EPF Withdrawal for Home Loans, Medical, and Retirement

Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is a savings scheme that caters to the retirement fund of an employee. Both the employee and the employer contribute to this social security program that is managed by EPFO, or Employees Provident Fund Organization. The amount accumulated over years, along with the interest earned, serves as a safety net for the employee and is paid to them at the time of retirement.

Things to Know

EPF can be withdrawn after the retirement of an individual. However, certain rules related to the Provident Fund account allow individuals to use the corpus during an emergency. Below are the three different PF withdrawal options that EPF account holders can avail.

• Withdraw PF at the time of final settlement
• Partial PF withdrawal
• Benefit of Pension withdrawal

In case of partial withdrawal, an employee can withdraw a certain percentage of the fund amount before maturity under particular situations.

Below are some situations under which an employee can prematurely have an EPF withdrawal facility.

EPF – Common Reasons to Withdraw

An individual is eligible to withdraw EPF in the below situations:

1. Due to Unemployment:

If an EPF account holder remains unemployed for over a month, they can withdraw up to 75% of the accumulated amount from the fund. In case the unemployment persists for more than 2 months, the PF account holder can withdraw the remaining 25% too.

2. For Children’s Education:

50% of the total EPF contribution can be withdrawn by the PF account holder to pay for the higher education of their children. This requires the employee to complete at least 7 years of employment.

3. For Marriage:

PF account holders can withdraw up to 50% of their contribution to the EPF fund for marriage expenses. This facility is offered if the said wedding is of the account holder, their children, or a sibling. But to withdraw funds under this provision, the PF account holder should complete at least 7 years of service or PF contribution.

 4. In the Case of Physical Disability:

As per the PF withdrawal rules 2024, differently-abled people can withdraw up to 6 months’ basic salary plus dearness allowance or the share of employee PF fund with interest, whichever is lower, to pay for equipment for their smooth movement. This was allowed to ease people’s financial burden while purchasing costly equipment.

5. Medical Emergencies:

A PF account holder is eligible to withdraw either 6 times their monthly salary or the employee’s share of accumulated fund plus interest, whichever is lower from their PF account for medical treatment. This is allowed in case of certain medical treatments and can be availed for the treatment of the account holder or their immediate family members like spouses, kids, and parents.

6. For Home Loan Repay:

PF account funds can be withdrawn by an account holder to repay the outstanding amount of their home loan. The maximum PF withdrawal limit for this purpose is up to 90% of the accumulated fund in case the house is registered under the name of the PF account holder or is jointly held with their spouse. In this case, the eligibility is that the account holder should complete a minimum of 3 years of service.

7. Home Renovation:

An employee can withdraw their PF funds for renovating and reconstructing a house. Here, the eligibility criteria require the account holder to have the house registered in their name or jointly held with the spouse. In this case, the employee should complete at least 5 years of employment to apply for this withdrawal. The employee can also withdraw as many as 12 times their monthly pay from the PF account.

8. Due to Retirement:

PF account can be withdrawn completely if the account holder is 58 years of age. Here, the employee can withdraw over 90% of the PF balance.

EPF Withdrawal – Rules 2024

EPF is a fund that serves the purpose of employees at retirement. Hence, it is better not to withdraw any amount from the PF fund unless it is an emergency. Below are some rules that should be kept in mind while withdrawing EPF prematurely.

• PF withdrawn within 5 years of service is taxable.
• No TDS is levied if the amount withdrawn is less than INR 50,000
• An employee may not withdraw PF while changing jobs/employers as they can transfer their PF account
• Rules state that an employee cannot withdraw the PF balance of employment where the individual is employed currently
• Partial withdrawal is allowed on EPF

In 2016, the Indian government made some amendments to the EPF account, as mentioned below:

• An employee can withdraw 90% of their EPF balance after 54 years of age
• An employee can withdraw up to 75% of the PF amount after leaving a job in case the person remains unemployed for 1 month. In case the unemployment continues after 1 month, the remaining 25% can also be withdrawn.

EPF Withdrawal – Documents Required 

Some compulsory documents required are:

• Universal Account Number (UAN)
• Bank account details of the EPF account holder
• Personal details of the account holder matching the identity proof of the person
• Canceled cheque (with IFSC code)

How to Withdraw PF Amount Online?

Below is the stepwise guide to filling out the EPF Claim Form online:

• Go to the EPFO member portal
• Under the ‘Our Services’ tab, select ‘For Employees’
• On the page that appears press ‘Member UAN/Online Service (OCS/OTCP)’
• You will be redirected to a new page. Log in to the page using your UAN, password, and the Captcha code
• Now, under ‘Manage’, press ‘KYC’ to get directed to a new page
• Scroll down to ‘Digitally Approved KYC’ to check your KYC details for any mistakes
• Next, go to the top menu and select ‘Online Service’ to proceed with the withdrawal
• From the drop-down menu, select ‘Claim (Form-31, 19, and 10C)’
• The page that appears will automatically generate the ‘ONLINE CLAIM (FORM 31, 19 & 10C)’
• Enter the last 4 digits of your registered bank account number and verify
• Once verified, a ‘Certificate of Undertaking’ will be generated
• Click ‘Yes’ on the certificate pop-up to proceed with online claims
• Select ‘PF ADVANCE (FORM – 31)’ from the drop-down menu
• Select the reason for claiming PF in advance from the options given next to ‘Purpose for which advance is required’
• Also, fill in the other required fields
• Next, submit the withdrawal application after checking the checkboxes
• Upload the required scanned documents
• You will get the amount in your bank account once the employer approves your withdrawal request. You will get a notification via SMS on your mobile once the claim is settled

EPF Withdrawal – Taxation 

Generally, TDS is imposed if an employee withdraws PF prematurely. However, an account holder can lower their tax liability on premature withdrawal. As per the revised EPF rules for withdrawal 2024, if funds are withdrawn after at least 5 years of employment, they will not attract TDS.

The withdrawal rules imposed recently make the EPF system more beneficial for employees by allowing them to avail of funds during an emergency.

Here are some points to remember to avoid TDS on PF withdrawal:

• TDS is deducted if PF funds are withdrawn before 5 years of employment
• 10% TDS is deducted if the PF account holder furnishes PAN, while the deduction is 20% if the account holder does not have a PAN number
• Also, TDS is not deducted if less than INR 50,000 is withdrawn

EPF Withdrawal – Online Grievances Portal  

A complaint against the EPFO’s services can be filed online through the EPF i-Grievance Management System (EPFiGMS). This platform can be used for customer complaint redressal. Employers, employees, pensioners, and all PF officials can access this service. The various services for which you can access the EPFiGMS include:

• File a grievance
• Send a reminder
• Check the status of your complaint/grievance
• Upload your grievance document
• Change your password, etc.

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