD) and Recurring Deposits (RD) are the two most common bank-deposit products in India. They sit at the conservative end of the risk spectrum: zero market exposure, returns guaranteed at the rate contracted on the day of opening, deposit insurance up to ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank under DICGC. The compute math is the easy part; the nuance is in compounding frequency, senior citizen bonuses, and the TDS that banks deduct on the interest you earn.
Fixed Deposit math
Most Indian banks compound FD interest quarterly. The maturity formula is the standard compound interest equation:
A = P × (1 + r/n)n × t
where P is the principal, r is the annual interest rate as a decimal, n is the number of compounding periods per year (typically 4 for quarterly, 12 for monthly, 1 for annual), and t is the tenure in years. The calculator also supports simple interest for the rare FD product that uses it (some short-term sweep-in linked deposits).
Worked example: ₹1 lakh at 7% for 5 years quarterly compounded gives roughly ₹1,41,478 at maturity—₹41,478 of interest earned over the term. Switching to monthly compounding nudges this to about ₹1,41,763; switching to annual drops it to ₹1,40,255.
Recurring Deposit math
RDs deposit a fixed amount every month and compound the running balance quarterly (the universal Indian convention). Banks publish maturity values via this closed form:
M = R × [(1 + i)Q − 1] / [1 − (1 + i)−1/3]
where R is the monthly deposit, i is the quarterly rate (annual / 4), and Q is the number of quarters (tenure / 3 months). The denominator captures the within-quarter convention: each month’s contribution earns proportional simple interest until the end of its quarter, then compounds with the running balance.
Worked example: ₹5,000 per month at 7% for 5 years gives roughly ₹3,58,950 at maturity—₹2,98,950 of which you put in, ₹59,950 of which the bank credits as interest. Tenures must be a multiple of 3 months at most banks; the calculator allows any value but real-world RDs are typically 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, 60, 84, or 120 months.
Senior citizen bonus
Every Indian bank pays an additional 0.5% on FDs and RDs to depositors aged 60 and above (some banks pay 0.75% on five-year tax-saver FDs to super-seniors). The calculator’s “Senior citizen” toggle adds this bonus to the contracted rate before any other calculation runs. The senior also gets a higher TDS-free threshold (₹50,000 vs ₹40,000 for non-seniors).
TDS under Section 194A
Banks deduct Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on interest credited to your deposit account when the annual interest from that bank crosses the threshold:
- Below 60 years — TDS-free up to ₹40,000 of annual interest, then 10% TDS (with PAN), 20% (without PAN).
- Senior citizens (60+) — TDS-free up to ₹50,000, then 10% / 20% as above.
TDS is not the final tax—it is an advance towards your actual liability. The interest income still appears under “Income from Other Sources” in your ITR, taxed at your slab rate, with the TDS already paid credited against it. If your total income is below the basic exemption you can submit Form 15G (non-senior) or 15H (senior) to your bank and receive interest gross of TDS.
The calculator’s “Apply TDS” toggle simulates what actually credits to your account. Toggle it off to see the gross maturity, which is what you actually owe the IT Department on (slab rate, less TDS already paid).
Premature withdrawal penalty
If you break an FD before maturity, banks typically:
- Re-rate the deposit to the rate that would have appliedfor the actual tenure held (e.g., a 5-year FD broken at 2 years gets the 2-year rate, which is usually lower than the 5-year rate).
- Deduct a penalty of 0.5% to 1% from that re-rated rate.
The calculator models the penalty step explicitly. The “re-rate to actual tenure” step is a function of the bank’s rate card on the day of opening; we leave it to the user to enter the rate that actually applies to their actual holding period.
Tax-saver FD (Section 80C)
A 5-year tax-saver FD qualifies for Section 80C deduction up to ₹1.5 lakh. The principal locks for the full 5 years (no premature break allowed). Interest is fully taxable at your slab rate—there is no exemption on the interest itself, only on the principal investment. The calculator’s “Apply TDS” toggle still applies.
