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 Also, EPF withdrawals are liable to income tax if withdrawn before five years of service.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
Can we withdraw twice from epf ???? Or any condition applied???
Dear Rajinder ..It depends on the purpose of withdrawal.
For ex : If the partial withdrawal is for 'medical treatment' then it can be claimed multiple times.
Dear Sreekanth,
I have applied for partial withdraw on 23rd April, 2018 via online. Do I have to submit any document?
How long it will take to credit in my account?
Please help on this.
Dear Amit,
No documents are required to be submitted..
Generally online claims are settled within 10 to 15 business days.
Hi, I have been working for past 5 years and hope i would be eligible for getting partial withdraw through online claim and i have done via EPFO member login but still now the status is under process may i know when i can get the amount into my account?
Second point - i have worked for 2 years in my previous concern and i have opted for PF transfer to my current company only Employee share and Employer share has been transferred to my current PF account
but Employer's share on Pension - EPS amount of 13500 is not been transferred to my current PF account?
May i know why it is not been transferred or whether can i claim it through offline mode or whether it cannot be claimed and only on retirement it can be claimed.
please advise!!!
Dear Kothandaraman,
On successful EPF transfer, kindly note that EPS also gets transferred, but it wont get reflected in Passbook. However, the service period and EPS contributions do get carried forward.
EPS full balance can be withdrawn before the completion of 10 year service period.
Thanks for you valuable reply.
So i can get my full EPS amount which is been carry forward from previous company and also from my current company - only when i choose relieving my current company.
Am i right?
Dear Kothandaraman,
Yes. EPF can be withdrawn before you complete 10 year service period.
As per your comments EPS full balance can be withdrawn before the completion of 10 year service period - My total working experience is more than 5 years.
So i think i am eligible to withdraw this amount. Can you guide me how to withdraw this amount?
Also I have initiated partial withdraw of Rs.25000/- on 18-April-2018 through online claim form and it is under process
Can you guide me how long it will take to credit this amount into my account?
Dear Kothandaraman,
If you are unemployed for minimum 2 months then you can withdraw EPS balance by submitting form 10c (online/offline).
Online claims are generally settled and paid within 10 to 15 business days. But, looks like there has been lot of tech issues during the Apr month, that could be the reason for the delay.
Read : Online EPF Claim submission : Process Flow & Eligibility Conditions
Hi Mr Reddy,
Greetings!
I have completed 8.5 years of services and now applied for advance PF for buying a property.
Appreciate if you clarify.
1. I have applied for amount which is 90%.
2. I applied it online, advice if any other application and doc is required.
3. Would it be taxable.
Thanks a bunch is advance for your guidance
Regards,
Nishant
Dear Nishant,
1 - The terms & conditions are as below;
Purchase of House/Flat through a Society / Housing Agency : If withdrawal application is through a Society then minimum years is 3 years. ( through a registered society or houses/flats being constructed through forming a society.) – Section 68 BD. In this case, 90% of EPF balance is payable as an Advance.
Purchase of House/Flat directly from a Builder : In this case, the Membership service criteria to withdraw is still considered as 5 years only. – they refer to Section 68B.
For purchase of site directly from builder :
24 month’s basic wages and DA.
For purchase of house/flat/construction:
36 month’s basic wages and DA
OR
Total of employee and employer share with interest
OR
Total cost.
Whichever is least will be allowed as withdrawal.
2 - No documents need to be submitted.
3 - No.
Dear Srikanth sir, I applied for pf advance on 19-04-2018 and claim is settled on 2-05-18 .. but next day money not credited to my bank account...but in pf passbook money already debited...after claim settled it will credited to my bank account or not ?
Note : In my all records my name is "Mutyala Kalyan Kumar" but in bank account it is "Kalyan Kumar Mutyala"
Is it a problem ??...and iam using this bank account from joining onwards,and starting onwards my salary is also credited to this account...plzz tell me sir can I get my money or not
Dear Kalyan,
You may get the amount in few days..
I have already withdrawn partial pf & requested for withdrawn again through online.its been one month now the amount is still not in my bank.pls help.
Dear Jayashree .. You may submit your grievance to the epfo..click here..
Hi Shreekant,
Can i cancel EPF advanced claim which i have been applied on 11th Apr 2018 for Medical reason.
Please guide me.
Regards
Sagar Kosumbkar
Dear sagar ..I dont think there is any online provision to cancel/edit already submitted withdrawal claim requests.
You may submit your grievance to the EPFO..click here..
In case, you receive response from them, kindly update the information here, can be useful to all of us, thank you!
Dear Sir/Mam,
I have left the organisation in 2016 but still my employer has not updated my last working day or leaving date and reason for leaviong on online portal i need a funds for some medical reason so i have applied for the EPFO advance, but i need to settle my entire amount what should i do as my company is not supportive.
Please call me and help me out with this situation.
Dear Priyanka,
You may go for offline PF full withdrawal..kindly go through this article....
Hello
I applied for pf advance on 17th April In my pf passbook it is showing money as withdrawal but not credited to my account still in website it is showing current status as under process In umang app it is showing status Under process Please help me what to do already 10 days over Kindly help me
Dear Naveenkumar ,
You may kindly submit your grievance to the epfo..click here..
Hi sir , I applied for pf advance on 19th April .. In my pf passbook it is showing money as withdrawal but not credited to my account still...in website it is showing current status as under process... In umang app it is showing status no available.... Please help me what to do..already 10 days over...
Dear Kalyan ..You may submit your grievance to the epfo..click here..
Hello Mr Reddy, For Medical purpose I have partially withdrawn money 7 times via online portal. This time I tried to withdraw, I got this message in red "MAXIMUM NUMBER OF ONLINE CLAIM SUBMISSION HAVE BEEN EXEED, PLEASE SUBMIT CLAIM THROUGH PHYSICAL MODE" Please let me know if any now process has been emerged because as per what my understanding is , there is no limitation on medical claims.
Dear sourav,
As long as there is a withdrawable balance, one can withdraw partial PF for the purpose of medical treatment multiple times.
I am not sure if this is a new guideline..
You may kindly check with your employer as well.
If I submit how many days will take to solve my problem....what is the process....please explain s