Post Office Time Deposit interest rate for October-December 2026 announced; check all FD rates for 1, 2, 3 and 5 years

The five-year time deposit rate remains at 7.5% for the 14th quarter in a row at that level. The one-year and two-year deposits hold at 6.9% and 7.0% respectively for a 13th quarter The three-year deposit interest rate is at 7.1% for the 11th quarter.

Interest rates for the four Post Office TD tenures for the quarter starting October 1, 2026

The other small savings schemes for the quarter are offering the following rates: SSY and SCSS at 8.2% each, NSC at 7.7%, KVP at 7.5% (maturing in 115 months), MIS at 7.4%, PPF at 7.1%, RD at 6.7% and the post office savings account at 4.0%.

Time Deposit scheme details

A post office time deposit can be opened with a minimum of ₹1,000 with no upper limit. The interest is calculated quarterly and paid annually.

Only the five-year TD qualifies for Section 80C deduction up to the ₹1.5 lakh ceiling. Interest on all four tenures is taxable at the slab rate. Premature closure of the account is also allowed with prescribed penalties after the initial period.

A ₹1 lakh booking in the five-year TD at 7.5% compounds to about ₹1.45 lakh over five years. ₹5 lakh will grow to roughly ₹7.25 lakh.

Under the Shyamala Gopinath Committee framework, the three-year and five-year TDs are benchmarked to G-secs of matching maturity with a 25-basis-point spread. Over the July-September reference quarter, the 5-year G-sec averaged roughly 6.5%, implying a formula rate of about 6.75% against the 7.5% actually paid. The 3-year G-sec averaged near 6.3%, implying about 6.55% against 7.1%.

Post Office TDs versus bank FDs

The unchanged rates preserve what has become the post office TD's strongest selling point: Better rate over comparable bank fixed deposits. Bank FD rates have drifted lower through 2025-26 after the RBI's four rate cuts in 2025, leaving the post office's 6.9-7.5% range among the best guaranteed returns in the market.

Like a bank FD, a post office TD locks the rate for its full tenure at the time of booking, so Wednesday's decision applies only to deposits made from October 1 onwards. Depositors booking the five-year TD in the new quarter can lock in 7.5% for five years regardless of what future notifications bring.