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 Also, EPF withdrawals are liable to income tax if withdrawn before five years of service.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 Reddy,
I purchaged a flat (Land) and then I applied for PF , but it is rejected as purchaged flat is not elizible .
But I have to repay to barrowers.
Please suggest
Hi subbareddy garu,
Any reason mentioned by EPF office for rejection.
What do you mean by "purchaged flat is not elizible"
I am planning to purchase a flat with borrowed money and repay the borrower with EPF Withdrawal money.
I need your advice. Kindly mail me your contact number to sanjayprasadk@gmail.com
Dear Sreekanth,
Can an eligible (working) person still withdraw the PF money (up to 36 months of salary/etc/etc) for repaying home loans post the application of new rules from 1st may 2016?
Dear Gaurav..I believe that there are no changes to partial withdrawal rules (as of now )
Sir,
I have purchased a Flat and made full payment by borrowing loans from my BOSS as well as with my friends. I have applied Form 31 with Sale Deed copy along with declaration on 17-10.2016, but the same has been rejected by giving reason : CERTIFICATE ENCLOSED IS IMPROPER - Remarks by DA / AO : SINCE PURCHASE OF FLAT IS ALREADY REGISTERED, YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR HOUSING LOAN / OK.
Kindly advice me how to apply 2nd time, since i have to return the loan amount of my BOSS as well as my friends. Please do the needful at the earliest. my mobile 9740160091. I have completed 28 of service without any withdrawal of PF amount as on date.
Dear VENKATARAMA Ji,
May I know what did you mention the PURPOSE as when you first applied for partial withdrawal?
Dear Sir,
Can i make advance from my PF Account. My age is 61 yrs but still working in a company they are deducting my pf but i need amount for construction of flat. what is the procedure please guide.
Dear Hemant Ji,
Since how loan have been contributing to EPF scheme? Kindly refer to the table given under the title 'For Purchase of House / Flat, Construction of House and acquisition of Site' for more details.
Hi Sreekanth,
I am working in current company since 10 years. Last year I purchased a plot (site) for which I had taken loan from LICHFL to the tune of 75% of the site cost. Currently I am not having any plans to construct the house on this site. I just want to withdraw the pf amount for repaying of the loan.
My question is :
1.Can I withdraw my PF amount partially and pay towards the outstanding loan?
2.If so, how much amount or what share or whose contribution can I withdraw partially?
Please help.
Further to the above question, I have 5 lakhs in my PF account.
My basic is currently around 25K. We have special allowance, but there is no mention of DA in the payslip. Are special allowance and DA the same ? Can i withdraw 4 lakhs from my pf account ? Please let me know.
Dear RamaKrishna,
Is your loan a land loan or composite home loan?
I believe that partial withdrawal to repay outstanding loan amount can be made only on home loan and not land loan.
Special Allowance can not be treated as DA.
Kindly refer to the table (Withdrawals from EPF A/c for Repayment of Home Loan) regarding 'admissible amount'
Hi Sreekanth, I think my loan is just a land loan. But in your website, you had mentioned that "for purchase of land or site withdrawal can be 24 months basic salary". Please let me me know if this is true in my case.
Dear Ramakrishna..I am not very sure about this scenario. As purchase of site is different from clearing of land loan. Suggest you to kindly check with your employer or EPFO.
Hi Sreekanth,
I am working in PSU since 5 yrs. I am planning to purchase a flat with Home Loan.
As the EPF rules getting complicated day-by-day, is it a better idea to withdraw money from EPF. I have around 6 lacs in EPF (3.5 employee + 2.5 employer) and my present basic is 22700 and DA is 25500. How much I can withdraw and how much time it may take.?
Dear Sanjay,
Personally I believe that PF corpus for your retirement as we do not have any kind of 'social security system'. But one can PERSONALIZE a financial plan as per his/her requirements.
I believe that you can get the amount in 30 days or so.
Hi Sreekanth, I had applied for PF loan in Feb'2016 and also got 5 lakhs disbursement. This is towards construction of my house. I was not sure about the accumulation in my account. Now that I came to know that it's more than double, I want to withdraw more funds as it's better than going for bank loan.. Can I apply the get further disbursement. Also let me know whether I can apply towards any other reason (viz.. daughters education loan, etc)
Dear Vasu,
I don't think for the same purpose you can make one more partial withdrawal.
Kindly note that details of other purposes are provided in the above article.
You can now track your EPF balance via SMS too..
I have an outstanding payment of a bank's credit card who are not helping me totget out of this situation. i got my salary today and it was ,without informing me, deducted from my account. the only way to get fund left is through my PF account. I Need it urgently so that i can clear my outstanding and that bank can release my funds back to my account so that i can clear my other bills. Please Help Me Someone. i m working in this service from last 5 years and 8 Months. Can i make withdrawal from my PF in order to clear my outstanding bills on my credit card. ?? Please Help
Dear Tanmoy ..No, one can not make a partial withdrawal to clear Credit Card dues.
Read: The Truth about settling your credit card dues..
Hi Sir, Please let me know the Gazette Notification No.G.S.R.158 E related to restriction of withdrawing the employer share .
Please let me know the status of this Notification.
Dear Murali ..Kindly read : Latest EPF withdrawal rules 2016.
Hi Sreekanth,
I have served for 5 years in my current company and just 3 days before I purchased and registered an agricultural land in my name. Can I get partial withdrawal of my EPF. If so what is the procedure or documents to be provide and how much amount can I get
Dear chethan..I believe that partial withdrawal is not allowed in this case.
Hi,
I have served 5years in x company, i would like to withdraw my PF for repayment the Home loan.
Am i eligible and what is process and documents to submit.
Regards,
Chandra
Dear Chandrakanth..Kindly go through the above points in the article..