SCSS — the quarterly cheque

The highest government-guaranteed rate for anyone 60 and over. Enter the deposit; see the quarterly payout and whether the post office will deduct TDS.

Deposit (₹) — ₹1,000 to ₹30,00,000

The rules this tool applies

Eligibility: 60+; 55–60 if retired on superannuation/VRS (within 1 month of receiving benefits); 50+ for retired defence personnel. Joint account only with spouse.
Rate 8.2% for accounts opened July–September 2026, fixed for the 5-year term; interest paid every quarter (1 April, July, October, January), not compounded.
Limit ₹30 lakh across all SCSS accounts (raised from ₹15 lakh in 2023); ₹1,000 minimum.
Tax: interest taxable at slab in both regimes. The deposit qualifies for 80C (s.123) in the old regime; 80TTB (s.153) shelters ₹50,000 of it for 60+ in the old regime.
TDS: 10% when interest in a year exceeds ₹1 lakh (senior threshold from 1 April 2025) — submit Form 15H if your total income is below the taxable limit.
Term: 5 years, extendable by 3-year blocks. Premature closure: within 1 year no interest; 1–2 years 1.5% of deposit deducted; after 2 years 1%.

Worked example

₹30,00,000 at 8.2%: quarterly ₹61,500, annual ₹2,46,000, five-year total ₹12,30,000. Annual interest is above ₹1 lakh, so TDS of ₹24,600 a year unless Form 15H applies. A couple can hold ₹30 lakh each — ₹60 lakh at 8.2%.

Edge cases to know

Interest left uncollected earns nothing extra — it sits in the account at 0%; set up auto-credit to a savings account.
Retirement benefits rule: for 55–60 entrants the deposit cannot exceed the retirement benefits received.
NRIs and HUFs cannot open SCSS.
Unclaimed after maturity earns only savings-account interest (4%) — extend or withdraw.

Related tools

Post office MIS — 7.4% monthly, no age bar.
FD / RD calculator — senior FD rates compared.
Income tax calculator — senior slabs in the old regime.

Last verified: 18 September 2026 — Rate 8.2% per MoF (30 June 2026); ₹30 lakh cap per SCSS (Amendment) Rules 2023; ₹1 lakh TDS threshold per Finance Act 2025 → s.393. Rates: Ministry of Finance notification of 30 June 2026 for July–September 2026 (ninth unchanged quarter); re-checked quarterly. · Not tax advice.