Calculate the maturity value of your Recurring Deposit instantly. See total interest earned, effective yield, and compare against FD and SIP — using the exact quarterly-compounding formula Indian banks use.
Quick Tenure:
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—Total Invested
—Interest Earned
—Effective Yield
—Instalments
Interest Share of Maturity0%
Interest as a percentage of total maturity value
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How to Use This Calculator
1
Enter your monthly instalment
The fixed amount you plan to deposit every month into the RD account.
2
Enter the interest rate
Check your bank's current RD rate. Tick "Senior Citizen" if you qualify — it auto-adds 0.5% to your rate.
3
Set tenure and calculate
Use the Quick Tenure buttons or enter custom months, then click Calculate to see maturity value, interest and effective yield instantly.
💡Try comparing 36 vs 60 months at the same instalment — the extra compounding time meaningfully increases your effective yield, not just your total deposits.
🏦 RD Rates Across Banks (2026)
SBI (1–2 yrs)6.80%
HDFC Bank (1–2 yrs)7.00%
ICICI Bank (1–2 yrs)7.00%
Axis Bank (1–2 yrs)7.10%
PNB (1–2 yrs)6.80%
Post Office (5 yrs fixed)6.70%
Indicative rates, mid-2026. Always verify the current rate on your bank's official website before opening an RD.
A Recurring Deposit is a savings product offered by Indian banks and the Post Office that lets you build a lump sum through small, fixed monthly deposits instead of investing one large amount at once. You choose a monthly instalment and a tenure — anywhere from 6 months to 10 years — and the bank pays interest on every instalment, compounded quarterly, until the deposit matures.
RDs are popular with salaried Indians because they enforce savings discipline: the instalment is usually auto-debited from your savings account on a fixed date every month, so the money is set aside before you can spend it. Unlike a SIP in mutual funds, an RD's returns are fixed and guaranteed at the time of opening, making it a low-risk, predictable savings tool.
🎯
Goal-Based Saving
Ideal for short-to-medium term goals — a wedding, a trip, an emergency fund, or a down payment 1–5 years away.
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Guaranteed Returns
The rate is locked in at opening and does not change for the entire tenure, unlike floating-rate instruments.
🏛️
DICGC Insured
Bank RDs are insured up to ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank under DICGC — the same protection as savings accounts.
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Forced Discipline
Auto-debit on a fixed date removes the temptation to skip saving in a given month, unlike a flexible SIP.
How RD Maturity Value is Calculated
RD maturity looks like simple interest at first glance — same amount, same rate, every month — but it isn't. Banks compound RD interest quarterly, and because each instalment is deposited at a different point in time, each one earns interest for a different length of time. The standard formula used by virtually every Indian bank captures this correctly:
The standard RD formula
Maturity Value Formula
M = R × [(1+i)n − 1] ÷ [1 − (1+i)−1/3] where i = Annual Rate ÷ 400, n = Tenure in Months ÷ 3
Here, R is your fixed monthly instalment, i is the quarterly interest rate expressed as a decimal, and n is the number of quarters in your tenure. The cube-root term in the denominator is what correctly distributes monthly deposits across each quarterly compounding cycle — it's the part most manual calculations get wrong.
Worked example
Example: ₹5,000/month RD at 7% p.a. for 24 months
Quarterly rate i = 7 ÷ 400 = 0.0175
Number of quarters n = 24 ÷ 3 = 8
(1.0175)8 − 1 = 0.1489
1 − (1.0175)−1/3 = 0.00577
M = 5,000 × (0.1489 ÷ 0.00577) = ₹1,29,106
Total invested ₹1,20,000 + Interest ₹9,106 = Maturity ₹1,29,106 ✓
💡This is why the effective yield on an RD is always a little lower than the headline rate — your last instalment only earns interest for one compounding cycle, while your first instalment earns it for the whole tenure.
Current RD Interest Rates Across Indian Banks (2026)
RD rates broadly track the FD rates of the same bank and move with the RBI's repo rate. Most banks offer the same RD rate as their FD rate for an equivalent tenure bucket. Here's an indicative snapshot:
Bank
1–2 Years
3–5 Years
Senior Citizen Extra
SBI
6.80%
6.50%
+0.50%
HDFC Bank
7.00%
6.75%
+0.50%
ICICI Bank
7.00%
6.70%
+0.50%
Axis Bank
7.10%
6.80%
+0.50%
Punjab National Bank
6.80%
6.50%
+0.50%
Post Office RD
6.70% (5-yr fixed only)
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No extra rate
⚠️Rates change with every RBI monetary policy review and vary by tenure bucket. These figures are indicative as of mid-2026 — always check the bank's current published rate sheet before opening an RD.
RD vs Fixed Deposit vs SIP — Which is Better?
These three are often confused because they all involve regular saving, but they serve different purposes and carry different risk levels.
Factor
Recurring Deposit
Fixed Deposit
SIP (Mutual Fund)
Investment style
Small amount monthly
One lump sum
Small amount monthly
Returns
Fixed, guaranteed
Fixed, guaranteed
Market-linked, variable
Typical return
6.5%–7.5%
6.5%–7.5%
10%–14% (long term, historical)
Risk
Very low
Very low
Moderate to high
Best for
Building from monthly income
Parking a lump sum
Long-term wealth creation (5+ yrs)
Practical takeaway: Use an RD when you have a short-term goal (under 3 years) and want zero risk. Use an FD if you have a lump sum sitting idle. Use a SIP only if you can stay invested for 5+ years and can tolerate market ups and downs for potentially higher returns.
Tax (TDS) on RD Interest
RD interest is fully taxable under "Income from Other Sources" and added to your total income, taxed at your applicable slab rate — there is no special exemption for RD interest the way there is for some other instruments.
