How to use the FD calculator
Enter your deposit amount, the interest rate your bank quotes and how long you want to keep the money. If the FD is not a round number of years, add the extra months and days. Then choose how you want the interest:
Cumulative: interest is added back to the deposit and you get everything at maturity. This earns the most, and suits money you do not need until later.
Payout: interest is paid to your savings account every month, quarter, half-year or year. Your principal stays the same and comes back at maturity. This suits retirees and anyone who needs a regular income.
Tick Resident senior citizen if you are 60 or older. Most banks pay seniors a little extra, often 0.50 percentage points. With that bonus, 6.60% becomes 7.10% and the example below grows to ₹1,23,508 instead of ₹1,21,699. Change the bonus if your bank pays a different amount.
How FD interest is calculated quarterly
Most Indian banks compound cumulative FDs every quarter. Every three months, that quarter's interest is added to your balance. The next quarter's interest is then worked out on the bigger amount.
Example: ₹1,00,000 at 6.60% for 3 years. Each quarter earns 6.60% ÷ 4 = 1.65%. The first quarter earns ₹1,650. The second quarter earns 1.65% of ₹1,01,650, which is ₹1,677. By the end of year 1 the deposit is ₹1,06,765. After 3 years it is ₹1,21,699, so you earn ₹21,699 in interest.
Maturity = P × (1 + r ÷ 4)4 × years, where P is the deposit and r is the yearly rate as a decimal (6.60% = 0.066).
Because interest earns interest, 6.60% compounded quarterly works out to 6.77% a year. That is the effective annual yield shown in the results. How often interest compounds matters a little: the same deposit grows to ₹1,21,136 with yearly compounding and ₹1,21,830 with monthly compounding.
Reading the yearly breakdown
The table shows each year of your FD: the opening balance, the interest earned that year and the closing balance. In a cumulative FD the yearly interest keeps rising, because it is earned on a bigger balance each time. In the example it is ₹6,765 in year 1, ₹7,223 in year 2 and ₹7,711 in year 3.
With a payout option, the balance stays at your principal and the Payouts column shows the interest paid to you that year. If the tenure ends partway through a year, the last row covers only the months left.
Monthly payout: why it is less than rate ÷ 12
Take ₹1,00,000 at 6.60%. Simple maths says ₹550 a month. This calculator shows ₹547. Banks work out FD interest by the quarter. With a monthly payout you get each month's interest earlier, so the bank pays a slightly discounted amount.
The method used here is monthly payout = P × R ÷ (1200 + R), where R is the yearly rate in percent. It is the discounted-value formula that banks such as TJSB Sahakari Bank publish for monthly-payout deposits. Quarterly, half-yearly and yearly payouts are not discounted. The same deposit pays ₹1,650 every quarter.
What may differ at your bank
Banks do not all follow the same rules. Senior bonuses vary. Deposits under 6 months usually earn simple interest, and this calculator assumes that. Monthly payouts, broken periods and day counts can also be handled a little differently. Treat the results as a close estimate, and check the exact figure on the bank's deposit advice before you invest.
Is FD interest taxable? TDS explained
Yes. FD interest is added to your income and taxed at your slab rate. This applies every year, even in a cumulative FD where you only receive the money at maturity.
Separately, the bank deducts TDS of 10% if your interest from that bank in a financial year (April to March) crosses ₹50,000. For resident senior citizens the limit is ₹1,00,000. Once you cross the limit, TDS applies to the whole year's interest, not just the part above it. Without a PAN, the rate is 20%. If your total income is below the taxable limit, you can give the bank Form 121 (which replaced Forms 15G and 15H) so it does not deduct TDS.
Example: ₹10,00,000 at 7% for 3 years with quarterly payouts, opened in October 2026. The interest falls into four financial years: ₹35,000 in 2026–27 (no TDS), ₹70,000 in 2027–28 and ₹70,000 in 2028–29 (TDS of ₹7,000 each year), then ₹35,000 in 2029–30 (no TDS). A resident senior with the same deposit earns at most ₹75,000 in any year, so no TDS is deducted.
Set the start month and year to see your own split. The TDS table covers this deposit only, so add interest from your other FDs at the same bank. TDS is not your final tax, and it is not subtracted from the maturity figure.
FD or something else?
If you are saving for the long term and want tax-free interest, compare this with the PPF calculator. Thinking of breaking an FD instead of taking a loan? Check the cost first with the personal loan EMI calculator. Loan interest is usually well above what an FD earns.
Sources: ICICI Bank FD calculator example, TJSB Sahakari Bank interest calculation method and AU Bank TDS notice (April 2026).