Latest Update on EPF
Five crore workers registered under Employee Provident Fund or EPF to get non-refundable advance of 75% of the amount or three months of the wages, whichever is lower, from their accounts.
Hello Everyone, in this post we will discuss PF Partial Withdrawal rules specifically for house purchase, renovation and repayment of home loan.
Some of the topics we will cover in this post are:
- What is EPF Partial withdrawal?
- Salary definition for the EPF calculation
- Purchase of Plot/ House/Flat and Construction of House
- Renovation of the house
- Repayment of Home Loan
What is EPF Partial withdrawal?
Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) enables the users to partially withdraw or take advance from their PF amount in certain scenarios.
Some of the common situations are; the purchase or construction of a house, repayment of the loan, non-receipt of salary for 2 months, for the marriage of self/daughter/son/brother, for medical treatment of self or family member, etc.
There are variations in the limit on the amount which can be withdrawn and they need to meet specific criteria to be eligible for the withdrawal. You can also apply online through EPFO’s member’s portal for partial withdrawal.
The computation of PF partial withdrawal is based on your monthly salary or contributions made till time.
Salary definition for the EPF calculation
Salary = Basic + Dearness Allowance. Thus the salary here is not your take-home salary. Therefore, the ‘no.of years of service’ is the total no.of years the employee has worked to EPF. It can be under single or multiple employers.
It is not mandatory to refund the withdrawal amount under normal conditions. However, if you did not utilize this amount, it should be refunded with penal interest.
The Purchase of Plot/ House/Flat and Construction of House
As per the PF scheme, an employee can withdraw money from his / her PF after 3 years of contribution to the purchase of a plot/house/flat.
An employee 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.
The plot where construction happens can be owned by the employee or employee spouse, or jointly by both. The amount depends on the purpose for which the loan is taken.
Different purposes for PF withdrawal under housing
- For purchasing a plot, the maximum withdrawal amount is 24 months’ basic salary and dearness allowance (DA). This is subject to a maximum of the lower of either the balance in PF account or the cost of the plot.
- If a loan is taken to purchase or construct a house then it is 36 months of basic salary and DA, with the maximum again subject to lower of balance in the PF account or cost of the house.
- Note: you can not claim the withdrawal of PF if purchase property jointly with anybody else, except with spouse.
- Note: If the plot is being bought from a builder directly, then the minimum PF membership is considered as 5 years.
Important points to note:
In case of withdrawal, the construction should start within 6 months and completed within 12 months of the withdrawal.
In case if the amount is to buy a ready house, the purchase should be completed within 6 months.
The withdrawals for purchase or construction can be also made in one or more installments, depending on the conditions.
The EPF balance must be more than Rs.20,000 and if the spouse is also the EPF member, then the combined balance will be considered for eligibility.
If the amount of such withdrawal is more than the actual cost of obtaining the property, then the excess amount has to be returned to EPFO in parts within 30 days from the date of allotment or completion of the project or alteration of house, etc.
In case, the EPF advance amount is not utilized, the complete amount has to be returned to the EFPO account within 15 days.
| Purchase of House / Flat, Construction of House and acquisition of Site | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sl. No | Purpose of Withdrawal | Years of Service | Eligible Amount | No. of Withdrawals | Any declaration required? |
| 1 | Purchase of Land | 3 years w.e.f April 2017 | 90% of EPF Balance or total cost, whichever is less | Once in working life | Not Required |
| 2 | Purchase of House/Flat | ||||
| 3 | Construction of House | ||||
Renovation of the house
The employee can withdraw from their PF account, for making additions or improvements to a residential house that is owned by self or spouse or jointly.
This withdrawal can only be availed, after 5 years from completion of the house. It can be availed, even if the withdrawal facility for purchase or construction of the house is not availed.
Therefore, the amount eligible to withdraw, for renovation, is 12 months’ basic salary and DA, subject to lower of the balance relatable to the employee’s share with interest in PF account or the cost of such improvement.
The employee can also avail of the withdrawal facility again, only after 10 years from the first withdrawal, subject to the same eligibility criteria, vis-à-vis the amount.
| Repair/Renovation of house | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sl. No | Purpose of Withdrawal | Years of Service | Eligible Amount | No. of Withdrawals | Any declaration required? |
| 1 | Repair/Renovation of the house | 5 years from completion of house construction | 12 months basic salary and DA or Employee’s share with interest or Total cost, whichever is less | Once in working life | Not Required |
Repayment of Home Loan
An employee can prepay the home loan by withdrawing the PF amount.
For the withdrawal, the employee should have reached at least 10 years of service. The withdrawal is done through the From 31 (form for EPF partial withdrawal).
