Two readers mailed me similar queries:
Can I open Sukanya Samriddhi Account as well as a PPF account for my girl child?
and
Should I choose Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana or PPF when investing for my daughter?
The answer is simple. Yes. You can open both, i.e. a Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account as well as a PPF account in your daughter’s name. You can invest Rs 1.5 lakh in each PPF and SSY Account – which is the current annual upper limit on the contributions you can make in both PPF and SSA.
But as contributions made in both come under Section 80C of the IT Act, you won’t get any additional tax benefit under Section 80C. That is, you only get a benefit of a total of Rs 1.5 lakh as a tax deduction.
Few more things to note about these. While a PPF account can be opened for both your son and daughter, the SSY account is only available for girl children.
Both PPF and SSY are long-term debt investments. While the maturity period of an SSY account is 21 years from the date of opening, while the maturity period of a PPF account is 15 years. Also, you can extend the PPF account tenure by 5 years after the maturity period of 15 years. But the SSY account can’t be extended beyond 21 years from the date of opening or marriage of the girl after 18 years of age, whichever is earlier.
As far as returns are concerned, the government generally gives relatively higher interest than prevailing fixed deposit rates on the money invested in both PPF and SSY schemes. Also, the SSY interest rates will always remain higher than the rate of interest of PPF. Do check PPF interest rate history and Sukanya Yojana interest rate history.
Here are a few more helpful articles on PPF and Sukanya Samriddhi Account:
- PPF Withdrawals before 15 years
- Can NRIs invest in PPF?
- NPS Vs PPF
- ELSS Vs PPF
- VPF Vs PPF
- PPF Maturity & Extension after 15 years
- How to get Rs 1 crore from PPF?
- How interest on PPF account is calculated?
- Excel PPF Calculator (Free Download)
- Invest before or after 5th of month in PPF
- Complete Guide – Sukanya Samriddhi Account
- Sukanya Yojana Calculator (Excel Free Download)