Post office FD: A fixed deposit (FD) is a small savings, guaranteed return scheme where one gets a return on a one-time investment. People who don't want to invest in market-linked programmes and want to invest in nearly risk-free options also opt for FDs. Senior citizens who want a regular income post retirement also invest in senior citizen FDs, which also offer a higher interest rate than those offered to general citizens. Post offices, banks, and small finance banks run FD schemes of different durations. The post office FD is also known as National Savings Time Deposit Account (TD).

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The scheme offers 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, and 5-year FDs.

The benefit of investing in a five-year FD is that it also provides income tax benefits on deposits of up to Rs 1.50 lakh in a financial year under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The interest rates in the post office FDs are as follows:

Interest rates from 01.01.2024 to 31.03.2024
​Period Rate
1yr.A/c 6.90%
2yr.A/c 7.00%
3yr.A/c 7.10%
5yr.A/c 7.50%

One can have a single or a joint account (up to 3 adults) in the post office FD.

A guardian on behalf of a minor, a guardian on behalf of a person of unsound mind, and a minor over 10 years old can open an account in their own name.

The interest is payable annually but calculated quarterly.

The minimum investment in the post office FD is Rs 1,000 and in multiples of Rs 100.

While there is no maximum limit for investment,.

Here's what your Rs 2 lakh, Rs 3 lakh, and Rs 3 lakh investment in the post office FD will give you in return

In the 1-year post office FD, the interest rate is 6.9 per cent. A Rs 1 lakh investment will give you Rs 7,081 in interest and Rs 1,07,081 in maturity.

A Rs 2 lakh investment will give you Rs 14,161 in return and Rs 2,14,161 in maturity.

A Rs 3 lakh investment will give Rs 21,242 in return and Rs 3,21,242 in maturity.

In the 2-year post office FD, the interest rate is 7.0 per cent. A Rs 1 lakh investment will give you Rs 14,888 in interest and Rs 1,14,888 in maturity.

A Rs 2 lakh investment will give you Rs 29,776 in returns and Rs 2,29,776 in maturity. 

A Rs 3 lakh investment will give you Rs 44,665 in return and Rs 3,44,665 in maturity.

In the 3-year post office FD, the interest rate is 7.1 per cent.

A Rs 1 lakh investment will give you Rs 23,508 in interest and Rs 1,23,508 in maturity.

A Rs 2 lakh investment will give you Rs 47,015 in interest and Rs 2,47,015 in maturity.

A Rs 3 lakh investment will give you Rs 70,523 in interest and Rs 3,70,523 in maturity.

In the 5-year post office FD, the interest rate is 7.5 per cent. A Rs 1 lakh investment will give you Rs 44,995 in interest and Rs 1,44,995 in maturity.

A Rs 2 lakh investment will give you Rs 89,990 in interest and Rs 2,89,990 in maturity. 

A Rs 3 lakh investment will give you Rs 1,34,984 in interest and Rs 4,34,984 in maturity.