The withdrawal amount sanctioned for this reason:
- 36 times of monthly salary (or)
- Total contribution (or)
- The total outstanding home loan amount
| Repayment of Home Loan | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sl. No | Purpose of Withdrawal | Years of Service | Eligible Amount | No. of Withdrawals | Any declaration required? |
| 1 | Repayment of outstanding Home Loan | 10 years | 36 months basic salary and DA or Total of Employer & Employee’s share with interest or Total outstanding principal & interest, whichever is less | Once in working life | Certificate from bank mentioning outstanding principal & interest |
Here we come to an end of the post on EPF partial withdrawal rules for house purchase, renovation, and repayment of home loan. Let us know your views and opinions in the comments below.
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40 Comments
Hi
I have applied PF withdrawn for house purchase, almost 25 days completed, still it was in under process status. Actually how many days will take to completely the process ??
SIR
I HAVE APPLIED CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSE IN 2020 ITS CLIAMED SO NOW CAN WE APLLIED FOR ALTERNATION FOR HOUSE ITS ACCEPTED OR NOT PLZ TELL
Yes, you can apply
I have applied for construction of house in Jan 2021, now I want to apply for addition/alternation of house. So can my application will be accepted
Yes. It can be applied
One can claim amount from EPF giving false reasons also as no documents are required in many cases. Please clarify.
There is no document verification in online claim. hence, employees are required to be aware of the consequences in case of false claim.
I need to apply to PF Advance for home renovation. I have 6 yrs 11 months of service. Can i avail this if the home is owned by my parents and I am staying with them?
No . The Home has to be in your name
I have taken Home Loan from Bajaj Housing Finance Limited. I have applied for PF Advance from Company’s PF Trust for Home Loan Repayment but Trust have denied the request stating that I am not eligible for PF advance as I have taken loan from Bajaj Finance and Pvt institution doesn’t come in this category.
Any RBI recognized financial institute can be considered for HOME Loan. Hence this should not be a problem for you to with the amount
I want to avail EMPLOYERS Share of EPF.
Under which head I can claim online?
What is the maximum amount I can claim from EMPLOYERS share.
Please reply.
Claim is done together from both account. We cannot specify as Employer or employee account. Claim is done online via your UAN account.
I have applied for withdrawal of pf for purchase of a flat. First tine raised it as purchase from promoter. This got rejected stating promoter details required. Second time raised it as purchase of flat from builder. The request was rejected stating “my eps acct is linked to my previous companies epf acct and not to my current epf acct”
I had requested for 20 lakhs. Have 35 lks in my epf.
What are my options here?
First link all your PF account to a single UAN number and then request
I have taken EPF advance for House renovation in June 2022. I need fund to purchase a plot for construction of House, when can I apply for the advance for this purpose
If your account has the required amount, you can claim any time
I have raised advance claim against purchase of flat from promoter, now can see status updated as claim rejected promoter details needed. What should be done and where should the document be loaded
Please raise an online claim again
I asked for claim of Rs. 500000 for renovation but received only Rs. 376000, why so?
The withdrawal is based on conditions. Hence, you might have received less.
I had applied for pf withdrawl in 2014 for construction. Now I want avail Pf for renovation . Will my pf be sanctioned?
Yes. You can
Hello,
I have to withdraw partial amount from my PF for house renovation. What is the maximum time they will take for the money to be credited in my account
IT depends on the process and may take around 5 – 30 days
Under “eligibility” what is the “Total cost” means, is it cost for additional construction /renovation of the house estimate?
If it is for renovation then the total renovation cost.
I applied advance against purchase of flat from promoter through epfo online. But got rejected by giving two remarks:-
1. account details of promoter required
2. canceled cheque required of promoter account.
But there is no such facility available to provide above two required details in RPFO portal.
Pl suggest
Please contact your EPF office.
Can any employee withdraw his /her P.F. contribution for house construction or renovation of house property which is owned by his father (father’s property) and how much the amount.
For PF partial withdrawal, the house has to be owned by you either single or jointly
Hi,
I have a doubt about the EPS, My service period is 13 years, Now i am going to move abroad permanently. Is there any possibility to withdraw my EPs balance?
NO, you cannot
What documents are required to be submitted if we want to withdraw PF under Construction of House?
No documents are required as the claim is done online.
I have worked from Jan 2013 to July 2016 under EPF scheme with private employer. After July 2016 I started working under NPS scheme with Central govt
my EPF balance is 66k + pension amount 32k
can I withdraw the 90% of 66k?
and after that, can I transfer my remaining amount to NPS?
Hi,
I have withdrawn EPF once for repayment of home loan for my one house.
Can I withdraw from EPF for down payment of my second house? As per above tables, it looks I can take. Appreciate if this is clarified!
No, You cannot.
Thank you, found this website helpful which other have not mentioned at very micro level.
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