RD Calculator

A recurring deposit is the disciplined cousin of the fixed deposit: instead of locking one lump sum, you commit to depositing a fixed amount every month for a chosen tenure, and the bank pays a fixed interest rate on it. It's ideal for salaried savers who want to build a corpus from monthly cash flow without market risk — think of an emergency fund, a holiday, or a down payment a couple of years away. Each instalment earns interest for the time it stays with the bank, so earlier deposits grow more than later ones.

Because every deposit is made at a different time, the maturity value isn't simply the deposit times the months plus flat interest. Banks typically compound RD interest quarterly; this calculator approximates the growth by compounding monthly on the running balance, which gives a close estimate of the maturity amount, your total deposits, and the interest component. Rates are usually the same as comparable fixed deposits, and senior citizens generally earn a small premium over the standard rate.

Two things worth remembering. First, RD interest is fully taxable at your slab rate and subject to TDS once it crosses the annual threshold, so your post-tax return is lower than the headline rate. Second, RDs reward consistency — missing instalments can attract a small penalty and dents the compounding. If your goal is more than five to seven years away and you can tolerate volatility, a SIP in a mutual fund has historically outpaced RD returns; but for capital safety and a guaranteed outcome on a short horizon, an RD is a simple, reliable choice.