Personal Finance News
EPF vs NPS: Withdrawal limits and rules for home purchase or construction in 2026 explained
4 min read | Updated on December 18, 2025, 18:22 IST
SUMMARY
If you are planning to buy or construct your dream house in the New Year 2026, this article will help you understand the rules and withdrawal limits for housing purposes from NPS and EPF.
Know how much you can withdraw from NPS and EPF in 2026 for home buying. | Image source: Shutterstock
Most investors want to buy or build a house at some point in their lives. Some even dip into their retirement savings accounts, like the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) and the National Pension System (NPS), to finance their dream house purchase or construction.
But which of these two accounts is better for this goal? How much can be withdrawn from both NPS and EPF accounts for buying or building a house? Can you withdraw from both accounts? With so many changes in both EPF and NPS rules in 2025, you may be unsure about the correct answer to these queries.
If you are planning to buy or construct your dream house in the New Year 2026, this article will help you understand the rules and withdrawal limits for housing purposes from NPS and EPF. Let's dive into the details.
You can withdraw from both NPS and EPF separately to finance your housing goals. However, please note that these schemes are designed to help you save for retirement, not for buying a house. One should dip into retirement savings only when it can't be avoided.
What does NPS allow?
This one-time withdrawal is allowed in both of the following cases:
-
For the purchase or construction of a residential house or flat in your name
-
For the purchase or construction of a residential house or flat in a joint name with your legally wedded spouse.
However, withdrawal from NPS for buying or constructing a house will not be allowed if you already own a residential house or a flat, other than your ancestral property.
"In case, the subscriber already owns either individually or in the joint name a residential house or flat, other than ancestral property, no withdrawal under these regulations shall be permitted," PFRDA rules say.
What does EPF allow?
Compared to NPS, EPF is more flexible when it comes to withdrawal for housing needs.
Under Para 68B of the EPF scheme rules, subscribers are allowed to withdraw an advance for six different reasons related to housing. One can make one withdrawal for each reason. All of these advances can be claimed by applying on the EPFO portal through Form 31.
| Sr. No | Reason | Membership period required |
|---|---|---|
| a | Purchase of house/flat/construction of house, including acquisition of site | 5 years |
| b | Purchase of site for construction of dwelling house/purchase of house/flat | 5 years |
| c | Purchase of dwelling house/flat on ownership | 5 years |
| d | Construction of a house on a site owned by member/spouse/jointly | 5 years |
| e | Renovation of house owned by member/spouse/jointly | 5 years from completion of house |
| f | Renovation of house owned by member/spouse/jointly | 10 years from under reason “e” |
How much can you withdraw from EPF?
| Purpose | How much withdrawal is allowed |
|---|---|
| For purchase of site | 24 months’ basic wages and DA |
| For purchase of house/flat/construction | 36 months’ basic wages and DA, or total of employee and employer share with interest, or total cost (whichever is least) |
| For additional alteration/improvement | 12 months’ basic wages and DA, or employee share with interest, or cost (whichever is least) |
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