Updated on: May 28th, 2025
|
2 min read
Voluntary Provident Fund (VPF) is a savings-cum retirement option and a further extension of the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF). It is a voluntary scheme for salaried employees. Under the VPF, the employees can contribute a higher amount to their EPF account every month. Contribution VPF is eligible for deduction under section 80C. Every month, both employees and employers must contribute 12% of the employee's basic salary towards EPF. The interest rate applicable to the EPF (VPF as well) contributions is 8.25% for FY 2025-26. We have covered the following in this article.
Under the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) provisions, both employees and employers contribute a certain amount every month. The minimum contribution that an employee should make is 12% of their basic salary. The employer will also make an equivalent contribution.
However, the employee’s contribution is not restricted, they can invest how much ever they want, but the employer’s contribution is restricted to the bare minimum.
Whatever the amount contributed by the employee that exceeds the minimum requirement is termed as the Voluntary Provident Fund (VPF), there is no capping on the amount that can be contributed towards VPF. The contributions made towards VPF are eligible for tax deductions under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Like mentioned earlier, there is no need to maintain a separate account to make VPF investments. Your VPF contributions are deposited into your EPF account. All you need to do is inform your employer that you are willing to make a higher EPF contribution. The HR or the payroll department will deduct the excess sum you are ready to invest as VPF. These accounts are transferable across all eligible employers. However, employees must contribute for five years towards the VPF to obtain tax benefits.
The VPF contributions too enjoy the same tax norms that EPF contributions do. The taxpayers can deduct up to Rs 1,50,000 a year by investing in VPF. The interest earned on VPF is tax-free and withdrawals made after a period of five years are also made tax-exempt. Partial or full withdrawals made within five years are taxable.
Investing in VPF is an excellent option for salaried employees. They don’t have to look for other tax-saving options as they can fully utilise their Section 80C limit with VPF itself, which offers much higher returns (guaranteed) than any other government-provided investment scheme.