Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana 2026: 8.2% Q2, EEE Tax, Rules

What Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) is a small-savings account the Union government offers for girl children under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign. A parent or legal guardian opens the account before the girl turns 10, deposits between Rs. 250 and Rs. 1.5 lakh a year for 15 years, and the corpus earns compound interest until the account matures at 21 years or on the girl's marriage after 18, whichever is earlier.

The current interest rate is 8.2% per year, compounded annually. The Ministry of Finance last confirmed this rate for the July to September 2026 quarter through its quarterly small-savings notification dated 30 June 2026. That's the 8th consecutive quarter the rate has held at 8.2%, unchanged since January 2024.

SSY carries EEE tax status. Deposits qualify for Section 80C (Section 123 under the Income Tax Act 2025) deduction of up to Rs. 1.5 lakh a year, the yearly interest is fully exempt, and the maturity payout is tax-free. Very few investment products in India carry all three exemptions.

Latest interest rate: 8.2% for Q2 FY 2026-27

The Q2 FY 2026-27 rate is 8.2%, effective 1 July to 30 September 2026, per the Ministry of Finance notification of 30 June 2026. This is unchanged from the 8.0% raised on 1 January 2024 to 8.2%, and it's the highest guaranteed rate across all Post Office small-savings schemes for the quarter.

For context, the same quarter's rates for other schemes are: PPF at 7.1%, NSC at 7.7%, and the standard Post Office 5-year Time Deposit at 7.5%. SSY beats every other Central-government guaranteed instrument on both interest and tax status.

Rates are reviewed every quarter by the Ministry of Finance. Any change published in the quarterly notification applies to interest earned from that quarter onwards, not retroactively.

Historical interest rate snapshot

The table captures the SSY rate at the start of each financial year since the scheme launched in December 2014. The rate is a floor for that quarter and may have changed mid-year in some cases; the full quarter-by-quarter series is published on nsiindia.gov.in.

The lowest rate in the scheme's history was 7.6% during the pandemic quarters. It has never dipped below that floor.

Who is eligible

You can open an SSY account if your daughter is a resident Indian citizen and below 10 years old on the day of opening. The 10-year cap is strict. If today is her 10th birthday, most branches will refuse the application because she is technically 10 years old, not below 10.

Only a parent or legal guardian can open the account, and only one parent operates it. The account is in the girl's name from day one, but she gains full operating control after she turns 18. Until then, deposits, statements, and withdrawal requests are handled by the guardian.

Each family is allowed a maximum of two SSY accounts, one for each of two daughters. A third account is permitted only in special cases: twins or triplets at the second birth, or twins as the first birth followed by a single girl. The birth certificate has to be submitted as proof.

Non-resident Indian girls are not eligible to open a new account. If a girl becomes NRI after the account is open, the change in residency must be reported and the account is no longer eligible for the standard SSY rate. It typically continues at a lower rate until closure.

Deposit rules and how you can pay

Minimum yearly deposit is Rs. 250 and the maximum is Rs. 1.5 lakh per financial year across all accounts of the same girl. Deposits can be made in a single lump or across the year in any number of instalments, and any amount above the minimum is fine as long as the yearly total stays inside the Rs. 250 to Rs. 1.5 lakh band.

Deposits can be made only for the first 15 years from the date of opening. After year 15, the account earns interest for the remaining 6 years without any fresh deposits and matures at year 21. So if you open the account in 2026 for a 1-year-old daughter, your last deposit year is 2041 and the account matures in 2047.

You can deposit through cash at the branch counter, cheque, demand draft, or online through India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) app or the net-banking portal of any authorised bank. Standing instructions for auto-debit are also allowed and are the safest way to avoid missing the yearly minimum.

Interest is calculated on the lowest balance in the account between the 5th and the last day of each calendar month, and credited once, at the end of the financial year on 31 March. Depositing before the 5th of a month gives you a full month of interest on that money.

Worked maturity examples at 8.2%

The four scenarios below use the 8.2% rate held constant across the full 21 years. The numbers come from the government-approved SSY calculator on IndiaPost and match verified figures on Groww and IndianPayCalculator.

