Post Office Schemes

India Post runs several small-savings schemes with a sovereign guarantee behind them. This calculator covers the three most popular lump-sum options: NSC, which compounds your money for five years; KVP, which doubles it over a fixed period; and POMIS, which pays a monthly income and returns the principal at the end. Pick a scheme above to see its numbers.

Each scheme has its own government-set rate — 7.7% for NSC, 7.5% for KVP and 7.4% for POMIS as of 2026 — and the calculator loads the right default when you switch. All three are backed by the Government of India, so the returns are as safe as it gets in Indian savings.

How each post office scheme is calculated

NSC compounds annually and reinvests the interest, so maturity = P × (1 + r)⁵. Invest ₹1,00,000 at 7.7% and the certificate is worth ₹1,07,700 after year one and ₹1,44,903 at the end of five years — ₹44,903 of interest, all paid out together at maturity.

KVP is defined by doubling rather than a rate, so the tenure falls out of the rate: months = ln(2) ÷ ln(1 + r) × 12. At 7.5% that works out to roughly 116 months, which India Post rounds to its published tenure of 115 months, or 9 years 7 months. Whatever you invest comes back exactly doubled. POMIS is a pure payout scheme: monthly income = P × r ÷ 1200, so the ₹9,00,000 single-account maximum at 7.4% pays ₹5,550 every month, ₹66,600 a year, and ₹3,33,000 across the five-year term — with the full ₹9,00,000 returned at maturity.

How to use this calculator

• Pick the scheme: NSC for growth, KVP to double a lump sum, POMIS for regular monthly income.
• Enter the amount you want to invest — POMIS caps a single-holder account at ₹9 lakh, while NSC and KVP have no upper limit.
• The interest rate defaults to the current rate for the scheme you chose; change it only if the government revises rates.
• Read the result cards — maturity value for NSC, the doubling period for KVP, or the monthly cheque for POMIS.
• For NSC, open the year-by-year table to see how the certificate accrues before it pays out in a single lump sum at the end.

Which post office scheme should you pick?

Choose by what you need the money to do. NSC suits a five-year goal where you also want a Section 80C deduction — and there is a neat quirk: the interest accrued each year (except the final one) is treated as reinvested, so it qualifies for 80C again in that year. KVP suits someone who simply wants a guaranteed doubling with no tax break and no fuss; it can be pledged as loan collateral and encashed after two and a half years. POMIS suits retirees and anyone who needs a predictable monthly deposit into their savings account.

None of these schemes is tax-free. NSC and KVP interest is taxable at your slab rate (NSC has no TDS; KVP has none either at the post office counter), and POMIS income is fully taxable as it is received. If you are 60 or above and want monthly-style income, compare POMIS with SCSS first — SCSS pays 8.2% quarterly and accepts up to ₹30 lakh. For genuinely tax-free long-term growth, PPF and Sukanya Samriddhi still beat all three.

Frequently asked questions