In small savings schemes, you have to deposit a certain minimum amount in your account every financial year. It is necessary to deposit the minimum balance to keep the account active. If the account holder fails to deposit the minimum amount to be deposited every year, the account may be frozen. Apart from this, a penalty can also be imposed on the account holder.
Do the work on time
The last date for depositing the minimum balance in the PPF, NPS, and Sukanya Samriddhi account for the current financial year is March 31, 2025. In the budget, the government has made the new tax system more attractive. Under the new tax system, annual income up to Rs 12 lakh has been made tax-free from April 1, 2025. At the same time, no change has been made to the old tax system. Under this, income tax exemption is available on deposits up to Rs 1.5 lakh under section 80C.
The penalty will be imposed for not depositing the minimum amount
You must have opted for the old tax regime for the current financial year 2024-25. Even if you opt for the new tax regime from the new financial year, you still need to deposit a minimum amount in your small savings scheme. Therefore, like every year, this time too you will have to invest in PPF, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), and NPS accounts. There may also be a penalty for not depositing the minimum amount in all these accounts.
How much amount is required to be deposited in PPF
According to PPF Rules 2019, it is necessary to deposit at least Rs 500 in the PPF account every financial year. If the minimum amount is not deposited, the PPF account will become inactive. A loan and withdrawal facility is not available when the PPF account is inactive. You can revive the inactive account before maturity. Apart from the default charges, the depositor has to deposit Rs 500 as the minimum amount every year. A minimum deposit of Rs 500 is required every year in this account.
Investing in daughters’ future
Sukanya Samriddhi is a tax-saving investment option for those who want to save for their daughters. As per the rules of the SSY scheme, account holders are required to deposit at least Rs 250 every financial year. If the minimum amount of Rs 250 is not deposited in the account in a financial year, the Sukanya account is considered a default account. The rules of the scheme allow any default account to be revived at any time before maturity. To revive the account, Rs 50 has to be paid for every default year.
Preparing for retirement
Some taxpayers open NPS accounts to save tax by investing an additional Rs 50,000 under section 80CCD (1B) of the Income Tax Act. This investment of Rs 50,000 is over and above the limit of Rs 1.5 lakh allowed under Section 80C. As per the NPS rules, any individual is required to deposit at least Rs 1,000 in the NPS account every financial year. But if your account is inactive, you can activate it by depositing Rs 500. It is important to note that you must deposit at least Rs 1000 during a financial year.