Why a PPF Account's Withdrawal Rule Changes After the Initial 15-Year Term

During the original 15-year term, a PPF withdrawal is capped at 50% of the lower of two past balances; once an account is extended, that rule no longer applies — the cap instead becomes 60% of the balance sitting at the start of the current 5-year extension block.

By CalcuTool Editorial Team

Reviewed 14-09-2026

Within the original 15-year term: 50% of the lower balance

With ₹8,00,000 at the end of the immediately preceding year and ₹5,00,000 four years earlier, the real withdrawal-limit formula gives a maximum of ₹2,50,000 — 50% of the lower of the two figures. This is the rule that governs every partial withdrawal made from the 7th financial year onward, up until the account reaches its 15-year maturity.

After opting to extend: 60% of the block's starting balance

A ₹40,00,000 account extended 5 years with continued contributions grows to a real ₹65,62,173.33 by the end of that block. If the holder then extends again into a further 5-year block, the withdrawal cap for that new block is 60% of ₹65,62,173.33 — ₹39,37,304 — a different rule entirely from the 50%-of-lower-of-two-years calculation used during the original term.

Why the same account uses two unrelated formulas

The pre-maturity rule exists to stop someone depositing a lump sum and immediately withdrawing half of it, which is why it looks at a balance from four years back. Once an account is in extension territory, that specific risk doesn't apply the same way, since the account is already well past a 15-year history — so the scheme instead allows a simpler, more generous 60% cap measured from a single point: the balance already locked in at the start of the current block.

The practical takeaway

Which calculator applies depends entirely on which phase the account is in: the PPF Withdrawal Calculator's 50%-of-lower-balance formula for any withdrawal during the initial 15 years, and a plain 60% of the current extension block's opening balance once the account has been extended — not a figure either calculator here computes directly, since it's simple arithmetic on a number the PPF Extension Calculator already provides.

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