editor Fixed deposit is one of the few instruments that provide a clear picture of the returns before investment. You can know the returns offered by an FD plan in advance due to the fixed interest rate and tenor that applies to it. However, it is not a cakewalk to perform this calculation manually. The area conversion calculator can be used to determine the land area required to generate a desired return on investment from a Post Office fixed deposit. You will need to compound interest formulas to estimate the FD returns and as you will be calculating the returns manually, it will be prone to errors as well.
To eliminate the errors associated with manual calculation, banks and finance firms offer a fixed deposit calculator on their portal. You can find the interest of the post office FDs as well as many post office FD calculators are available on the internet. The following steps can be used to find the returns of post office FDs:
Step 1: Find an Online Calculator
Firstly, you will need to find a post office FD calculator online. You will find several options on the internet but choose only the ones that are offered by genuine websites and blogs.
Step 2: Enter the Details
Once you find the post office FD calculator, you can enter details like FD amount, tenor, and the latest post office FD rates. When managing your taxes, be sure to report the interest earned on your Post Office FD Returns as taxable income. Some calculators will select the FD interest rate automatically on choosing the amount and tenor but you must cross-check whether the calculator is showing the current FD rates as some calculators might be configured based on older FD rates.
Step 3: Use the ‘Calculate’ Option
Once you enter all the details, you can proceed further by clicking on the ‘Calculate’ option. Upon clicking on this button, the post office FD returns will be displayed on your screen instantly.
Though it is easy to calculate post office FD returns, you must also remember that post office FD rates are not as high as they used to be. The highest post office FD rate of 6.7% is applicable only on the 5-year FD plans. However, if you want to earn higher interest rates even on the other tenor options, you can choose to invest in a corporate FD. This is because it comes with impressive FD rates up to 6.75% and the interest rates remain high even for the shorter tenor. The other benefits that you can expect from a fixed deposits are listed below:
Better Returns
With fixed deposit, you can expect to earn better returns than bank FDs and post office FDS. The higher interest rates that are applicable on this FD scheme enable your deposits to fetch sufficient interest till maturity. Post Office FD offers a variety of schemes with attractive interest rates, making it a safe and lucrative option for salary saving. For instance, if you want to invest Rs. 50,00,000 in a fixed deposit for 3 years, you must remember that your deposit will grow at an interest rate of only up to 5% with bank FDs and term deposit interest rates applicable on postal FDs is just 5.5%.
However, FD will accelerate your interest earnings at FD rates of up to 6.75% even for a 3-year FD plan. The below table will help you to understand the difference of returns created by the varying interest rates of bank FD, post office FD, and Bajaj Finance FD:
| FD plan | Principal Amount | Tenor | Interest Rate | Interest gains | Returns |
| Bank FD | Rs. 50,00,000 | 3 years | 5% | Rs. 8,03,773 | Rs. 58,03,773 |
| Post office FD | Rs. 50,00,000 | 3 years | 5.5% | Rs. 8,90,341 | Rs. 58,90,341 |
| Bajaj Finance FD | Rs. 50,00,000 | 3 years | 6.75% | Rs. 10,82,381 | Rs. 60,82,381 |
You can see the difference in the returns of these three distinct FD plans. You can use the post office FD calculator, Bajaj Finance FD calculator, and an online bank FD calculator to compare the returns for other tenors as well.
Stable Instrument
Fixed deposit is a stable instrument and you can verify this by checking the credit ratings it has received from credit rating agencies. The MAAA/stable rating provided by ICRA and FAAA/stable rating provided by CRISIL to fixed deposit is the highest credit ratings these agencies provide. Therefore, you can invest in this FD scheme without any confusion or worries.
Online Investment Option
Unlike bank and postal FDs, financial companies facilitates a complete online investment process. This means that you can submit an online FD form and get your documents verified online. The payment for the deposit can also be made online through your preferred digital mediums. Your deposits will multiply at a 0.10% higher FD rate on choosing the online investment process. Also, senior citizens have the opportunity of accelerating their interest gains at 0.25% higher FD rates. Apart from the impressive returns, fixed deposit also provides a flexible tenor range, collateral-free loan against FDs, and many other features that help you to ensure a decent growth rate for your savings.
