PPF Calculator: The Public Provident Fund (PPF) is one of the most attractive retirement-oriented investment tools. However, if we use the PPF calculator and some investment tricks at the same time, an investor will have the chance to fetch more money in one's PPF account! As per the PPF rules, the PPF interest rate is calculated on the minimum PPF balance available in one's PPF account in between 5th to the last date of the month. Therefore, tax and investment experts are of the opinion that one's PPF investment strategy should be to invest in the PPF account between the 1st to 4th date of every month!

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Elaborating upon the PPF interest calculation and what do the EPFO rules say in this regard Manikaran Singhal, a SEBI registered tax and investment expert said, "A PPF account holder can invest from Rs 500 to Rs 1.5 lakh in PPF and a maximum number of investments that he or she can do is 12. The monthly interest incurred on one's PPF account is calculated on the minimum balance left in the account 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." He said that if an investor decides to invest a lump sum amount in his or her PPF account, he or she should try investing it on or before the 4th of the month. In such a case, he or she would be able to get PF interest on the amount invested.

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On the reasons that make people invest in PPF, Kartik Jhaveri, Director — Wealth Management at Transcend Consultants said, "PPF investment is a risk-free investment and government of India announces interest rates on PPF on a quarterly basis. Currently, the interest rate on PPF is 7.9 per cent." Jhaveri said that PPF investment helps an investor to claim income tax exemption benefit on up to Rs 1.5 lakh investment under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. However, Jhaveri said that there are several other rules that an investor might not be aware of and PF interest rate calculation is one of them. He said that if a person knows about the PF interest rate calculation, he or she can maximise one's PF account returns.