Withdraw your EPF balance before five years of service and TDS may be deducted before the money reaches you. This calculator estimates that TDS and your net amount in hand, based on your years of service, whether PAN is linked, and whether you have filed Form 15G or 15H.

The five-year rule and what TDS actually means here

After five years of continuous service, an EPF withdrawal is fully exempt and no TDS applies. Service transferred from earlier employers counts towards those five years, so transferring rather than withdrawing when you change jobs protects the exemption. Before five years, TDS is deducted at 10 percent if PAN is linked and the taxable amount is 50,000 rupees or more, or 20 percent without PAN. Below 50,000 there is no TDS. Form 15G or 15H stops the deduction, but only if your total tax for the year is genuinely nil. Importantly, TDS is not the final tax. A pre-five-year withdrawal is added to your income for that year, the employer’s contribution and the interest are taxable, and any contributions you earlier claimed under Section 80C are pulled back, all taxed at your slab with credit for the TDS already cut.

Frequently asked questions

Does my previous employer’s service count towards five years?

Yes, if you transferred the EPF balance rather than withdrawing it. Combined continuous service across employers is what matters.

How much TDS is deducted if I have not linked PAN?

20 percent on the withdrawal, against 10 percent when PAN is linked. Linking PAN to your UAN before withdrawing is worth doing.

When is there no TDS at all?

When you have five or more years of service, or the taxable amount is below 50,000 rupees, or you have submitted a valid Form 15G or 15H, or you are transferring rather than withdrawing.

Is the withdrawal still taxable if TDS was not deducted?

If it is a pre-five-year withdrawal, yes. No TDS does not mean tax-free. You must report it in your return and pay slab tax, less any TDS.

What about the pension (EPS) portion?

The EPS component follows separate withdrawal-benefit or scheme-certificate rules and is not part of this TDS estimate. This tool covers the EPF accumulation only.

Can I avoid tax by withdrawing across two financial years?

Splitting does not change the five-year test. If the withdrawal is taxable, the full accumulation is taxable in the year it is received regardless of how the payout is timed.

Related: the PF Calculator for projecting your balance, the Gratuity Calculator, and the Full and Final Settlement Calculator.