Post Office Time Deposit interest rate April-June 2026 declared: Better than SBI, HDFC, ICICI?

The ministry decided to keep the interest rates unchanged, once again. This means you can book a time deposit, or fixed deposit, at a post office and earn 7.5% interest on a 5-year deposit.

Post Office Time Deposit tenures

The Post Office Time Deposit scheme offers fixed-term deposit accounts in four tenures. The maximum interest rate is 7.5% at present. The following are the interest rates for all four tenures of Post Office Time Deposits:

• 1-year Post Office Time Deposit: 6.9%

• 2-year Post Office Time Deposit: 7%

• 3-year Post Office Time Deposit: 7.1%

• 5-year Post Office Time Deposit: 7.5%

The interest rates currently offered on post office times deposits are better than fixed deposits of comparable tenures in banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India (SBI).

Post Office Time Deposit scheme details

Post Office Time Deposit interest is compounded quarterly and credited to the account holder at the end of each year. The deposits become repayable after the expiry of 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and 5 years, as the case may be, from the date of opening.

A Post Office Time Deposit account can be opened by the following persons:

• A single adult

• Joint Account (up to 3 adults) (Joint A or Joint B)

• A guardian on behalf of a minor

• A guardian on behalf of a person of unsound mind

• A minor above 10 years in his own name.

There is no maximum deposit limit for the Post Office Time Deposit account; the minimum deposit is capped at ₹1000. Investments in a 5-year Post Office Time Deposit account qualify for tax deduction under Section 80C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (Section 123 of Income-tax Act 2025). But this benefit can be availed only under the Old Tax Regime.