Premature withdrawal — the two-step haircut
Break a non-tax-saver FD before maturity and banks apply two deductions that stack: (1) re-price interest at the card rate for the actual holding period (not the booked rate), and (2) deduct 0.5–1.0% penalty on top. A 5-year FD booked at 7.25% but broken at 24 months earns closer to 5.5–6.0%, not 7.25%. For rupee-exact projections — including bank-by-bank penalty tables, worked examples, and the break-vs-loan-against-FD decision framework — use our dedicated FD Premature Withdrawal Penalty Calculator. The “Premature withdrawal” toggle on this calculator applies the same haircut inline if you want a quick sanity check.
NRE vs NRO FD
For non-resident Indians, the choice between an NRE (Non-Resident External) and NRO (Non-Resident Ordinary) account materially changes tax treatment:
- NRE FD — Interest is fully exempt from income tax in India. Funds are repatriable. Currency: INR (deposit made from foreign earnings).
- NRO FD — Interest is taxable in India at slab rate (TDS deducted at 30% + surcharge + cess by default). Repatriation capped at USD 1 million per FY.
This calculator models a resident FD; for NRE/NRO computations you need to layer the residency-specific tax treatment on top.
Compounding frequency comparison
For a ₹1 lakh, 5-year FD at 7%:
- Annual: ₹1,40,255
- Half-yearly: ₹1,41,060
- Quarterly: ₹1,41,478 (PSU bank default)
- Monthly: ₹1,41,763
The headline rate is the same; only the compounding frequency differs. Most depositors don’t realise their bank’s compounding frequency is negotiable on bulk deposits—always ask for monthly.
Bank-by-bank FD rate comparison (FY 2026-27)
Indicative 1-year FD rates across major Indian banks. Run your exact tenure in the FD calculator above to see the maturity difference:
| Bank | Regular (1 yr) | Senior (1 yr) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SBI | 6.80% | 7.30% | Widest branch network; lowest-risk |
| HDFC Bank | 7.00% | 7.50% | 15-month special rate typically 25-50 bps higher |
| ICICI Bank | 6.95% | 7.45% | iMobile-based booking; instant FD |
| Axis Bank | 7.10% | 7.60% | Axis Sarvottam tenure (777 days) often highest rate |
| Kotak Mahindra | 7.00% | 7.50% | Kotak 811 customers get 10-25 bps bonus |
| PNB | 6.80% | 7.30% | PSU, matches SBI band |
| Bank of Baroda | 6.85% | 7.35% | Super senior (80+) additional 0.25% |
| Small Finance Banks (Equitas, AU, Ujjivan) | 8.00-8.75% | 8.50-9.25% | DICGC-insured up to ₹5L; higher rate, higher risk |
| Post Office 5-yr NSC | 7.70% | 7.70% | GoI backed; quarterly-reset rate; Section 80C eligible |
Rates change frequently with RBI repo movements. Always verify on the bank’s website before booking. For bulk deposits (> ₹2 Cr), banks offer “bulk FD” rates that are typically 10-25 bps higher than retail — worth asking for.
FD calculator decision framework — when to pick what
| Priority | Best choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Absolute safety (retirement capital) | SBI / PNB / BoB FD, split across banks | DICGC-insured; PSU backing |
| Highest rate | Small Finance Bank 3-5 year FD | 8-9% beats private banks by 100-150 bps |
| Senior citizen + tax optimisation | PSU bank 1-year FD, interest < ₹50K/bank | 0.5% senior bonus; stays under TDS threshold |
| Section 80C + long-term capital | Tax-saver 5-year FD | ₹1.5L 80C deduction; locks capital productively |
| Monthly savings habit | RD (Recurring Deposit) 12-24 months | Forces monthly discipline without lump-sum |
| Short-term parking (3-6 months) | Short-tenure FD or liquid mutual fund | Liquid fund returns ~1% more; slab-taxed |
| NRI tax-free | NRE FD | Zero tax on interest; repatriable |
Run each combination in the FD calculator above to see the exact maturity and net-of-tax returns. Don’t forget the opportunity cost — equity mutual funds have historically returned 11-13% over 10+ year horizons, so FDs should anchor the fixed-income portion of a diversified allocation, not be the allocation itself.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Booking 5-year tax-saver FD when you don’t need 80C. If you’re on the new regime (no 80C benefit) or already maxed 80C via PPF / EPF / ELSS, the 5-year lock-in serves no purpose. Use a flexible 1-2 year regular FD instead.
