How a Sukanya Samriddhi account grows over 21 years
How Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana interest is worked out, what ₹1,000 a month to ₹1.5 lakh a year grows to, the 15-year and 21-year rules, withdrawal at 18, and the tax benefits.
Last reviewed · 1,468 words
In short
- You deposit for 15 years and the account matures 21 years after it is opened. Interest is compounded once a year, including in the six years with no deposits.
- ₹1.5 lakh a year for 15 years at 8.2% puts in ₹22.5 lakh and grows to about ₹71.82 lakh, so ₹49.32 lakh is interest.
- Deposit before 5 April. Money deposited at the end of the year misses that year's interest, and the same ₹1.5 lakh a year then comes to about ₹66.38 lakh.
- The rate is not fixed for the account's life. The government sets it every quarter and the new rate applies to the whole balance.
- Deposits count under Section 80C in the old regime, and the interest and maturity amount are tax-free in both regimes.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, usually called SSY, is the government's savings account for a girl child. Parents put money in for 15 years and take out a large sum when she is in her twenties, for her studies or her marriage. It pays one of the highest rates of any small savings scheme, the money is backed by the Government of India, and neither the interest nor the final amount is taxed. The calculator above shows what your yearly deposit grows to, year by year. This guide explains the rules behind those numbers.
How to use the calculator
- Set the yearly deposit, from ₹250 to ₹1,50,000. If you plan a monthly amount, multiply it by twelve: ₹1,000 a month is ₹12,000 a year.
- Check the rate. It starts at the current SSY rate. Move it to see what happens if rates rise or fall in future years.
- Choose your daughter's age when the account is opened. This sets her age at maturity and the year she turns 18.
The results show the maturity value after 21 years, what you deposit in total, the interest earned, and the balance in the year she turns 18, half of which she can withdraw for higher education. The table below them shows every year: her age, the deposit, the interest credited and the balance.
The two periods: 15 years and 21 years
An SSY account has two clocks.
Deposits run for 15 years from the date the account is opened. In each financial year you must put in at least ₹250, and you can put in up to ₹1,50,000, in one payment or many.
The account matures 21 years from the date it is opened. For the six years between the last deposit and maturity you pay nothing, but the balance keeps earning interest at the scheme rate. These are the years in which the account grows fastest, because the balance is already large.
So for a daughter enrolled as a baby, deposits stop around her fifteenth birthday and the money is paid out around her twenty-first. For a girl enrolled at 4, the account matures when she is 25. The calculator's note under the result shows that age.
The formula
SSY interest is compounded once a year. Each year the calculator does this:
Balance = (last year's balance + this year's deposit) × (1 + rate ÷ 100)
In years 16 to 21 there is no deposit, so the balance simply grows by the rate. For ₹1,50,000 a year at 8.2%:
- Year 1: ₹1,50,000 earns ₹12,300, balance ₹1,62,300.
- Year 2: ₹1,62,300 + ₹1,50,000 = ₹3,12,300, which earns ₹25,609, balance ₹3,37,909.
- Year 15: the last deposit is made; the year's interest is ₹3,39,215 and the balance reaches ₹44,75,989.
- Year 21: ₹5,44,301 of interest is credited and the account closes at ₹71,82,119.
Of that ₹71.82 lakh, you deposited ₹22.5 lakh. The other ₹49.32 lakh is interest, more than twice what went in.
What different deposits grow to at 8.2%
| Yearly deposit | Per month | Total deposited | Maturity at 21 years | Interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹12,000 | ₹1,000 | ₹1,80,000 | ₹5,74,570 | ₹3,94,570 |
| ₹24,000 | ₹2,000 | ₹3,60,000 | ₹11,49,139 | ₹7,89,139 |
| ₹50,000 | about ₹4,167 | ₹7,50,000 | ₹23,94,040 | ₹16,44,040 |
| ₹60,000 | ₹5,000 | ₹9,00,000 | ₹28,72,848 | ₹19,72,848 |
| ₹1,00,000 | about ₹8,333 | ₹15,00,000 | ₹47,88,079 | ₹32,88,079 |
| ₹1,50,000 | ₹12,500 | ₹22,50,000 | ₹71,82,119 | ₹49,32,119 |
The maturity value rises in direct proportion to the deposit, because the same rate applies to every rupee. ₹50,000 a year gives exactly a third of what ₹1,50,000 gives.
