Inflation vs fixed deposit
See what a fixed deposit actually preserves after inflation and tax, and what that means for money you will not need for a decade.
Runs entirely in your browserRuns entirely on your device — nothing you type is sent anywhere. Educational only, and not investment advice.
How to use this calculator
Each step names a control you will find on screen above.
- Years
The horizon. The gap between the lines widens dramatically past ten years.
- Average inflation
India has run around 5–6% over long periods. Your personal rate is usually higher — education and healthcare inflate faster than the index.
- Growth comparison
Switch what the FD is being compared against. The third line — what you need just to stand still — is the one worth looking at.
Worked example: ₹10 lakh parked for twenty years
₹10,00,000 in a fixed deposit at 7%, against 6% inflation, with FD interest taxed at the 30% slab.
What to enter
- Years
- 20
- Average inflation
- 6%
- FD rate
- 7%
What it shows you
- FD grows to
- ≈ ₹38.7 lakh
- After 30% tax on interest
- ≈ 4.9% net rate
- FD in today’s money
- ≈ ₹8.1 lakh
- Needed just to stand still
- ≈ ₹32 lakh
before tax
less than you started with
Where this is taught
A calculator gives you a number. These explain what the number means and when it misleads you.
- Market Basics11 minFixed deposits and small savings schemesFDs, RDs, SCSS, SSY and post office schemes — what each is genuinely good for, how tax changes the answer, and the real return once inflation is counted.
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- Risk & Psychology12 minReceiving an inheritanceMoney that arrives with grief attached, often alongside siblings and a house nobody wants to sell. The financial part is the easy half.
- Market Basics11 minSovereign gold bonds, and the gold options comparedFive ways to own gold in India, each with different costs, taxes and liquidity. The differences are larger than most people assume.
- Risk & Psychology11 minSwitching from saving to spendingThirty years of habits built to accumulate do not reverse on a date. The hardest part of retirement for careful savers is permission to spend.