RD Calculator
Work out the maturity value and interest earned on a recurring deposit (RD), based on your monthly deposit amount, the interest rate your bank or the post office offers, and the tenure.
Fill in the form and select "Calculate" to see your results here.
What is the RD Calculator?
A recurring deposit (RD) lets you build savings by depositing a fixed amount every month, rather than investing a lump sum upfront as you would with a fixed deposit (FD). Interest is compounded quarterly — the standard convention most Indian banks and the post office use — so each deposit earns interest for the remainder of the tenure and the accumulated interest itself starts earning further interest every quarter. This calculator estimates the maturity value of an RD and the total interest it earns, based on your monthly deposit amount, the annual interest rate quoted by your bank or the post office, and the tenure.
How recurring deposits work
An RD is a disciplined way to save from regular income: instead of saving irregularly, you commit to depositing a fixed amount every month for a chosen tenure, typically ranging from 6 months to 10 years. The interest rate is locked in for the full tenure once you open the account, so it won't change even if the bank later revises its RD rates. Because each monthly instalment is deposited at a different point in the tenure, the exact maturity value isn't a simple sum of instalments plus interest — it depends on a formula that accounts for how long each instalment has been earning quarterly-compounded interest by the time the RD matures.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the amount you plan to deposit every month.
- Enter the annual interest rate your bank or the post office has quoted for the tenure you're considering.
- Select the tenure from the dropdown. The options are limited to whole numbers of quarters (such as 12, 24 or 36 months) because the standard RD maturity formula compounds interest every three months and requires an exact number of quarters — this keeps the calculation consistent with how your bank actually computes RD maturity, rather than letting you enter a tenure the formula can't handle precisely.
- Select "Calculate RD Maturity" to see the maturity value, total interest earned, and total amount deposited.
Formula
This is the standard formula published by Indian banks and the post office for quarterly-compounded recurring deposits. It accounts for the fact that each monthly instalment starts earning interest at a different point in the tenure, unlike a fixed deposit where the full principal earns interest from day one.
Example
Consider a monthly deposit of ₹5,000 at 7% per annum for a 12-month tenure, compounded quarterly. Here R = ₹5,000, the quarterly rate i = 7 ÷ 400 = 0.0175, and the number of quarters n = 12 ÷ 3 = 4. Applying the formula gives a maturity value of approximately ₹62,310.66. Over the 12 months you would have deposited a total of ₹60,000 (12 × ₹5,000), so the estimated interest earned works out to roughly ₹2,310.66 — noticeably less than a lump-sum FD of the same total amount at the same rate would earn, because most of your money is deposited only in the later months and has less time to compound.
Factors that affect your RD maturity
- Interest rate. RD rates are typically fixed for the full tenure once the account is booked, unlike a savings account whose rate can float, so the rate you lock in at opening determines your return for the entire tenure.
- Premature withdrawal. Most banks allow you to close an RD before maturity, but apply a penalty by paying interest at a reduced rate for the period actually held. This calculator assumes the RD runs its full tenure with no premature withdrawal.
- Taxation of interest. Interest earned on an RD is fully taxable as per your income tax slab rate. Banks also deduct TDS if the total interest across all your deposits with that bank exceeds the prescribed threshold in a financial year.
- Senior citizen rates. Senior citizens are often offered a higher RD interest rate than regular depositors — enter the senior citizen rate quoted by your bank to see the maturity value at that rate.
- Missed instalments. A missed or delayed monthly deposit usually attracts a small penalty and reduces your actual maturity value below the full-tenure estimate this calculator shows.
Frequently Asked Questions
Almost all Indian banks and the post office compound RD interest quarterly, even though you deposit money every month. Each quarter, interest is calculated on the accumulated balance and added to it, so later quarters earn interest on both your deposits and the interest already credited. This calculator uses the standard quarterly-compounding formula.
Most banks charge a small penalty (often ₹1-₹15 per ₹100 of the instalment per month, depending on the tenure and bank) for a missed or delayed RD instalment. Some banks allow a limited number of missed payments before the account is closed early or converted. This calculator assumes every instalment is paid on time for the full tenure, so a missed deposit will reduce your actual maturity value below the estimate shown here.
Yes, most banks allow premature withdrawal of an RD, but they apply a penalty by paying interest at a lower rate than originally contracted, similar to premature FD withdrawal. Some banks also restrict partial withdrawals. This calculator assumes the RD is held for the full selected tenure with no premature withdrawal.
Yes. Interest earned on a recurring deposit is fully taxable as "Income from Other Sources" at your applicable income tax slab rate, just like FD interest. Banks also deduct TDS if your total interest income from that bank across all deposits exceeds the applicable threshold in a financial year (a higher threshold applies for senior citizens).
The standard RD maturity formula used by Indian banks and the post office requires the tenure to be an exact number of quarters, since interest is compounded every three months. That's why this calculator offers a dropdown of common RD tenures (all whole numbers of quarters) rather than a free-text field — it keeps the calculation consistent with how your bank actually computes RD maturity.
Related calculators
Calculations are estimates based on the information entered and assume the interest rate stays fixed for the full tenure with every monthly instalment paid on time. Actual bank RD calculations may round slightly differently, and this calculator does not account for premature withdrawal penalties, missed instalments, TDS, or income tax on the interest earned, which is taxable per your income tax slab. It is not a substitute for your bank's official RD terms. See our full disclaimer.