RD Calculator
Find out what your recurring deposit will be worth at maturity and how much of it is interest. Enter your monthly deposit, the RD rate and the tenure.
Depositing ₹5,000 a month for 5 years at 6.5% gives about ₹3,54,954, of which ₹54,954 is interest.
Uses quarterly compounding, as banks and India Post do. RD interest is taxed at your slab rate, and the bank deducts TDS once your total interest from that bank crosses ₹50,000 in a year (₹1 lakh for senior citizens).
What is a recurring deposit (RD)?
A recurring deposit lets you save a fixed amount every month at an interest rate locked in on the day you open it, and pays back your deposits plus interest at the end of the tenure. Banks offer RDs from 6 months to 10 years; India Post offers a 5-year RD.
RD interest rates
India Post pays 6.7% on its 5-year RD for October–December 2026; SBI pays 6.05% to 6.40% depending on the tenure. Banks usually pay the same rate on an RD as on an FD of the same tenure.
| RD | General | Senior citizens |
|---|---|---|
| Post office RD (5 years) | 6.7% | 6.7% |
| SBI, 1 to 2 years | 6.25% | 6.75% |
| SBI, 2 to 3 years | 6.40% | 6.90% |
| SBI, 3 to 5 years | 6.30% | 6.80% |
| SBI, 5 to 10 years | 6.05% | 7.05% |
Post office rate from the government’s small savings notice for October–December 2026, reviewed every quarter. SBI rates from SBI’s retail term deposit rate card (effective 15 December 2025), checked in November 2026. The senior citizen rate for 5 years and above includes SBI’s extra 0.50% under its We-care scheme.
How RD maturity is calculated
Banks and the post office compound RD interest every quarter, and each monthly instalment earns interest only for the months it stays deposited. The first instalment earns the most and the last the least:
Maturity = Σ R × (1 + r/400)m/3
- R = monthly deposit
- r = interest rate (% a year)
- m = months that instalment stays deposited (from the full tenure down to 1)
RD maturity examples
₹5,000 a month for 5 years (₹3,00,000 deposited):
| Where | Rate | Maturity | Interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post office RD | 6.7% | ₹3,56,829 | ₹56,829 |
| SBI, senior citizen | 7.05% | ₹3,60,139 | ₹60,139 |
| SBI, general | 6.05% | ₹3,50,778 | ₹50,778 |
A 1-year RD of ₹2,000 a month at 6.25% matures at about ₹24,824. The post office’s 6.7% beats SBI’s 5-year rate for most savers; for a senior citizen, SBI pays more.
How much RD do I need for a goal?
Divide the goal by the maturity of ₹1 a month for that tenure and rate. To have ₹5 lakh in 3 years at 6.30%, you need an RD of about ₹12,594 a month. The calculator above does this if you change the monthly amount until the maturity matches your goal.
Is RD interest taxable?
- Yes. RD interest is added to your income and taxed at your slab rate, in the year it is earned, even though you get it only at maturity.
- At a 20% slab, the ₹56,829 earned on the post office RD above is worth about ₹45,463 after tax.
- The bank deducts TDS once your total interest from that bank crosses ₹50,000 in a year (₹1 lakh for senior citizens). Submit Form 15G or 15H if your income is below the taxable limit.
RD vs FD: which is better?
An FD earns more on the same total because all the money is invested from day one; an RD suits you when you save from your monthly income and have no lump sum yet. ₹3 lakh in a 5-year FD at 6.05% grows to about ₹4,05,053, against ₹3,50,778 for the same ₹3 lakh paid in monthly through an RD at the same rate. The difference is time in the bank, not a better rate.
RD vs SIP
An RD gives a fixed, guaranteed return; a SIP in an equity fund can earn much more over long periods but can also fall. ₹5,000 a month for 5 years becomes ₹3,56,829 in a post office RD, and about ₹4,12,432 in a SIP if the fund returns 12% a year, which is not guaranteed. Use an RD for goals under 3 years and for your emergency fund; consider a SIP for goals 5 or more years away.
What happens if I miss an RD instalment?
Banks charge a small penalty for each month you are late, and India Post charges a default fee per instalment. Several missed instalments in a row can lead to the account being discontinued. Set up an auto-debit on salary day to avoid this.
When to use a different calculator
- Investing a lump sum? Use the FD Calculator.
- Opening the RD at the post office? The Post Office RD Calculator adds its loan, early-closure, extension and missed-instalment rules.
- Saving monthly for 15 years, tax-free? Use the PPF Calculator.
- Investing monthly in mutual funds? Use the SIP Calculator.
Sources
- Reserve Bank of India: repo rate, lending and loan rules (RBI)
- India Post: Post Office Savings Schemes (Government of India)
- Small savings interest rates for October–December 2026 (Free Press Journal)
- Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation: ₹5 lakh deposit insurance (RBI subsidiary)
This is general information, not tax or investment advice. See how we check rates and our corrections log.
