TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) is applicable on pre-mature EPF (Employees Provident Fund) withdrawals of Rs 50,000 or more with effective from June 1st, 2015. Also, EPF withdrawals are liable to income tax if withdrawn before five years of service. You are actually allowed to withdraw (legally) only if it has been more than two months that you are out of work and your are still unemployed.
Does this mean that you can not withdraw your Provident Fund till you retire? Are there any options to partially withdraw your EPF balance, without getting taxed?
In this post, let us learn about EPF Partial Withdrawals / Advances rules and conditions, various options that are available to an EPF subscriber to claim partial PF withdrawals and the procedure to apply for EPF advance / loan.
Read Latest article : New EPF Withdrawal Rules 2025-26 | Big Relief, Bigger Responsibility for 30 Crore Subscribers
Below are the various reasons for which you can make a partial withdrawal from your EPF Account. These partial withdrawals are usually computed on the basis of your monthly salary or contributions made so far.
(The definition of SALARY for EPF calculation is : Salary = Basic + Dearness Allowance. So, salary here does not mean your Take Home salary. Also, the ‘number of years of service’ is the total number of years you have worked / contributed to EPF. It can be with multiple employers. The amount of advance/withdrawal is not required to be refunded under normal circumstances. If the amount is not utilized, the same should be refunded with penal interest)
You can withdraw up to 90% of EPF Balance (Employee share and interest on that+Employer share and interest on that) or the cost of the construction of property whichever is less. You are allowed to withdraw only once in your working life from the EPF Account to fund the construction, purchase or repayment of a housing loan.
To avail this option, you should have completed 5 years 3 years of service (with effective from 12-April-2017) to purchase or build the house. For buying land or site, the withdrawal amount can be 24 times of your basic wage and should have completed 3 years of service. (Kindly note that as per EPFO’s staff, if you are purchasing from a builder directly, then the minimum PF membership is still considered as 5 years only.)
Your accumulated EPF balance must be more than Rs.20,000. If your spouse is also the EPF member, then the combined balance will be considered for the eligibility.
Henceforth, the EPFO will not transfer the Advance amount to EPF member (employee’s) account. The amount will be credited to Cooperative society, Central Government, a State Government, or any Housing Agency under any Housing Scheme or any promoter or builders as the case may be, in one or more than one installments.
If the amount of such withdrawal is more than the actual cost or expenses of acquiring the property, then you have to refund such excess amount to EPFO in lump sum within 30 days from the date of allotment / completion of project / alteration of house etc.,
In case, you do not utilize the EPF advance amount completely for the said purpose, you have to refund the entire amount to the EFPO account within 15 days.
Below table has all the required details.
Below is the standard ‘Declaration Form‘ provided by the EPFO. The EPF member has to submit this form in case the ‘partial withdrawal’ is for HOUSING purposes. There is no need to enclose any other documents like copy of Sale Deed, Building Sanction plan, Encumbrance Certificate etc., The form has to be signed by the employee and the employer. Click on the below image to download the ‘Declaration Form Template’. This standard declaration form will be discontinued from Feb 2017. Henceforth, there is no need to submit this form (latest update as on 22/Feb/2017)
For obtaining EPF advance for purchase of house/site, employee(s) have to now submit application letter as below;
Latest Update (22-February-2017) :
EPFO has introduced new composite, single page and common Withdrawal form for all types of Withdrawals. This new Composite Claim Form (CCF) will now replace all the existing withdrawal Forms 19, 10C & 31 (both UAN & Non-UAN based). Kindly read this latest article @ New EPF Composite Claim Form | Single Page Form for different types of PF Withdrawals (Full / Partial).
If you are prepaying the debt (loan), you should have completed at least 10 years of service. To avail this provision, you need to submit Loan certificate / statement to your employer, along with From 31 (form for EPF partial withdrawal),.
The withdrawal amount that is admissible for this reason can be least of the below;
i) 36 times of your monthly salary (or)
ii) Total contribution (or)
iii) total outstanding home loan amount
You can now use your EPF balance to repay your home loan EMI either fully or partly. You can instruct the EPFO to deduct monthly amount from your PF balanced and the same will be transferred to your Loan account, as long as there is sufficient EPF balance in your account. This transfer will be active as long as you are the member of EPF. Once your membership of EPF ceases, then EPFO will stop to repay the loan.