Scenario 1: Rs. 250 per year (bare minimum) for 15 years. Total deposits Rs. 3,750. Maturity value at year 21: around Rs. 11,970. Tax-free gain: Rs. 8,220. This shows even a minimum-effort account roughly triples the money over 21 years thanks to compounding.

Scenario 2: Rs. 1,000 per month (Rs. 12,000 per year) for 15 years. Total deposits Rs. 1,80,000. Maturity value at year 21: Rs. 5,74,570. Tax-free gain: Rs. 3,94,570. This is a realistic middle-income scenario, and the interest earned is more than double the principal.

Scenario 3: Rs. 5,000 per month (Rs. 60,000 per year) for 15 years. Total deposits Rs. 9,00,000. Maturity value at year 21: around Rs. 26.5 lakh. Tax-free gain: Rs. 17.5 lakh. Suitable for salaried families using SSY as part of the tax-saving basket.

Scenario 4: Rs. 1.5 lakh per year (maximum) for 15 years. Total deposits Rs. 22,50,000. Maturity value at year 21: Rs. 71,82,119. Tax-free gain: Rs. 49,32,119. The interest alone is more than twice the total invested, and every rupee is exempt from tax.

Interest rate revisions during the 21-year window will move these numbers. Every 0.1% change in the average rate over 21 years shifts the Scenario 4 maturity by roughly Rs. 1 lakh. That's why the current 8-quarter streak at 8.2% is treated as a favourable window by tax-planners.

Tax benefits under old vs new tax regime

SSY's tax status depends on which income-tax regime you file under, and this is the single most-missed point in most SSY guides.

Under the old tax regime, SSY is a true EEE instrument. Deposits up to Rs. 1.5 lakh a year qualify for a deduction under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act 1961, or the equivalent Section 123 of the Income Tax Act 2025. Interest earned each year is fully exempt. The maturity amount and any partial withdrawal are also tax-free.

Under the new tax regime (default from FY 2023-24), the upfront Section 80C deduction does not apply. You lose the tax saving on the Rs. 1.5 lakh deposit, but the interest and maturity payouts remain tax-free. So SSY becomes an EE (Exempt-Exempt) product for new-regime filers rather than EEE.

The practical decision: if you're on the old tax regime and using the full Rs. 1.5 lakh 80C bucket, SSY is one of the top three uses of that bucket alongside PPF and ELSS. If you're on the new tax regime, SSY is still worth it for the tax-free 8.2% compounding, but the deposit itself gives no upfront tax relief. Compare against PPF (same tax treatment, 7.1% rate) and direct equity mutual funds (higher expected return but taxable at 12.5% LTCG above Rs. 1.25 lakh).

Maturity, partial withdrawal, and premature closure

The account matures 21 years from opening. Whichever of these two events comes first triggers the payout: reaching year 21, or the girl marrying at any age above 18. On maturity, the full corpus (principal plus interest) is credited to the girl's own bank account.

Partial withdrawal is allowed once the girl turns 18 or completes Class 10, whichever is earlier. Up to 50% of the balance at the end of the previous financial year can be withdrawn, and the money must be used for higher education or school fees. Withdrawal can be a single lump or up to five yearly instalments over the following years.

Premature closure is allowed in three narrow cases: girl's marriage after 18 (window is one month before to three months after the marriage date), death of the account holder (payout to the nominee at the standard SSY rate), or a case of extreme compassion certified by the district authority (medical emergency, terminal illness, or death of the guardian). Compassionate closure pays interest at the Post Office savings account rate for the period after year 5, not the SSY rate.

Closure on change of residency to NRI is mandatory. The account can no longer continue at the SSY rate once the girl's status changes.

How to open an SSY account

You can open the account at any India Post branch or at any of the 11 authorised banks: State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Bank of India.

Documents required: the girl's birth certificate (mandatory, no substitute), a photo ID and address proof of the guardian (Aadhaar, PAN, passport, or voter ID), passport-size photos of the guardian and the girl, and a filled Form 1 (Account Opening) which is available at the branch or downloadable from nsiindia.gov.in.

