| Total Invested | ₹ 0 |
| Interest Earned | ₹ 0 |
| Deposit Tenure | 0 |
A recurring deposit (RD) lets you build savings by paying a fixed sum into your account every month for a chosen tenure, earning fixed-deposit-like interest on the balance as it accumulates. The arithmetic is awkward to do by hand because every instalment compounds for a different length of time: your first deposit earns interest for the full tenure, while the last one, paid a month before maturity, barely earns anything at all. This RD calculator does that instalment-by-instalment maths for you. Enter your monthly deposit, the rate your bank offers and the tenure, and it shows your total deposits, the interest you will earn and the final maturity value.
Most Indian banks compound RD interest quarterly, which is the calculator's default, but you can switch to monthly, half-yearly or annual compounding to match the product you are actually buying. You can also enter the tenure in either years or months — the calculation always runs in months internally, so switching the display unit never changes your result. RDs suit short and medium-term goals because they pair the discipline of a monthly commitment with the safety and predictability of a bank deposit.
Unlike an FD, an RD is a new deposit every month. Your first instalment earns interest for the full tenure; your last instalment, deposited just before maturity, barely compounds at all. This ladder shows exactly how much runway each instalment gets.
Each monthly instalment is treated as a separate small deposit that compounds from the day it is paid until the RD matures:
A = P × (1 + R/N)N·t
P is the instalment amount, R is the annual interest rate as a decimal, N is the number of compounding periods per year (12 for monthly, 4 for quarterly, 2 for half-yearly, 1 for annual) and t is the remaining tenure for that particular instalment, expressed in years. The calculator applies this to all sixty instalments of a five-year RD — or however many your tenure contains — and adds the results together. Total interest earned is the maturity value minus the sum of everything you deposited.
This is also why an RD returns less than a fixed deposit of the same total size, rate and tenure. In an FD the entire amount compounds for the full term; in an RD only the first instalment does, and the average instalment is invested for roughly half the tenure.
| Instalment | Remaining months | Time Remaining (years) | Maturity value (A) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total maturity value | ₹0 | ||
RD rates differ by bank and by tenure, and senior citizens usually get an extra 0.25% to 0.50%. Check the rate your own bank is offering before you use the calculator — the figures below are indicative and are reviewed periodically.
| Institution | Tenure band | General (p.a.) | Senior citizen (p.a.) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Bank of India | 1–5 yrs | 6.05% to 7.10% | 6.55% to 7.60% | sbi.bank.in |
| HDFC Bank | 1–5 yrs | 4.50% to 7.10% | 5.00% to 7.60% | hdfc.bank.in |
| ICICI Bank | 1–5 yrs | 4.50% to 6.50% | 5.00% to 7.10% | icici.bank.in |
| Axis Bank | 1–5 yrs | 5.50% to 6.45% | 6.00% to 7.20% | axis.bank.in |
| Punjab National Bank | 1–5 yrs | 5.50% to 6.60% | 7.10% to 7.40% | pnb.bank.in |
| Bank of Baroda | 1–5 yrs | 4.50% to 7.05% | 5.00% to 7.55% | bankofbaroda.bank.in |
| Post Office (National Savings RD) | 5 yrs | 6.7% | Same as general | indiapost.gov.in |
Rates as on 19-08-2026.
| Monthly deposit | 1 year | 2 years | 3 years | 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹500 | ₹6,214 | ₹12,843 | ₹19,912 | ₹35,495 |
| ₹1,000 | ₹12,429 | ₹25,685 | ₹39,824 | ₹70,991 |
| ₹2,000 | ₹24,857 | ₹51,370 | ₹79,649 | ₹1,41,982 |
| ₹5,000 | ₹62,143 | ₹1,28,425 | ₹1,99,122 | ₹3,54,954 |
| ₹10,000 | ₹1,24,286 | ₹2,56,851 | ₹3,98,244 | ₹7,09,908 |
Maturity values are rounded to the nearest rupee and assume every instalment is paid on time. A ₹1,000 monthly RD run for five years returns ₹70,991 on total deposits of ₹60,000 — ₹10,991 of interest.
The rate your bank quotes is a nominal annual rate. Because interest is credited to your balance every quarter and then starts earning interest itself, what you actually earn over a year is slightly more than the quoted figure. The calculator reports this as the effective annualised yield.
At the default 6.50% p.a. with quarterly compounding, the effective yield works out to 6.66% p.a. Switch the same rate to monthly compounding and it rises to about 6.70%; choose annual compounding and it falls back to 6.50%, because there is no intra-year compounding left to capture. When you are choosing between two RD offers, compare effective yields rather than headline rates — a slightly lower nominal rate compounded monthly can beat a higher rate compounded annually.
RD interest is fully taxable. It is added to your "Income from Other Sources" and taxed at your income-tax slab rate. There is no concessional rate for RDs and no Section 80C deduction on the amount you deposit, which is the main difference between an RD and a tax-saving instrument such as PPF.
Banks deduct TDS at 10% under Section 194A once the total interest they pay you in a financial year crosses ₹50,000 — ₹1,00,000 if you are a senior citizen. The threshold applies to all deposits you hold with that bank together, not to each account separately, and TDS is deducted on interest as it accrues each year even though you only receive the money at maturity. If the bank does not have your PAN, the rate rises to 20%.
TDS is not a final tax. If your total income for the year falls below the taxable limit, submit Form 15G — Form 15H if you are a senior citizen — at the start of the financial year to stop the deduction. If TDS has already been deducted and you owe less than that, claim the difference back when you file your return.
An RD and an FD pay broadly similar interest rates at the same bank for the same tenure. What differs is how the money goes in, and that changes what you actually earn.
| Recurring deposit | Fixed deposit | |
|---|---|---|
| How you invest | A fixed amount every month | One lump sum at the start |
| Suits | Savers building a corpus out of monthly income | Investors who already have the money in hand |
| Compounding | Usually quarterly, but each instalment compounds for a different length of time | Quarterly on the full amount for the whole term |
| Return on the same total money | Lower — the average instalment is invested for about half the tenure | Higher — everything is invested from day one |
| Missed payments | Penalty per missed instalment; repeated defaults can close the account | Not applicable |
| Premature closure | Allowed, at the rate for the period actually run, usually less a 0.5%–1% penalty | Allowed, on broadly the same terms |
| Tax treatment | Interest taxed at slab; TDS above the threshold | Identical |
In short: if you already have the lump sum, an FD earns more. If you are saving out of each month's salary, an RD is the instrument built for that, and the discipline it enforces is usually worth more than the difference in interest.
Most banks levy a small penalty for each instalment you miss, typically charged per ₹100 of the missed amount, and repeated defaults can lead to the account being closed before its term. Some banks extend the maturity date instead of charging a penalty. The calculator assumes every instalment is paid on time, so a missed payment will leave you slightly short of the figure shown.
You can usually close an RD before maturity. Interest is then recalculated at the rate applicable to the period the deposit actually ran, generally with a penalty of 0.5% to 1% deducted from that rate, so closing a five-year RD after two years will not earn you the five-year rate. Partial withdrawals are not permitted on most RDs — you either keep it running or close it. Terms vary between banks, so check your own product's conditions.
