Can one person open two PPF accounts?

Srinivas posted the following question a few days ago:

 

SRINIVAS September 17, 2012 at 10:48 pm [edit]

Can an exclusive article be written on PPF?. Actually, there is lot of confusion on this, despite the popularity of the product . The question is ,whether one individual can open two accounts -one in his name and the other on the name of minor child- and contribute Rs.100000/- to each of the accounts? everybody talks about availability of tax exemption upto Rs.100000/-, but nobody explicitly conforms that contribution can be made to multiple accounts exceeding Rs100000 and claim tax exemption upto Rs1.0 lakhs only.

I think there are two questions here, and I’ll try to break this up and answer each one individually.

1. Can one person open more than one PPF account?

No, you can’t, you can only have one PPF account for yourself except if you want to open one as a guardian of your child.

2. If I can’t open multiple accounts then can I open one for my minor children as their guardian?

You can open another account for your minor children as their guardian but that doesn’t mean that the tax deduction doubles, that still remains applicable as an individual.

As far as I know, it doesn’t double the amount that you can put in these two accounts, so you can’t put Rs. 2 lakhs in the two PPF accounts, for the purpose of calculating the limit, they are treated as one account only. If someone knows this to be different then please leave a comment.

The husband and wife both can’t open an account on the name of the same child, and grandparents can’t open an account for their grandchildren.

Other Questions

Other than these two questions, I see that PPF has a thread on Jago Investor discussion forum and there they have dealt with some questions like how much this money will amount to after 15 years and that’s a good link for further reading.

56 thoughts on “Can one person open two PPF accounts?”

  1. can any one help me to close my a/c which, I m currently holding in sbi,as I m faraway from my respective branch …..I wish there might be some other option, anyone please?????

  2. An individual – adult or minor – can have only one account . Father can open an account for each of his child and limit subscription to Rs 1,50,000/-

  3. If one guardian can open more than one minor account under his/her guardianship…. Please anyone can explain it

  4. Sir,
    I have one PPF account in my name and two PPF accounts in my minor childrens’ name. I know about the maximum amount ceiling rule. But I have doubt about the Frequency Rule ( 12 Times in a year).

    i) Can I make 12 Contributions each in each of the three PPF accounts? (Self and 2 Minors)

    ii) Should I make only total of 12 contributions in all the three accounts combined?

    Please clarify this

  5. Various persons are asking on how to deal with situation after they opened more than two PPF accounts. Such persons who opened more than one account – knowingly or unknowingly – kindly note that the open forums such as this cannot advise them on how to deal after they have performed an ‘illegal act’. They should draw up their own line of action and be ready for dealing with situation if it comes to the notice of law enforcing agencies.

  6. Hi
    I have two PPF accounts and managing the same from last two years. One is in SBI and other one is in ICICI.
    Recently I came to know that one person can keep one PPF account only hence, kindly suggest what to do to close one PPF account.
    Can both the PPF accounts be merged in any of the bank, or any one can be fully closed and i can take back my principal amount?

  7. Hi
    I have recently opened a PPF account, but soon after that it came to my knowledge that I already have a PPF account which my father has opened in my name 8 years back.
    Since we can have only one PPF ac how can I close my recently opened account?

  8. Dear All,

    I have got one third parties PPF Cheque of 75,078/- of my name. (in Award Schwme)
    SBI not clearing this cheque because amount isn’t in round figure.
    please Guide.

    Best Regards,

    Umesh Kumthekar

    1. It is not clear what you mean by a ‘third party PPF cheque”. If you mean that you intend to deposit a cheque issued by another party into your PPF account, there is a word of caution for you. As per rules, payment made towards PPF is eligible for tax benefits only if it is made in your account or in account of your child out of your earning. Tax department could disallow tax benefit if you make payment using cheque issued by a third party if they come to know (though very unlikely). Certain awards quality for tax rebates. Though there is no rule which states that amount should be multiple of Rs 100/-, it is not worth making an issue of your problem. However, if you are particular, you can raise issue with banking ombudsman, if your account is with SBI, or with national savings organisation, if your account is with a post office. Time taken for resolution will result in interest loss for you.

  9. I have opened two ppf account ,one in post office and another is in SBI as i was not aware about the rule. Now i can want to close my previous ppf a/c (post office) or transfer/merge the previous account into the present ppf a/c (SBI) .so, what measure should i take for the same. if it is not possible two merge or close one of two a/c then what is the measure.

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