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 Also, EPF withdrawals are liable to income tax if withdrawn before five years of service.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
Hello, I have worked with 3 different companies.
1. I've worked for 6 years with one company and already withdrawn EPF.
2. In the 2nd company I've worked for 3 years (June 2012-June 2015) and joined a new firm. Transfered my EPF money to new firm's EPF account in June 2015.
Am I eligible to withdraw my EPF money to book a flat? If yes, how much? If no, when I will be eligible for the same.
Kind regards, Amit Upadhyay
Dear Amit,
As you have withdrawn PF balance from the first EPF a/c, it is not counted while calculating total contribution period.
If your contribution to EPF scheme in 2nd & current company is > 5 years then you can apply for partial withdrawal to buy a Flat.
Hi. Hello. I want to withdraw my pf for purchase of land. I have lands agreement photo copy and the agreement between me and the existing owner. Is this enough to withdraw? Which form i have to submit? To whom i should address it?
Dear Harishh,
You can submit 'Declaration form' (provided in the above article) to EPFO directly, in case you are submitting <a UAN based Partial Withdrawal form 31.
Hi SR,
I want to construct the house,as the property(land) is in my spouse name and completed 5.5 years in a company, can i withdraw the PF amount.
Yes dear Nithin , you can apply for partial withdrawal for the said purpose.
thanks
Hi Srikant
Iam applying for PF advance for Alteration of my house, however in the declaration form point 4 which is " authority which approved site plan with reference no and date ', I dont have this since my property is only a Khatta land and not an approved site, my question is will i get my advance in such case.
Thanks in advance
Dear Ganesh,
Based on my interactions with other blog readers who had similar issue, you should get the advance amount.
Thanks u
Dear SR,
I am working in a private company and completed 3.2 years of service. Now please advice me if i can withdraw my PF advance in case of medical treatment?
I am eligible of loan or Not?
If yes than what is the procedure for withdrawal?
Thanks & Regards,
Vishal Bhardwaj
Dear Vishal,
Yes, you can make partial withdrawal for the said purpose.
A doctor [ or registered medical practitioner] of the hospital should certify that a surgical operation (or) hospitalization for 1 month or more is/was necessary.
You have to submit proof of hospitalization, leave certificate along with Form 31, in case the funds are for your own treatment.
Hello Sir,
I want to apply EPF partial withdrawal for new house purchase. but i have completed my 4 year of service. should i able to apply for withdrawal or not please suggest.
Dear Vaibhav..minimum 5 years is the criteria..
sir i want to apply for pf advance under medical reason heart ailment.i wanted to know that do i need to attached the certificate of hospitalization as i didnt go for hospitalization but treatment from specialist docter.and do i need to attach the certificate of leave and will i have to attach a separete medical certificate or medical certificate in annexure C i sufficient.
Dear RS Jha,
A doctor [ or registered medical practitioner] of the hospital should certify that a surgical operation (or) hospitalization for 1 month or more is/was necessary.
You have to submit proof of hospitalization, leave certificate along with Form 31, in case the funds are for your own treatment.
Hello Shreekanth - I had applied for PF withdrawal around 15 days back following the new UAN process. Form 10C got approved and i received the money in my account on the 11th working day, however for Form 19 got rejected since i did not fill the form 15G applicable. Details mentioned below,
STATUS for Member ID: APHYD00732310000005075
Claim ID : APHYD161100019185
Status : Claim Form 19 for PF Settlement AGAINST Member Account No (APHYD00732310000005075) has been rejected. Rejection letter is under dispatch/ dispatched to address in your claim form.
Reason of rejection: FORM 15 G / 15H
Remarks by DA/AO:SUBMIT F-15G AND COPY OF PAN CARD SINCE AMOUNT IS MORE THAN 50000/- AND LESS THAN 5YRS OF SERVICE/OK
Claim ID : APHYD161100019187
Status : Claim Form 10C for Withdrawal Benefit AGAINST Member Account No (APHYD00732310000005075) has been approved. Payment is under process.
Question:
1. Should i apply again with both the forms or just Form 19 which got rejected.
2. I have already applied again with both the forms and the requisite documents but i fail to see the update on the PF claim status as it still show me the last update mentioned above. Kindly Guide.
Regards
Rohit
Dear Rohit,
1 - Only Form 19, with Form 15G, cancelled cheque leaf & copy of pan card.
2 - Kindly wait for few more days and check the status..
Dear Sir,
I have completed 3year and 5 month EPFO account can I withdraw full amount for repayment of my Mortgauge loan account repayment. Bank is taking 11.7% interest on that loan. previously they are taking 12.25% . just now rates are down.
Can withdraw full amount?
Thanks & Regards,
Jayprakash
Dear Jayprakash ..minimum 10 years contribution period is required to make a partial withdrawal for the said purpose.
I completed 2.5yrs with a company and resigned in 2012 for personal reasons. Then i withdrew my complete PF amount after 2 months. Then after a break i rejoined the same company in 2014 and i completed 2.5yrs now. So for 5yrs service can the employment with same company earlier for 2.5yrs can be considered? If so what is the process for withdrawal and how much amount i can withdraw for a house purchase
Dear Girish,
No, reason being you have withdrawn the monies from your old EPF a/c.
Hi Sreekanth,
I have a query about PF withdrawal for repayment of housing loan.
I have completed 12 years of service as of now. Around 4.5 years back, I had withdrawn some amount from my PF Account for "Purchase of flat". My query is - Can I withdraw for repayment of housing loan for the same flat ?
Regards,
Raghu
Dear Raghu,
I believe you can..