If you have a Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) account and have not deposited money this financial year, your account may be closed. To keep the account active, make sure to deposit some money by 31 March 2025. If no money is deposited in PPF and SSY, these accounts may become inactive, meaning they could be closed. If this happens, you will have to pay a penalty to reactivate them. In this article, we will explain the minimum amount you need to deposit in these accounts.
Public Provident Fund (PPF)
The minimum deposit for a PPF account is Rs 500. You must invest at least Rs 500 in a financial year to keep your account active. If you fail to do so, your account may be closed. The last date to deposit money is 31 March 2025. If you do not deposit by this date, you will incur a penalty of Rs 50 per year. Currently, the interest rate on PPF accounts is 7.1%.
If you do not make the minimum deposit in a financial year, your PPF account will be closed. You will also not be able to take a loan against it or withdraw money from it. Additionally, if you miss the deposit deadline, you will need to pay a penalty of Rs 50 per year to reactivate the account.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
For Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana accounts, the minimum deposit is Rs 250 per year. If you fail to make this deposit, you will be charged a penalty of Rs 50. The current interest rate on the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana account is 8.2%.
If you do not make the minimum deposit, your account will be considered a default account. If you miss the deposit deadline, you will be required to pay a penalty of Rs 50 every year to reactivate the account.
Benefits of Both Schemes
Investing in both of these schemes provides the benefit of tax exemption under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. You can claim a tax exemption on annual investments of up to Rs 1.5 lakh. This means you can reduce your total taxable income by up to Rs 1.5 lakh through Section 80C.