How the balance builds, year by year
For the full ₹1,50,000 a year at 8.2%, opened when the daughter is under one:
| End of year | Balance | Interest that year |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | ₹9,55,954 | ₹72,448 |
| 10 | ₹23,73,618 | ₹1,79,886 |
| 15 | ₹44,75,989 | ₹3,39,215 |
| 18 | ₹56,69,840 | ₹4,29,692 |
| 21 | ₹71,82,119 | ₹5,44,301 |
In the first five years the account earns less than ₹73,000 a year in interest. In the last year it earns ₹5.44 lakh, more than three years of full deposits. That is compounding at work, and it is why the six deposit-free years matter so much.
Why you should deposit before 5 April
SSY interest is worked out every month on the lowest balance between the 5th and the last day of the month, and credited once a year at the end of the financial year. Money that arrives on the 6th earns nothing that month.
The calculator assumes each year's deposit is made by 5 April, the start of the financial year, so it earns interest for all twelve months. If you deposit at the very end of each financial year instead, each year's money misses that year's interest entirely. The same ₹1,50,000 a year then grows to about ₹66,37,818 instead of ₹71,82,119, a difference of more than ₹5.4 lakh, simply from timing.
Most families cannot put in ₹1.5 lakh on one day in April. Depositing monthly, before the 5th of each month, gets close to the calculator's figure.
The interest rate can change
This is the main difference between SSY and a fixed deposit. The government reviews small savings rates every quarter, and the SSY rate in force applies to the whole balance, not only to new deposits. An account opened at 8.2% earns whatever rate is set in later years.
The rate is 8.2% for the October to December 2026 quarter, unchanged for several quarters. Over 21 years it will almost certainly move. To see the range, try the rate slider: ₹1,50,000 a year grows to about ₹65.93 lakh at 7.6% and about ₹77.13 lakh at 8.7%. Treat the result as an estimate at today's rate, not a promise.
Withdrawal at 18
Once the girl turns 18, or passes Class 10, she can withdraw up to 50% of the balance at the end of the previous financial year, for higher education. The withdrawal can be taken in one go or in up to five yearly instalments, against proof of admission and fees.
For ₹1,50,000 a year opened when she is a baby, the balance at the end of the year she turns 18 is ₹56,69,840, so up to ₹28,34,920 can be withdrawn. The calculator shows both figures for the age you choose. The rest stays in the account and keeps earning until maturity.
The account can also be closed early for her marriage, once she is 18, from one month before to three months after the wedding.
Who can open an account
- A parent or legal guardian can open an account for a girl below 10 years of age.
- One account per girl, and at most two accounts per family. A third is allowed for twins or triplets born in the second birth.
- Accounts can be opened at any post office and at authorised banks, and transferred between them.
The documents are the girl's birth certificate and the guardian's identity and address proof, with PAN and Aadhaar.
Tax: exempt, exempt, exempt
SSY is one of the few investments that is tax-free at all three stages:
- Deposit: up to ₹1.5 lakh a year can be deducted under Section 80C, but only in the old tax regime. The 80C limit is shared with PPF, EPF, ELSS and life insurance premiums.
- Interest: tax-free every year, in both regimes.
- Maturity: the full amount is tax-free, in both regimes.
There is no TDS on SSY interest, and nothing to report as taxable income.
Missed deposits
If the minimum ₹250 is not deposited in a year, the account becomes irregular. It can be regularised at any time before the 15 years are up by paying ₹250 for each missed year plus a penalty of ₹50 for each year. An irregular account still earns the scheme rate on its balance, so missing a year is not a disaster, but it reduces the final amount.
SSY against PPF and mutual funds
For a daughter's future, families usually weigh SSY against the PPF calculator and a mutual fund SIP. SSY pays more than PPF, currently 8.2% against 7.1%, and both are tax-free. PPF is open to anyone and has a shorter 15-year term; SSY is only for a girl under 10.
A SIP in equity funds may grow faster over 21 years but carries market risk and its gains are taxed. Many parents put the safe part of the plan in SSY and the rest in a SIP.
What this calculator assumes
- The same deposit is made every year for 15 years, by 5 April, so it earns interest for the full year.
- Interest is compounded once a year at the rate you set, which stays the same for all 21 years.
- The balance at 18 is the balance at the end of the year in which she turns 18, using her age when the account is opened; up to half of it can be withdrawn.
- No withdrawals are made before maturity, and no deposits are missed.
- Interest is worked out in paise each year and shown to the rupee.