Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (POMIS) calculator

How the POMIS calculator works

The Post Office Monthly Income Scheme is a 5-year deposit that pays a fixed monthly interest and returns your whole principal at the end. This calculator takes your deposit and the rate, then shows the monthly income you would receive, the total interest over the term, the payout per ₹1 lakh, and what an early exit would cost. POMIS pays 7.4% a year for the October to December 2026 quarter, credited every month.

On the default numbers the scheme is easy to read. A ₹5,00,000 deposit at 7.4% pays about ₹3,083 every month, adds up to ₹1,85,000 of interest over 5 years, and then hands back the full ₹5,00,000. Nothing is reinvested, so the payout never changes from one month to the next.

The monthly income formula

POMIS monthly income is the deposit multiplied by the annual rate and divided by 12, written as monthly income = P x rate / 12. With P as your deposit, a ₹5,00,000 account at 7.4% gives 5,00,000 times 0.074 divided by 12, which is about ₹3,083 a month. The rate is simple, not compounded, so the same figure lands in your account every month for 60 months.

That flat structure is the part most calculators skip over. Because nothing compounds, the maturity value is not larger than what you put in; it is exactly your deposit, returned after the last monthly payout. The growth you might expect from a fixed deposit is not here, and in exchange you get a predictable cheque each month.

How much does 1 lakh give per month

Each ₹1 lakh in POMIS pays about ₹617 a month at 7.4%, since the monthly income scales straight with the deposit. Double the deposit and you double the monthly cheque. So ₹2 lakh pays about ₹1,233, ₹5 lakh pays about ₹3,083, and the ₹9 lakh single-account ceiling pays about ₹5,550 a month.

Deposit limits and who can open one

A single POMIS account can hold up to ₹9 lakh and a joint account up to ₹15 lakh, with a minimum of ₹1,000 in multiples of ₹1,000.

• ₹9 lakh across every single account you hold, not per account.
• ₹15 lakh in a joint account, where the balance counts as shared equally between the holders.
• ₹1,000 minimum, and then in multiples of ₹1,000.
• Any resident adult can open one, and a minor can hold one through a guardian.
• NRIs cannot invest, and an account holder who becomes an NRI cannot continue it.

You will also see ₹1,500 given as the minimum, on two of the calculators ranking for this term. That was the rule before the April 2023 revision. Both of those pages carry the current ₹9 lakh and ₹15 lakh caps, which arrived in the same revision, so they updated the large numbers and left the small one behind.

Retirees lean on POMIS for the steady payout, though there is no separate senior-citizen rate. Someone aged 60 or above who wants a higher rate usually weighs it against the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, which pays more but is capped and age-restricted.

What an early exit costs

You cannot close a POMIS account in the first year, and closing later deducts a penalty from your deposit rather than from the interest you have already drawn.

• Closure is not permitted at all during the first year.
• Closing between years 1 and 3 deducts 2% of the deposit, which is ₹10,000 on a ₹5,00,000 account.
• Closing between years 3 and 5 deducts 1%, which is ₹5,000 on the same account.

The calculator above prices both bands against your own deposit.

The monthly income you collected before closing stays with you either way. So an early exit is really a question of whether the small penalty on the principal is worth freeing up the lump sum before the 5 years are up.

Making the monthly income grow

POMIS income sits idle unless you route it somewhere, so a common move is to feed the monthly payout into a post office recurring deposit. The RD pays 6.7% a year compounded quarterly for the current quarter, so the interest that POMIS pays flat can compound quietly on the side.

The POMIS account keeps your capital safe and pays a level monthly cheque, while the RD turns those cheques into a second pot that does grow. The lumpsum calculator projects a one-time investment at any assumed rate, and the NSC calculator covers the other 5-year post office certificate, which compounds instead of paying monthly.

Tax on POMIS interest

POMIS interest is fully taxable at your income tax slab as income from other sources, and the scheme does not qualify for any Section 80C deduction. At the 30% slab, the ₹37,000 of annual interest on a ₹5,00,000 account carries roughly ₹11,500 of tax including cess, which trims the effective return well below the headline 7.4%.

Tax is deducted at source once your POMIS interest passes the threshold, which is ₹50,000 a year for most people and ₹1,00,000 for anyone aged 60 or above. Below that nothing is withheld, which is why POMIS is so often described as a no-TDS scheme. It isn't one; it's a scheme most holders stay under.

Where the line falls, at 7.4%:

• A deposit up to about ₹6,75,000 keeps a general holder under the ₹50,000 threshold.
• The ₹9 lakh single-account cap produces ₹66,600 a year, which is over that line.
• A senior citizen stays clear until about ₹13,51,000, so the ₹9 lakh cap sits comfortably under the ₹1,00,000 threshold for them.
• A ₹15 lakh joint account produces ₹1,11,000 and is over both thresholds.

