If you have a daughter under 10 and you're weighing Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana against other options, the number that actually matters is the maturity amount. A sukanya samriddhi yojana calculator gives you that number in seconds, but it helps to know what's going on underneath it: how the deposits compound, what the deposit limits are, and what you can and can't do with the money before it matures. This guide walks through each of those pieces, with worked examples you can check against our Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana calculator
What Is Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana and Who Can Open It
A sukanya samriddhi yojana calculator is only useful once you know what the scheme is and who it's actually for. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) is a small savings scheme run by the Government of India for the benefit of a girl child. It's part of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao effort, and it operates through post offices and a list of authorised commercial banks. The current framework is the Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme, 2019, notified by the Ministry of Finance's Department of Economic Affairs on 12 December 2019 and amended in May 2020.
A parent or legal guardian opens the account in the name of a girl child, and the child must be below 10 years of age at the time of opening. There's no minimum age tied to birth; an account can technically be opened on the day a daughter is born. Once she crosses her 10th birthday, a new account can no longer be opened in her name, though an account opened before that date continues to run on its normal schedule.
Each girl child can have only one SSY account. A family is generally permitted to open accounts for up to two girl children, with an exception for twin girls or triplets where the second birth (or the first birth itself) results in three girl children. The account holder is the girl child; the parent or guardian operates it until she turns 18, after which she takes over.
The account can be opened at any India Post branch or at one of the authorised banks, including most major public sector banks. You'll typically need the girl child's birth certificate, identity and address proof for the guardian, and passport-size photographs. There's no fee for opening the account itself, only the minimum deposit required to activate it.
SSY is meant for resident Indian girl children. If the account holder's residency status changes to non-resident after the account is opened, the account is generally treated as closed from that date, and interest stops accruing. Anyone planning a move abroad should factor that in before opening an account, or check with the bank or post office handling it.
How Maturity Amount Is Calculated
A sukanya samriddhi calculator (or ssy calculator, as it's often searched) is really just applying compound interest to a stream of yearly deposits, then letting the balance sit untouched for a few more years. The interest rate is set by the Ministry of Finance and reviewed every quarter for all small savings schemes. For the second quarter of FY 2026-27 (July to September 2026), the SSY rate is 8.2% per annum, compounded annually. This rate has held at 8.2% since January 2024, but it is reviewed quarterly and can change, so treat any maturity figure as an estimate rather than a promise.
Interest is calculated on the lowest balance in the account between the fifth day and the last day of each calendar month, and it's credited once a year, at the end of the financial year. Because deposits are typically made early in the year, the standard way to estimate maturity is to treat each year's deposit as adding to the balance at the start of that year (an annuity-due calculation), and then let the year-15 balance keep earning interest for six more years without any further deposits, since deposits stop after 15 years but the account doesn't mature until year 21.
For example, take a deposit of ₹1,00,000 a year at 8.2%. After 15 years of deposits, the balance works out to roughly ₹29.84 lakh. That balance then sits for six more years, growing to roughly ₹47.88 lakh by year 21. Total money put in over those 15 years is ₹15 lakh, so the interest earned comes to around ₹32.88 lakh, all of it tax-free under the scheme's tax treatment (covered below). See detail chart of the sukanya samriddhi yojana overview.
This calculation assumes the deposit is made once a year and the rate stays at 8.2% for the full 21 years, which won't be exactly true in practice since the rate is revised quarterly. A calculator lets you rerun this with your own deposit amount and see how much the outcome shifts if the rate moves up or down over time. For step-by-step calculator instructions, see how to use the SSY calculator.
Deposit Limits and Account Duration
Anyone running numbers through a sukanya samriddhi account calculator needs to know the deposit rules first, since they set the boundaries of what's even possible. The minimum deposit to open and maintain an SSY account is ₹250 in a financial year. The maximum is ₹1,50,000 in a financial year, and deposits within that range can be made in any multiple of ₹50, either as a single lump sum or in several instalments across the year.
Deposits are required for 15 years from the date the account was opened. After year 15, no further deposits are needed or accepted beyond the ₹1,50,000 annual ceiling; any amount deposited over the limit doesn't earn interest and can be withdrawn. The account itself continues to exist and earn interest until it matures, 21 years from the date of opening, even though the deposit period ends at year 15.
If the minimum ₹250 isn't deposited in a given year, the account is treated as being "in default." A defaulted account keeps earning interest, but it needs to be regularised by paying the missed minimum deposits plus a penalty for each defaulted year before certain transactions, such as withdrawal, can go through.
The account can close earlier than 21 years in two situations: if the girl child marries after turning 18, in which case the account is closed from the date of marriage, or on the death of the account holder, where the balance is paid out to the nominee or legal heir along with interest up to the date of closure. Premature closure on compassionate grounds, such as a life-threatening medical condition of the account holder or the death of the guardian, is also allowed with prior approval, though these are handled case by case.
Tax Benefits Under Section 80C
A sukanya calculator that only shows the maturity figure misses half the picture, because the tax treatment on SSY is a large part of why the scheme is attractive. Deposits made into an SSY account have historically qualified for a deduction of up to ₹1.5 lakh per financial year under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, within the overall Section 80C combined limit shared with other instruments like PPF, ELSS, and life insurance premiums.