- Splitting interest above the TDS threshold unnecessarily. Banks deduct 10% TDS above ₹40K/₹50K per bank per year. If your slab is 0-5%, submit Form 15G/15H to collect interest gross. If your slab is 30%, the TDS is just an advance — you’ll owe more at ITR filing anyway.
- Breaking an FD without calculating the two-step haircut. Premature withdrawal re-rates to the actual-tenure rate card and adds a 0.5-1% penalty. Often taking a loan-against-FD (typically 1% above FD rate) is cheaper than breaking. Use our dedicated FD Premature Withdrawal Penalty Calculator for bank-specific penalty tables + rupee-exact projections, or the FD calculator’s premature-withdrawal toggle for a quick sanity check.
- Not asking for monthly compounding on bulk deposits. The FD calculator shows the difference: ₹1L at 7% for 5 years earns ₹1,508 more under monthly vs quarterly compounding. On ₹50L, that’s ₹75K. Banks rarely volunteer this — ask.
- Booking 10-year FDs in a falling-rate cycle. If RBI signals rate cuts ahead, locking into 10 years at today’s rate is a big win — but only if the bank honours the rate for the full tenure (it does in India; FDs are fixed-rate). Never book 10-year FDs when rates are abnormally low; prefer 3-5 year ladders that let you reprice.
- Ignoring DICGC ₹5L cap. A single bank’s deposit insurance covers only ₹5L across savings + current + FD + RD combined. For safety on ₹20L+ deposits, split across 4+ banks to get each ₹5L slab insured separately.
- Forgetting Form 15G/15H timing. Submit at the start of the FY (April) to avoid TDS on interest credits throughout the year. Submitting in December means TDS has already happened on 9 months of interest — refunded only via ITR filing.
Frequently asked questions
- Is my FD safe? What about deposit insurance?
- DICGC insures bank deposits (savings, current, FD, RD combined) up to ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank. If a bank fails, you receive up to ₹5 lakh within 90 days. Spreading deposits across multiple banks raises your effective cover.
- FD or RD — which earns more?
- For the same total invested over the same tenure, an FD always earns more because the entire principal earns interest from day one. An RD has the same total invested at the end but the deposits trickle in monthly, so the earlier deposits earn more interest than the later ones. RDs are useful for forced savings; FDs are better for capital that is already in hand.
- Why do small finance banks offer 8–9%?
- Small Finance Banks (SFBs) and some private NBFCs offer higher rates because their cost of capital is higher and they need to compete with mainstream banks for deposits. They are still DICGC-insured up to ₹5 lakh per depositor. Rates above 8% on longer tenors deserve a closer look at the bank’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and gross NPA.
- How accurate is this calculator?
- Every result is computed with high-precision decimal arithmetic and cross-checked against the SBI / HDFC / ICICI / Axis published FD and RD calculators. Eighteen real-world fixture rows and 1,000+ property-based assertions run on every commit.
Sources
- Reserve Bank of India Master Directions on FDs (
rbi.org.in) - Section 194A, Income Tax Act 1961 (TDS on interest)
- SBI / HDFC / ICICI / Axis published FD and RD rate cards
- DICGC deposit insurance scheme (₹5L cap)
Disclaimer. Bank deposit rates change frequently. Always verify the rate card on the bank’s website before opening a deposit. Tax treatment depends on your individual residency and income profile—consult a Chartered Accountant for binding tax guidance.