Take the documents and the first deposit (minimum Rs. 250) to the branch. The branch verifies documents, opens the account, and hands over a passbook. Some banks now offer a digital opening flow for existing customers where documents are pulled via the KYC record and only the first deposit needs to be made at the branch.

Once opened, all further deposits and status checks can be done online through IPPB app (for post office accounts) or through the bank's net-banking portal (for bank-held accounts).

SSY compared to PPF, NSC, and ELSS

Every parent shopping for tax-advantaged savings looks at these four together. The table below shows how they compare on the metrics that matter for a long-term goal like a daughter's education or marriage.

SSY wins on rate and tax status for the specific use case it was built for: long-horizon savings for a girl. PPF is the best gender-neutral EEE option. NSC works for shorter 5-year lock-ins. ELSS has the shortest lock-in and highest expected return but comes with market risk and partial tax on gains.

Transfer, dormant revival, and nomination

The account can be transferred between two branches of the same institution (post office to post office, or bank to bank) or between institutions (post office to bank, or vice versa). Transfer is free if the reason is a change of the guardian's residence with proof; otherwise a Rs. 100 fee applies. The receiving branch takes over all further transactions once the transfer paperwork completes, typically in 15 to 30 days.

If you miss the Rs. 250 minimum in any year, the account turns dormant. To revive it, pay the outstanding minimum for each defaulted year plus a Rs. 50 penalty per defaulted year and deposit at least Rs. 250 for the current year. Revival is allowed any time within the 15-year deposit window, so a dormant account can be resurrected without permanent damage.

Nomination is allowed at the time of opening or later. The nominee receives the maturity amount if the account holder passes away before maturity. Nomination can be changed by submitting Form 2 (Nomination) at the branch. Most branches recommend adding the guardian as nominee at opening to keep the process smooth if anything happens later.

Frequently asked questions

What is the current SSY interest rate? SSY earns 8.2% per year for the July to September 2026 quarter, per the Ministry of Finance notification of 30 June 2026. This is the 8th consecutive quarter at 8.2%.

Up to what age can I open an SSY account for my daughter? SSY requires the girl to be below 10 years old on the date of opening. Once opened, the account runs for 21 years, so opening it at birth gives the longest compounding runway.

Is SSY tax-free under both old and new tax regimes? Interest and maturity are tax-free under both regimes. The Section 80C or Section 123 deduction on the yearly deposit is available only under the old tax regime.

Can I open SSY for my son? No. SSY is exclusively for girl children. Sons can be covered under general instruments like PPF or ELSS instead.

What if I skip a year's minimum deposit? The account turns dormant. Revive it any time within 15 years by paying the missed minimums plus a Rs. 50 penalty per missed year and the current year's Rs. 250.

Can husband and wife both claim the 80C deduction on the same SSY account? No. Only the parent who actually made the deposit and whose PAN is linked to the account can claim it. Splitting the yearly deposit across both parents' PANs is not permitted for the same account.

How much can I withdraw before maturity? Up to 50% of the balance at the end of the previous financial year, and only after the girl turns 18 or completes Class 10. The withdrawal has to be used for higher education or school fees.

What happens if the SSY interest rate changes during the 21-year period? Interest is credited at whatever rate the Ministry of Finance announces for that quarter. Historical rates ranged from 7.6% (pandemic floor) to 9.2% (2015-16 peak). The rate in your opening year does not lock in for the full 21 years.

Can I open SSY in a bank rather than the post office? Yes. The 11 authorised banks (SBI, PNB, BoB, Canara, Union, IDBI, ICICI, HDFC, Axis, Kotak, BoI) offer SSY at the same terms and same interest rate as the post office.

What documents do I need to open the account? Girl's birth certificate, guardian's photo ID and address proof, passport-size photos, and Form 1. The birth certificate is mandatory and has no substitute; hospital discharge summary or Aadhaar are not accepted.

Official links and authorised banks

Authorised banks that offer SSY at the same 8.2% rate: State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Bank of India. All 11 accept walk-in openings; SBI, HDFC, and ICICI also offer partial digital flows for existing KYC-verified customers.