From 1 April 2026, the Income Tax Act, 2025 has replaced the 1961 Act, and Section 80C has been renumbered as Section 123 under the new law. The deduction ceiling of ₹1.5 lakh and the list of eligible instruments, including SSY, are reported to carry over unchanged, just under a new section number. As with 80C before it, this deduction is available only if the depositor opts for the old tax regime; it isn't available under the default new tax regime.
Beyond the deposit deduction, the interest credited each year to an SSY account is exempt from tax, and the entire maturity amount, including both principal and accumulated interest, is exempt as well. This three-way exemption on deposit, interest, and maturity is usually described as EEE (Exempt-Exempt-Exempt) status, a treatment shared by very few instruments, the Public Provident Fund being the other well-known one.
Because tax rules and section numbers are in a period of transition this year, anyone claiming this deduction should confirm the applicable section and any procedural changes with a chartered accountant or the Income Tax Department's official resources before filing.
Partial Withdrawal for Higher Education
A sukanya account calculator that models withdrawals needs to reflect a specific set of conditions, since SSY isn't fully locked until maturity. Partial withdrawal is permitted once the account holder turns 18, or once she has passed her 10th standard examination, whichever happens earlier. The stated purpose has to be higher education or, separately, marriage after age 18.
The withdrawal amount is capped at 50% of the balance standing in the account at the end of the financial year immediately preceding the year of withdrawal. So the limit is based on last year's closing balance, not the current balance, which matters if a large deposit was made earlier in the current year. This withdrawal can be taken as a single lump sum or spread across a maximum of five instalments over not more than five years, generally to line up with tuition or admission payment schedules.
To process the withdrawal, the account holder or guardian typically needs to submit an application along with proof of admission to a recognised institution of higher education, such as an admission offer or a fee schedule. Withdrawals for marriage follow a separate process and can be made up to one year before or three months after the date of marriage, once the account holder has turned 18.
Outside of these specific withdrawal provisions and the premature closure situations covered in our SSY maturity rules guide, the account is expected to run its full course, so anyone counting on the money for education timing should plan around the 50%-of-prior-year-balance cap rather than assuming full access to the current balance.
Worked Example: Maturity at Different Deposit Levels
The table below applies the calculation method described earlier to three different annual deposit amounts, held constant at the current 8.2% rate for the full 21-year term. These are illustrative figures, not guarantees, since the actual rate will be revised over time.
| Girl's age at opening | Yearly deposit | Total deposited over 15 years | Estimated maturity value (year 21) | Girl's age at maturity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | ₹50,000 | ₹7,50,000 | ≈ ₹23.94 lakh | 22 |
| 5 years | ₹1,00,000 | ₹15,00,000 | ≈ ₹47.88 lakh | 26 |
| 10 years | ₹1,50,000 | ₹22,50,000 | ≈ ₹71.82 lakh | 31 |
The pattern to notice: the maturity multiple on total deposits is the same in every row, since it depends only on the interest rate and the 15-year deposit period plus 6 years of further compounding, not on the girl's age. What changes with her age at account opening is simply how old she is when the money becomes available. Opening the account earlier doesn't change the growth multiple; it just gives you more runway to spread out the same total contribution in smaller yearly amounts, or to aim for a larger corpus at the same yearly amount. For a side-by-side view of these deposit rules against other government-backed options, see our Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana rules guide. If you're also setting aside a shorter-term recurring amount alongside SSY, our RD calculator can help model that separately.
FAQs
What is the current Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana interest rate?
The rate is 8.2% per annum, compounded annually, applicable for Q2 of FY 2026-27 (July to September 2026). It's set by the Ministry of Finance and reviewed every quarter along with rates for other small savings schemes, and it has held at 8.2% since January 2024. Confirm the current-quarter rate before finalising any calculation.
Until what age can a Sukanya Samriddhi account be opened for a girl child?
An account can be opened any time from birth until the girl child turns 10 years old, under the Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme, 2019. Once she crosses that age, a new account generally can't be opened in her name, though an account opened earlier keeps running on schedule until it matures or closes.
How much can I deposit in SSY per year?
Deposits can range from a minimum of ₹250 to a maximum of ₹1,50,000 in a financial year, in multiples of ₹50, made as a lump sum or across several instalments. Deposits are required for 15 years from account opening. Missing the ₹250 minimum in any year puts the account into default, which needs a penalty payment to regularise.
When can I withdraw money from the SSY account for education?
Withdrawal for higher education is allowed once the account holder turns 18 or passes her 10th standard exam, whichever is earlier. The limit is 50% of the balance at the end of the previous financial year, payable as a lump sum or across up to five yearly instalments tied to admission or fee timelines.
Is This Right For You?
The figures above assume a constant 8.2% rate held for 21 years, which won't match reality once quarterly rate revisions kick in. If you're weighing SSY against other 80C-eligible options, comparing it with a specific employer benefit, or dealing with a residency change that could affect the account, a calculator only gets you part of the way. For account-specific questions, disputed default penalties, or NRI status changes, check with your bank, the post office handling the account, or a qualified financial advisor before making a decision.
Conclusion
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana rewards patience: the deposit window is 15 years, but the account doesn't pay out until year 21, and the current 8.2% rate compounds the full way through. The deposit limits, the Section 80C-linked tax treatment (soon Section 123), and the education withdrawal rule are the three things that decide whether the scheme fits a particular family's plan, more than the headline interest rate does on its own.
Run your own numbers through our Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana calculator to see what a specific yearly deposit works out to at the current rate.
