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RD Calculator โ€” Recurring Deposit maturity value

Calculate your bank recurring deposit maturity amount. Monthly deposit with quarterly compounding interest.

Inputs

โ‚น5,000
โ‚น100โ‚น2.00 L
7.1%
112
60 mo
6120

Result

Maturity value
โ‚น3.61 L
Total deposited
โ‚น3.00 L
Interest earned
โ‚น60,615

Composition

Invested
Returns

Year-by-year growth

About the RD Calculator

Recurring Deposits are a disciplined savings tool โ€” you commit to a fixed monthly deposit for a fixed tenure at a fixed rate. Unlike a SIP into mutual funds, the rate is locked at account-opening and the maturity amount is contractually guaranteed. RDs are ideal for short-to-medium goals (1โ€“5 years): wedding fund, emergency buffer top-up, vacation savings, down payment build-up, or a child's school fees fund.

Interest compounds quarterly in most Indian banks. Miss a monthly deposit and most banks charge a small penalty (~โ‚น1.50โ€“โ‚น2 per โ‚น100 missed) โ€” and after 3โ€“4 missed deposits some banks may close the RD prematurely. Set up auto-debit from your savings account to avoid this. The RD is just as DICGC-insured as an FD (โ‚น5 lakh per depositor per bank) โ€” deposits across multiple banks for amounts above this.

Rates vary: 6.5โ€“7.5% at PSU banks (SBI, PNB, BoB, Canara), 7โ€“8% at private banks, up to 8.5% at small finance banks (Ujjivan, AU, Equitas, Suryoday). Senior citizens get an extra 0.25โ€“0.50%. Post Office RD currently offers 6.7% โ€” competitive for risk-averse savers who prefer government backing over even DICGC-insured banks.

RD vs SIP comparison for a 5-year horizon at typical rates: โ‚น5,000/month for 60 months at 7% RD compounding quarterly grows to roughly โ‚น3.6 lakh. The same โ‚น5,000/month into an equity SIP at expected 12% grows to roughly โ‚น4.1 lakh (with volatility โ€” can be much higher or lower in any specific 5-year window). RDs win on certainty, SIPs win on expected return. For goals where missing the target is unacceptable (next year's school admission), choose RD. For goals where you have flexibility on timing (5+ years out), choose SIP.

Tax inefficiency is the biggest drawback of RDs. Interest is taxable at slab rate (10%, 20%, 30%+) every year on accrual basis โ€” meaning you pay tax even before maturity. A 30%-bracket taxpayer earning 7% on RD effectively earns just 4.9% post-tax, which barely beats inflation. For taxpayers above 20% slab, debt mutual funds (post-3-year holding for indexation, though indexation is no longer available since April 2023 reforms โ€” now slab-rate) or even tax-free PPF make better long-term sense than RDs.

RD โ€” Frequently asked questions

An RD lets you deposit a fixed amount every month for a chosen tenure (usually 6 months to 10 years). Interest compounds quarterly. Good for disciplined savings without market risk.

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