Deduction is 10% where a PAN is on record and 20% where it is not. A holder whose total income is below the taxable limit can file a declaration to stop it. Either way the interest remains fully taxable and has to be declared as income from other sources: TDS changes when the tax is collected, never whether it is owed.

One detail every page on this subject still gets wrong. The provision governing TDS on interest was Section 194A of the Income-tax Act 1961, and it is the section you will see cited everywhere. The Income Tax Act 2025 folded the whole 194-series into a single umbrella at Section 393, with 194A becoming Section 393(1), effective 1 April 2026. Interest received in the current financial year falls under 393(1), and the old Form 15G and 15H are replaced by Form 121, a declaration under section 393(6).

Which post office schemes escape TDS is a separate question from which section governs it. PPF, KVP and NSC carry no TDS. Time deposits, recurring deposits, the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme and this scheme all do, once the threshold is passed.

The PPF calculator covers the tax-free long-term alternative for money you do not need as monthly income.

What this does not promise

The 7.4% rate is locked for the account you open, so your monthly income is fixed the day you invest, but the rate on new accounts is reset every quarter and an account opened next quarter may pay differently. The premature-closure penalties and deposit limits follow the current post office rules, and those rules can change, so treat the figures here as a planning guide. POMIS rules and rates are set by the government, and this is not investment advice, so a qualified adviser can confirm how the scheme fits alongside your other income.

Frequently asked questions

What is a POMIS calculator? A POMIS calculator works out the fixed monthly income from a Post Office Monthly Income Scheme deposit using monthly income = deposit times the annual rate divided by 12. It also shows the total interest over the 5-year term, the payout per ₹1 lakh, and the full deposit that is returned at maturity.

What is the current Post Office MIS interest rate? The Post Office Monthly Income Scheme rate is 7.4% per annum, payable monthly, and it has been held at 7.4% since 1 April 2024 across the recent quarters. The rate is fixed for your full 5-year term on the day you open the account, so a later change does not affect an existing deposit.

How much monthly income does 1 lakh give in Post Office MIS? A ₹1,00,000 POMIS deposit pays about ₹617 a month at 7.4%, since the monthly income is 1,00,000 times 7.4% divided by 12. A ₹5,00,000 deposit pays about ₹3,083 a month, and the ₹9,00,000 single-account maximum pays about ₹5,550 a month.

What is the maximum I can invest in POMIS? A single account can hold up to ₹9 lakh and a joint account up to ₹15 lakh, with a minimum of ₹1,000 in multiples of ₹1,000. These limits count across all your POMIS accounts, and the joint-account limit is shared equally among the holders.

Does POMIS interest compound? No. POMIS pays a flat monthly interest that is credited to you and not reinvested, so the payout is the same every month and the maturity value equals your original deposit. If you want the income to grow, you can reinvest the monthly payout into a separate post office recurring deposit.

What happens if I close POMIS early? You cannot close a POMIS account in the first year. Closing between years 1 and 3 deducts 2% of the deposit, and between years 3 and 5 deducts 1% of the deposit, while the monthly interest you have already received is kept. On a ₹5,00,000 deposit that is a ₹10,000 or ₹5,000 penalty on the principal.

Is POMIS interest taxable and does it qualify for 80C? POMIS interest is fully taxable at your income tax slab as income from other sources, and the deposit does not qualify for a Section 80C deduction, unlike NSC or PPF. At the 30% slab the ₹37,000 of annual interest on a ₹5,00,000 account carries roughly ₹11,500 of tax including cess.

Is TDS deducted on POMIS interest? Yes, once the annual interest passes ₹50,000, or ₹1,00,000 if you are 60 or above. At 7.4% that is a deposit of about ₹6,75,000 for a general holder, so the ₹9 lakh single-account cap is over the line while a senior citizen stays under it until about ₹13,51,000. Deduction is 10% with a PAN on record and 20% without. POMIS is widely described as a no-TDS scheme, which is true only for holders whose interest stays below the threshold.

Which section governs TDS on post office interest now? Section 393(1) of the Income Tax Act 2025, effective 1 April 2026. It replaced Section 194A of the 1961 Act, which is the section almost every article on this subject still cites, and Form 15G and 15H give way to Form 121 under section 393(6). The thresholds are unchanged at ₹50,000, or ₹1,00,000 for a senior citizen. PPF, KVP and NSC attract no TDS; post office time deposits, recurring deposits, SCSS and the Monthly Income Scheme all do.

Can senior citizens use POMIS? Yes, any resident adult can open a POMIS account, and it is popular with retirees for the steady monthly payout, but there is no separate senior-citizen POMIS rate. Seniors who want a higher rate often compare it with the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, which pays more but is limited to those aged 60 and above.

Sources

• India Post, National Savings Monthly Income Account rules
• ClearTax, Post Office Monthly Income Scheme interest rate, limits and rules
• Scripbox, Post Office recurring deposit interest rate
• Upstox, the Income Tax Department's clarification on TDS for bank and post office deposits
• SAG Infotech, TDS eligibility scheme by scheme across the post office range