What a post office National Savings Certificate pays back after five years
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Checked against sources on 18 Oct 2026.A post office NSC of ₹1,00,000 bought at 7.7% (October to December 2026) pays back ₹1,44,903 after five years: ₹44,903 of interest that is added each year and paid only at maturity. The certificate keeps the rate of the day it is bought. Enter your own amount, from ₹1,000 in steps of ₹100.
| Year | Interest added | Value at year end |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹7,700 | ₹1,07,700 |
| 2 | ₹8,293 | ₹1,15,993 |
| 3 | ₹8,931 | ₹1,24,924 |
| 4 | ₹9,619 | ₹1,34,543 |
| 5 | ₹10,360 | ₹1,44,903 |
Rates and rules read from the sources listed on this page (the earliest on 18 Oct 2026); they may have changed since.
Set the "Amount invested", from ₹1,000 upwards in steps of ₹100.
Set the "Interest rate" your post office quotes.
Read the "Maturity value after 5 years", the cheque you collect at the end.
Open "Year by year" to see the closing value after each year, then press "Share result".
The NSC calculator works out what a National Savings Certificate (VIII Issue) pays at maturity. Enter the amount you bought, from ₹1,000 upwards in steps of ₹100, and the rate. You get the maturity value, the interest earned and a table of all five years, with the interest the scheme treats as reinvested marked in years one to four. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.
The rate is set every quarter by the Ministry of Finance, but a certificate keeps the rate of the day it is bought for all five years. So for a certificate bought at today's rate, the figure here is what it pays, not a forecast. Check the current rate at the post office or on indiapost.gov.in before buying, and change it above if it has moved.
Sources: National Savings Certificates (VIII Issue) Scheme, 2019, paras 4, 5 and 7; the National Savings Institute's NSC rate history; Department of Posts SB Order 12/2026; Department of Economic Affairs Office Memorandum of 30.09.2026. Checked 18 Oct 2026.
The rest of the article, and all 6 questions about NSC Calculator, are on the NSC Calculator page.
The rate notified for October to December 2026 is 7.7% a year, compounded annually, and it has not changed since 1 April 2023. The Ministry of Finance sets it again every quarter, around the last day of the quarter before. A certificate keeps the rate of the day it is bought for its full five years.
At 7.7%, ₹1,00,000 in a National Savings Certificate matures to ₹1,44,903 after five years, which is ₹44,903 of interest. The interest is added once a year and paid in one amount with the deposit at maturity; nothing is paid out in between.
Interest accruing at the end of years one to four is deemed reinvested on the holder's behalf, under para 5(3) of the NSC (VIII Issue) Scheme, 2019. Year five's interest is simply paid with the deposit. Whether the reinvested interest may be claimed as a tax deduction depends on your tax regime, so confirm that separately.
Only on the death of a holder, on forfeiture by a pledgee who is a gazetted officer, or on a court order. Closed within a year, only the deposit is paid back; between one and three years, savings-account interest is added; after three years, the Ministry's premature closure table applies.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
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