Do you have a PPF account? Here are 5 Public Provident Fund rules you might not be aware of

Public Provident Fund or PPF has remained a popular investment option in India due to its risk-free nature and assured return guarantee. The scheme also offers you tax benefits under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. The investors can claim up to Rs 1.5 lakh against the amount invested in a Public Provident Fund account. Just like any other investment, PPF has certain rules too – some of them you might not be aware of, but must know.

Here is a look at five such rules -

1. The monthly interest incurred on one's PPF account is calculated on the minimum balance left in the account in between 5th to the last day of the month. So, to maximise one's PPF returns, one needs to invest in his or her PPF account before the 5th of the month.

2. A PPF account has a tenure of 15 years but the account holder can renew his or her PPF account in 5-year blocks without investing further in the PPF account. However, it doesn't mean one can't withdraw money from the PPF in case of a financial emergency. The PPF account can be closed under special circumstances like financial emergency required by life-threatening disease to the account holder, spouse, dependent children of parents on producing the related documents.  

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3. PPF account enjoys protection from court attachment. So, if the PPF account holder has come under the stress of debt or liability, the PPF account balance enjoys protection from the court attachment against any court decree or order of any court in respect to debt or liability of the PPF account depositor.

4. The investors also have the option of partial withdrawal from the 7th financial year and the amount of withdrawal is also tax-free. However, the withdrawal amount can't be above 50 per cent of the balance.

5. A PPF subscriber can extend one's PPF account after 15 years of maturity period. For this, you need to submit Form H within one year of the PPF account maturity. You can only extend the account by five years at a time.