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About This RD Calculator

This free RD calculator shows exactly what a recurring deposit will be worth at maturity — enter your monthly deposit, the bank's annual interest rate, and the tenure in months, and it returns the maturity amount, total interest earned, and a month-by-month projection of your growing balance.

Recurring deposits are the quiet workhorse of Indian saving — the default choice for anyone who wants FD-like guaranteed returns but earns a monthly salary rather than holding a lump sum. Post offices, public sector banks, and private banks all offer them, typically at 6.5–7.5% for tenures of 6 months to 10 years. The catch is that RD maturity math is genuinely hard to do in your head: each monthly instalment compounds for a different length of time, so the ₹5,000 you deposit in month one earns far more than the ₹5,000 in month thirty-six. A school teacher in Lucknow saving for her daughter's admission fees needs one number — "what will ₹4,000 a month become in 3 years?" — and this calculator gives it instantly.

Why You Need an RD Calculator

The most common RD mistake is setting the deposit amount by feel and discovering at maturity that the corpus falls short of the goal — a wedding, school admission, or house deposit that had a fixed date and a fixed cost. Working backwards from the target ("I need ₹3 lakh in 30 months, so how much per month?") takes three tries on this calculator. The second mistake is leaving money in a savings account at 3–3.5% out of inertia: on ₹5,000 a month over 5 years, an RD at 7% earns more than double the interest. See our complete recurring deposit guide for rates, premature withdrawal rules, and RD vs SIP comparisons.

How to Use This RD Calculator

  1. Monthly Deposit (₹): The fixed amount you will deposit every month. Most banks accept RDs from ₹100 (post office) or ₹500–1,000 (banks). Pick an amount you can sustain — missed instalments attract penalties.
  2. Annual Interest Rate (%): The RD rate from your bank's rate card for your tenure. Senior citizens usually get +0.50%; enter the higher rate directly if it applies to you.
  3. Tenure (Months): RD tenures are quoted in months — 12, 24, 36, 60 are the common buckets. Enter the exact number of instalments you plan to make.

The results show your total deposits, interest earned, and maturity value, with a projection table of the balance after each month. Avoid two common errors: entering the tenure in years (the field expects months), and comparing the RD's total interest against an FD's — an FD holds the full principal from day one, so its interest will always look larger even at the same rate.

How Recurring Deposit Maturity Is Calculated

A Recurring Deposit (RD) is a savings scheme where you deposit a fixed amount every month for a predetermined period. Unlike an FD where you invest once, an RD builds savings gradually — making it ideal for salaried individuals who want to save a portion of income each month. Banks compound RD interest quarterly in India, and the RBI mandates this calculation method for all scheduled commercial banks.

RD Maturity Formula

The maturity value of an RD with quarterly compounding is:

A = P × [(1 + r/4)^(4t) − 1] ÷ [1 − (1 + r/4)^(−1/3)]

Where P is the monthly deposit amount, r is the annual interest rate (decimal), and t is the tenure in years. Each monthly installment matures at a different point, so the total is a sum of all installment future values.

Worked Example

You open an RD depositing ₹5,000 per month for 5 years at 7% per annum (quarterly compounding).

Compare this to a savings account at 3.5%: the same ₹3 lakh deposits would earn only ₹28,000 in interest — less than half. RDs are particularly effective for goal-based saving, such as building a down payment or an emergency fund over 1–5 years.

Real-World RD Examples

Kavita, 34, Lucknow — school admission fund

Kavita needs about ₹1.6 lakh in 3 years for her daughter's school admission and first-year fees. Testing ₹4,000 a month at 6.8% for 36 months, the calculator projects a maturity of roughly ₹1.6 lakh against ₹1.44 lakh deposited. She rounds up to ₹4,200 a month for comfort. The date is fixed, so the guaranteed RD beats a market-linked option here.

Arjun, 24, Kochi — building a first emergency fund

Arjun wants a 6-month emergency buffer of about ₹2.4 lakh. At ₹9,000 a month and 7% for 24 months, the calculator shows a maturity near ₹2.32 lakh; stretching to 26 months crosses his target. Takeaway: an RD converts a vague resolution ("save more") into a fixed monthly commitment with a visible finish line.

Accuracy & Common Questions

Is this RD calculator accurate?

Yes — it compounds each instalment for its exact remaining tenure using high-precision decimal arithmetic, matching the standard bank convention. Rupee-level differences can appear where a bank rounds quarterly interest postings.

When should I choose an RD over a SIP?

Choose an RD when the goal date and amount are fixed and near (under ~3 years) — the return is guaranteed. For horizons of 7+ years where you can ride out market dips, a SIP in mutual funds has historically delivered roughly double the RD rate.

Is RD interest taxable?

Yes — RD interest is added to your income and taxed at your slab rate, and banks deduct TDS once your total deposit interest crosses ₹50,000 a year (₹1 lakh for senior citizens). The maturity values shown here are pre-tax.