You need to submit below authorization letter to EPFO;
The EPFO allows advance withdrawals whenever you need funds for medical treatment for yourself or a family member (spouse, children or dependent parents). No minimum years of service is required. However minimum one month of hospitalization is a must.
The advance can be taken for all major surgical operations or for treatment of critical illness. You have to submit proof of hospitalization, leave certificate along with Form 31, in case the funds are for your own treatment. (Latest Update (28-Apr-2017) : For partial withdrawal towards medical treatment, now there is no need to submit any medical certificate or document. For more details, kindly read – ‘EPF advance for medical treatment‘)EPF Partial Withdrawals for Education or Marriage Expenses
You can make a partial withdrawal for marriage of your children, brother / sister and yourself if you have completed seven years in service.
You can also make a partial EPF withdrawal for meeting education expenses of your children. Do note that only ’employees contribution’ is allowed to be withdrawn.
An employee who is physically challenged can apply for EPF partial withdrawal for purchasing any equipment that can minimize the hardship on account of handicap.
After attaining 54 years of age and within one year before retirement, a partial withdrawal of up to 90% of PF amount is allowed.
You need to submit EPF Partial Withdrawal form i.e., Form no 31 along with the required documents / proofs to your Employer. In EPF’s Advance form no 31, you need to provide your personal, PF account, salary and bank account details. Once the claim is processed, you will receive direct credit to your bank account.Do note that only after your Employer verifies your partial withdrawal application will the EPF office processes it.
Latest Update (22-Feb-2017) : With effective from Feb 2017, Form 31 will be replaced with new EPF Composite Form. Kindly click here to know more.
Your EPF contributions / savings are meant for your retirement (long-term). So, think twice before you withdraw your PF money. Try out all the options and sources to fund your expenses or needs. EPF Partial Withdrawals should be your last resort.
Latest Update (26-March-2020) : EPFO members can now withdraw up to 75% of the PF balances limited to 3 months wages as non refundable advance.
Latest News : You can now submit PF new claim forms directly to EPFO office without your Employer’s attestation. Download New Composite Claim Form. Click here for complete details.
Latest update (22-June-2017) : EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Org) & HUDCO (Housing & Urban Development Corp) plan to tie up for providing housing subsidy to members of EPF Scheme, under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. As per the recent notification, EPFO now allows its subscribers who want to buy a house property from Housing Societies / Agencies to withdraw up to 90% of their EPF accumulations to buy homes.
Latest Update (27-June-2018) : EPF Subscribers who resign from their service can now withdraw 75% of their total Provident Fund (PF) kitty after one month from the date of cessation of service. This will be considered as a Partial PF withdrawal (Advance).
Continue reading : ‘Online EPF Claim submission : Process Flow & Eligibility Conditions‘
(Source & Reference: EPFO. Photo Credit : rediff.com) (Post last updated on : 02-Oct-2023)
This post was last modified on December 22, 2025 11:07 pm
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View Comments
Dear Sir,
I want to partially withdraw my PF amt for my house construction.
My registered agreement is in regional language(TAMIL). My PF office is in Mumbai. Regional language document is acceptable?
Dear Raji..Tricky question. But I believe that they may accept your form. Do submit the Self declaration form along with the copy of Sale agreement.
Hi Srikanth,
I have the same problem here, I don't have the details for point no 8 in declaration form, permission or license no. Still am I eligible to pay for house construction?
i was completed 5Yrs working at the company still iam working same company so can can i get the epf amount.without any resignation.
Dear nagaraju ..You can not withdraw full PF balance if you are employed and contributing to EPF.
Dear Sreekanth,
I have just completed my 5 years of Employment on 10th August 2016. (Tenure: 10th August 2011 - 10th August 2016)
There was no PF account of mine in my first Organization and my actual PF contribution started from January 2015 when I joined Second Organization where I worked from January 2013 - August 2015 (2.5yrs).
Now I left Second Organization as well and joined third Organization. (August 10, 2015 - till date)
I have still not transferred my second organization PF to my current organization and it has been more than a year since I left my previous organization as explained with above tenure & date details.
