Provident Fund Withdrawal Rules

The EPFO has also launched the UAN (Universal Account Number) which has enabled subscribers to merge multiple PF accounts as well as make withdrawals from their account without the attestation of their employer – provided that they have seeded their Aadhaar card details with their UAN.

Types of PF Withdrawals

Subscribers can make three different types of PF withdrawals on the EPFO member portal. They are:

PF final settlement
PF partial withdrawal
Pension withdrawal benefit

Subscribers can make the above listed withdrawals on the EPFO member portal with the attestation of their employer if they have seeded their Aadhaar card details with their UAN.

Latest PF Withdrawal Rules 2017-2018

In order to ensure that employees continue to be enrolled in the scheme and avoid making withdrawals from their PF corpus and instead save it for the future or for retirement.

EPFO has listed a number of PF withdrawal rules. They are as follows.

All withdrawals made before completion of 5 years of continuous service are subject to tax. Withdrawals after completion of 5 years of continuous service in the EPF are tax free.
If in case the employee was terminated or is unemployed as a result of ill-health and so on, withdrawals will not attract tax.
If the employee makes a withdrawal before the completion of 5 continuous years in the scheme, the principal amount as well as the interest accrued is subject to tax. That said, the amount will be taxable in the current financial year.
For withdrawals before completion of 5 continuous years towards the scheme, the employee will be taxed 30% of the principal amount and the interest accrued if he/she has not submitted their PAN to the EPFO authorities. If the employee has submitted his/her PAN details to the EPFO authorities, 10% TDS (tax deducted from source) will be applicable.
Funds transferred from one’s PF account towards the National Pension Scheme (NPS)) will not attract tax when one makes a withdrawal.
If the employee shifts jobs and in the process has different PF account, it will be considered as continuous service to the scheme provided there has been no gap in contributions.
Employees have to facilitate the use of the Composite Claims Form to make a partial withdrawal or a final settlement claim.
If the employee has seeded his/her Aadhaar card details with their UAN, they can submit the Composite Claims Form to make a withdrawal directly to the EPFO without the requirement of the attestation of their employer. Those who have not seeded their Aadhaar card details with their UAN have to submit the Composite Claims Form with the attestation of their employer to make a withdrawal.

Reasons for PF withdrawal:

Subscribers can make a complete or partial withdrawal under the following circumstances:

If the member has reached the age of retirement.
If he/she needs to fund their house construction or pay their home loan.
To cover medical expenses.
To cover wedding or education expenses.
If they have been unemployed for a duration of more than 60 days or two months.
If they wish to move permanently abroad.
If a female employee is resigning due to reasons such as pregnancy, childbirth, getting married, etc.

Limits of EPF Partial Withdrawal:

Employees can make withdrawals based on the below listed circumstances. Listed below is the withdrawal purpose, the minimum service requirement to be eligible to make the withdrawal, the PF withdrawal limit and the relations for who the employee can make the withdrawal.

PF withdrawal reason	Minimum service	PF Withdrawal Limit	Relations
House Construction or purchase of plot	3 years	90% of PF balance	The PF account holder and spouse or joint
Home Loan Repayment	3 years	90% of PF balance	The PF account holder and spouse or joint
House renovation or alteration	5 years from completion of house	12 times of the basic salary or employee share with interest (whichever is lower)	The PF account holder and spouse or joint
Marriage	7 years	50% of PF balance	The PF account holder, siblings and children
Medical treatment	Not required	6 times of his or her monthly salary or total corpus (whichever is lower)	The PF account holder, parents, spouse or children.

Requirements for PF Withdrawal:

To ensure the process of making a withdrawal is seamless, subscribers have to meet the below listed requirements if they wish to carry out a withdrawal without the attestation of their employer.

Subscribers have to ensure that their UAN is active and their mobile number is seeded with their PF account.
The PF member should also seed his/her Aadhaar card details with their PF account.
The member’s bank account details and the bank’s IFSC code has to be integrated as well.
For final settlements prior to completion of 5 years in the EPF scheme, the member will be required to seed his/her PAN details.

Apply EPF Balance Withdrawal Online(EPFO Portal)

Employees can make a PF withdrawal claim on the EPFO member portal by following the steps mentioned below. As already mentioned, if the employee has seeded his/her Aadhaar card details with one’s UAN account, they do not require the attestation of their employer to make a PF withdrawal.

Visit the EPFO member portal.
Login using your UAN and password, or registered mobile number, or Aadhaar card details, etc.
Choose the “for employees” tab.
Click on the “manage” tab and check your KYC details to ensure they are correct.
Click on the “Online service” tab to proceed with the withdrawal if all the KYC details are correct.
Choose “claim” from the drop down menu.
Select the “proceed for claim” tab on the claim screen that includes one’s KYC and PF details.
On the “I want to apply for” option, choose the type of withdrawal you wish to make – final settlement, partial withdrawal, pension withdrawal, etc.
Once you select the type of claim you wish to make, fill in the composite claims form and authenticate using your Aadhaar card details.
Enter the OTP sent to your registered mobile number.
Once your claim for a withdrawal or final settlement has been made, you can check your claim status by clicking on the “track claim” tab.

Tax Free Limit for PF Withdrawals

In the case of partial withdrawals before completion of 5 continuous years towards the scheme, the employee will be taxed (TDS) 30% of the principal amount and the interest accrued if he/she has not submitted their PAN to the EPFO authorities. If the employee has submitted his/her PAN details to the EPFO authorities, 10% TDS (tax deducted from source) will be applicable.