TDS deduction rules
Banks deduct 10% TDS if your total interest income (across all RDs and FDs at that bank) exceeds ₹40,000 in a financial year.
The threshold is ₹50,000 for senior citizens (60+ years).
If your total income is below the basic exemption limit, you can submit Form 15G (below 60) or Form 15H (60+) at the start of the financial year to avoid TDS deduction altogether.
Even if no TDS is deducted, you must still declare and pay tax on the full interest earned if your total income is taxable.
💡TDS deducted is not a final tax — it's an advance. If your actual tax liability is lower (or zero), you can claim a refund of the excess TDS when filing your Income Tax Return.
Tips to Maximise Your RD Returns
📅
Choose the longest comfortable tenure
Longer tenures benefit more from compounding — the gap between simple and effective yield widens with time.
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Use senior citizen rates
If eligible, the extra 0.5% compounds meaningfully over a 3–5 year tenure — always opt in.
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Compare across banks
A 0.3–0.5% rate difference between banks can add up to thousands over a 5-year tenure on a sizeable instalment.
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Never miss an instalment
Penalties for missed instalments quietly eat into your effective yield — set a reminder or rely on auto-debit.
5 Common RD Mistakes to Avoid
These errors are common even among people who've held an RD for years — and they all lead to either overestimating returns or losing money unnecessarily.
Mistake 1 — Estimating returns with simple interest
✗ Wrong: Interest = P × n × (n+1)/2 × r ÷ (12 × 100), treating it as simple interest
✓ Right: Use the bank's quarterly-compounding formula — M = R × [(1+i)^n − 1] ÷ [1 − (1+i)^(−1/3)]
Simple-interest approximations consistently underestimate the real maturity value because they ignore quarterly compounding. Always use the actual bank formula, or this calculator, for an accurate figure.
Mistake 2 — Assuming the full advertised rate applies on early withdrawal
✗ Wrong: "My RD rate is 7%, so I'll get 7% even if I withdraw after 8 months."
✓ Right: Premature withdrawal usually cuts the applicable rate by 0.5%–1%, plus a possible penalty
Banks apply the rate that was valid for the actual period the RD ran, minus a penalty — not the rate you originally locked in for the full tenure. Breaking an RD early is almost always a worse outcome than taking a loan against it.
Mistake 3 — Treating the calculator's output as the post-tax amount
✗ Wrong: Assuming the maturity value shown is what lands in your account after tax
✓ Right: TDS (if applicable) and your final tax liability are calculated separately, on top of the gross interest
The maturity value is gross — before any TDS or income tax. Factor in your slab rate separately when planning how much you'll actually keep.
Mistake 4 — Ignoring missed-instalment penalties
✗ Wrong: "Skipping one month's instalment costs me nothing extra."
✓ Right: Most banks charge ₹1.50–₹15 per ₹100 of the missed instalment, and may extend the maturity date
A few missed instalments over a long tenure can noticeably dent your effective yield once penalties are factored in. Auto-debit is the safest way to avoid this entirely.
Mistake 5 — Comparing RD and FD rates as if returns are identical
✗ Wrong: "RD and FD both show 7%, so I'll earn the same total return either way."
✓ Right: For the same total amount invested, FD earns more, because the full sum is invested from day one
In an RD, your later instalments have less time to earn interest than your first. An FD has the entire principal compounding from the start, so it always edges out an RD at the same headline rate.
💰 Calculate Your RD Maturity Value Now
See your exact maturity value, interest earned and effective yield in seconds — free, accurate, no signup required.
A Recurring Deposit is a bank savings product where you deposit a fixed amount every month for a chosen tenure, and the bank pays interest on each instalment, compounded quarterly. At the end of the tenure you receive a lump sum called the maturity value, which equals your total deposits plus the compounded interest earned.
Indian banks use the formula M = R × [(1+i)^n − 1] ÷ [1 − (1+i)^(−1/3)], where R is your monthly instalment, i is the quarterly interest rate (annual rate ÷ 400), and n is the number of quarters in your tenure. This accounts for quarterly compounding even though deposits are made monthly.
Yes. RD interest is fully taxable as "Income from Other Sources" at your slab rate. Banks deduct TDS at 10% if total interest across all your RDs and FDs at that bank exceeds ₹40,000 in a financial year (₹50,000 for senior citizens). You can submit Form 15G/15H to avoid TDS if your total income is below the taxable limit.
Most banks charge a small penalty for a missed or delayed instalment, typically ₹1.50 to ₹15 per ₹100 of the instalment per month of delay, depending on the bank and tenure. Some banks extend the maturity date by the number of delayed months. Repeated defaults beyond a set limit can lead to account closure.
Yes, premature withdrawal is allowed at most banks, but the interest rate applied is usually reduced by 0.5% to 1% from the contracted rate, and some banks charge an additional penalty. A loan or overdraft against your RD (up to 80-90% of the deposit value) is usually a better option than breaking it early.
A Fixed Deposit generally yields slightly more than an RD for the same headline rate, because the entire FD amount earns interest from day one, while RD instalments are spread across the tenure and each one earns interest for a shorter period. RD is better suited to building savings discipline from monthly income; FD is better if you already have a lump sum.
Most Indian banks allow RD tenures from 6 months to 10 years, in multiples of 3 months beyond the first year at many banks. Post Office RDs are fixed at exactly 5 years. Minimum monthly instalment is typically ₹100, with no fixed upper limit at most private banks.
Yes, most banks offer an additional 0.25% to 0.75% (commonly 0.50%) over the standard RD rate for senior citizens aged 60 and above. This calculator includes a Senior Citizen option that automatically adds 0.5% to your entered rate.