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 Also, EPF withdrawals are liable to income tax if withdrawn before five years of service.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 Sreekanth,
I am planning to apply for the loan/advance on my PF for the construction of a new house. I am employed for more than 8 years now. I have understood the procedures to apply and how the payment happens to me.
But I am very much confused about how do I repay the loan. Is it the same way as we repay any bank loan with interest. Or is it through our regular PF deduction through salary.
Any guidance on this is much appreciated!
Dear Vijay,
There is no need to repay the advance amount.
Dear Sreekanth Reddy,
I have completed my 7 years of service, I am planning to get married this year what will be the best option for me to withdraw maximum amount from my PF deposit. As I don't want to apply for a personal loan and I have around 1 Lakh deposited in my PF account towards employee's share. Can I withdraw the full/ maximum amount out of it? Will I have to submit any documents for the same?
Dear Akash,
Kindly use EPF balance only if you do not have other resources, as this is part of your Retirement corpus. You can withdraw up to 50% of your contributions and interest there on. You have to submit self declaration and form 31.
Read : New UAN based EPF withdrawal forms..
Hi Sreekanth Reddy,
You have doing an excellent job in helping people to understand this complex topic of PF. I have quick question : I worked with an employer from 13th Sep 2010 till 3 Jan 2014 - Friday (3 years and 3 months). Here the PF was maintained with the Trust. Then I worked with my new employer from 6th Jan 2014 - Months (2 years and 8 months). Recently, I moved from previous PF transferred. In total of around 6 years of service.
I have both the PF accounts mapped under a single UAN.
I am planning to take advance for purchasing a dwelling home. Can I do that? Is there any restriction of working with the same employer for more than 5 years?
Dear Faiz ..If you have transferred the old PF a/c monies to the new one then your service/contribution years in total will be considered.
Thanks Sreekanth for the prompt reply.Really helps my cause. I have already applied for the transfer:
1) Cheque has dispatched by my previous employer on 15th Jul and was received by EPFO RO Chennai on 18th. Both the employers have approved the PF that on 9th Aug. I am yet to receive the PF amount. What should I do?
Dear Faiz ..Kindly wait for some more days, you may receive it very soon.
Hello Sreekanth,
I've just finalized a flat and submitted my documents to the bank for home loan. I have a strong feeling that I may fall short of a couple of lacs, hence planning to apply for a partial withdrawl from my PF account. I wanted to know when can one submit the request for the withdrawl? Should that be only after the registration of flat is done on my name, or can I submit it now while the home loan application is under process?
Please guide me.
Appreciate all your support and assistance.
Dear Noor,
Yes, you can submit your partial withdrawal application now also.
Hi Sreekanth,
Thanks for your quick reply.
Can you also please help me fill the below fields.
5. In case of Advance for purpose of Site/House/Flat or Construction through an “Agency” ‘or’ Repayment of housing loan, indicate
5a. Cheuqe to be drawn ‘in favour of’
5b. Full address of “Agency
Could you please elaborate as to what does the points 5a and 5b mean?
Thanks again for your guidance and support.
Dear Noor,
In favour of can be - builder name / company (or) Lending Institution (banker).
Hi Sreekanth,
Thank you for your super promptness and amazing support. Sorry for bothering you with more questions, but I'd like to know, since the purpose of partial withdrawl is for buying a new Residential Flat, and I am buying the property from the current owner of the flat, do I still need to furnish the point 5a? If yes, on whose favor should the cheque be drawn?
Dear NOOR ..You can get cheque issued in your name too (or) in the name of current owner.
Hi Sreekanth,
Thanks a lot for addressing my concerns patiently. I am planning to submit the application in a day or two, so would like to just take a little more guidance from you.
My employer has Listed the below documents that I need to submit. Can you please check and let me know if they all are needed, and since I have my UAN, do I really need to take the employer's attestation
1) Agreement of Sale
2) Previous Sale deed
3) Latest Katha and tax paid receipt (by the builder/Developer/individual) or equivalent document as applicable in respective states/Cities
4) Non Encumbrance certificates for 13 years or equivalent document as applicable in respective states/Cities
5) Approved plan
6) If the land is a DC converted land, then conversion letter copy from the DC. (if applicable)
7) Blank cancelled cheque for Bank proof
8) Member should have 5 Year of PF service.
9) Form-31 along with the declaration form (Attached declaration form along with the form-31)
Please give me a check list of documents so I can arrange them all and submit the application. Also, can I directly go to PF office and submit the documents or it should go through the employer only?
I am sorry for the many questions above, but would appreciate if you could answer them and add any other important information that I may need.
Thanks again for your support.
Regards.
Dear Noor,
Employer's attestation is no more mandatory if your KYC details have been verified on UAN portal.
Yes, you can submit to EPFO directly.
This is an exhaustive list and you may submit whatever you have with you. (I believe must have ones are Sale agreement, Approved plan, Cheque leaf, advance withdrawal form & self-declaration form).
Dear Sir,
I Purchased a flat and the Regsitration also over, i have to repay Amount to Builders and i applied to EPF Advance withdrawal twice, its got rejected twice with the reason of Agreement date missing. So i am planning to apply again for 3rd Time. Is it possible to Apply online ?
Is it Possible to get the Amount from EPF to directly to my account ? so that i can pay the Amount to the Builder.
Thanks,
Ramesh J
Dear Ramesh..Online facility is not yet been made available. I believe that it is possible.
HOW CAN TAKE EPF LOAN TWO YEAR COMPLANT EPF CUTING.I WANT LOAN HOW CAN TAKE LOAN.PLEASE DETIALS .
Hi,
i have initiated PF partial withdrawl for clearing my home loan through my current employer using form 31. it has been almost one month since i submitted form.
How could i track status of my application?
please guide me on how can i get status on my form
Dear santosh ..As of now, I dont think there is any such online tracking facility. You may kindly contact EPFO directly.
From which date online partial PF withdrawal facility available?
Dear Ashok..As of now not yet known. Will surely post an article when the news is out.
Dear SIr,
Let me know can i submit purchasing agreement along with declaration form (with down payment).. before registration of my plot
Yes, dear mahtab .
thank u sir
Dear Sreekanth,
I want to make permanent withdrawal from my EPF for flat construction.
Payment for the flat has to be made stagewise.
Can the withdrawal also be stagewise?
Dear Banerjee..Permanent withdrawal is not allowed, if you are employed and still contributing to EPF scheme.