Now my marriage is planned and I am in need of money thats why I want to withdraw my previous organization PF amount which is more than Rs 50,000 (Employee Contribution). Will it be possible to withdraw my PF in such explained conditions, if yes then whether any TDS deductions will be applicable over this withdrwal??
If really TDS deduction is applicable then please let me know much %age deduction will be done and is there any other way (advance/ partial withdrawal) by which I can avoid the TDS deductions over PF withdrwal if it is there in my case??
Dear Anil,
If you are contributing to EPF now (in 3rd organization), you can only transfer the old EPF monies and can not withdraw.
I am afraid that you can not make partial withdrawal also.
FYI, read - EPF withdrawals & new TDS rules.
Hi, I have completed 2 years and 2 months. As there is naming ceremony of my son for this Deepavali. So can I avail my PF advance which is very helpful to arrange.
Please can you help me in this regard.
Atleast half the PF amount as I saw in the EPFO app by using UAN.
Awaiting to your immediate reply with great pleasure.
Thanks
Dear ANUSHA ..No, you can not make partial withdrawal for the said reason.
I have completed 9 years 2 months service in IT sector. I am planning to construct house and land is registered in my name.my question is
1) if i get a loan from PF, do i need to pay a interst for that amount?if yes.is this monthly interst?
2) Do need to repay the entire loan amount?
3)If i am not take a loan, can i get a pension?
which is best option : pendion or house construction
Dear Gopi,
1 - No
2 - No.
3 - Both are different. You will get your Pension amount (or EPS amount).
Hi can you please tell me the step of generating uan number without the signature of employer and after this what are the strps
Dear Rohit ..Kindly read : How to generate UAN number online?
I have already done done this step and also git the application no.how many days it takes to get uan no. And after all this employer role is there or i can withdrawal by my own
Dear Rohit ..Read : New EPF withdrawal forms UAN based.
Dear Sir
How to submit the UAN based form for partial withdraw of PF
After submission of Form how much time would take for processing the withdraw
Regards
Dear Rajesh ..You can submit to EPFO directly by post or in person. Generally, 30 days..
Hi sir ... I haven employed from 2009 and in 2013i quiet the company and I withdrew my PF. Later joined another org and worked for 2 years and quiet again and joined next company transferring the PF ... Now I have totally 3 + years of of accumulation .... Am I eligible
I need money for house contraction I have already taken loan for construction and the plot is in my mother's name and currently deputed to banks name for housing loan ... Can I avail PF advance
Dear Ginu,
As you have withdrawn the first EPF a/c monies, those service years will not be counted.
So, you may not be eligible for partial withdrawal. Also, the plot should be owned by you (or spouse, if married).
I have completed 5 yrs of service. Recently bought a house , its registered both my name and hubands name. Planning for PF withdrawal for home renovation. am I eligible to apply for withdrawal and also is that taxable
Dear Bhuvana ..The eligibility condition is , partial withdrawal can be made for 'home improvement /renovation' purposes only after 5 years from the date of completion of house construction.
Taxes are not applicable.
I have a flat the occupation was received in 2012 and I have the occupation letter. I need to renovate the flat do I need to submit any other document apart from occupation letter?
Dear Bonny,
There is no need to submit any documents.
Greetings Sreekanth !
I had selected a flat during July 2016 and had sale agreement with builder. When I approached my finance dept to apply for partial withdrawal for purchase of flat, they said I am completing 5 years in Feb 2017. If I withdraw now that would be taxable. My builder cannot wait till next year for Registration and I got them registered in August 2016. Can i apply for partial withdrawal for Purchase of New Flat during March 2017 stating the details of the one I purchased in August 2016 as I am in need of the PF to accommodate my commitments.
Thanks & Regards,
Santosh Gorantla
Dear Santosh ..IF you are employed, you cannot withdraw full PF balance.
Also, partial withdrawal is not allowed now if you have not completed 5 years. I believe, you can. Kindly check with your employer too.
Yes Sreekanth, I got that point. During Feb/Mar 2017, I will complete 5 Years. Can I withdraw for the house I purchased now (Aug 2016).