What Are Tax Liabilities on Premature Withdrawal of Pf?

Provident fund plans benefits will be enjoyed by the salaried employees after their retirement. This is also known as Pension fund. This fund collects 12% of salary every month into the Employees' Provident Fund account.

The purpose of such a retirement benefit plan is to gather a significant amount of money. This money is for the employees to meet their post-retirement needs. There is a streamlined notice issued by EPF council. As per the notice, 75% of the pension fund can be withdrawn by employees after one month of unemployment. But the last 25% is transferable after his new employment in the new employer custody.

There are majorly two withdrawal norms.

1. Final recompense of PF.
2. Partial recompense of PF.

Employees who wish to exercise any of the above options can raise a request on their EPFO portal. The request should support an application approved by the employer. Withdrawal can be done easily if employees have linked their Aadhaar details with UAN. EPFO does not favour treating PF money as a bank account deposit. The social security benefits under the provident fund scheme can only be driven on specific conditions. Such a condition is a constant contribution towards provident fund by the employer.

Tax liability arises on the amount that is withdrawn before completion of steady service of 5 years. But any amount withdrawn after completion of continuous service of 5 years is tax-free. Tax implications may differ when an employee gets jobless due to an unsure event such as injury or accident. In such a situation, PF withdrawal by them will not be taxable.

Tax implication will change for employees withdrawing Pension funds before five years of continuous service. Now the amount of principal and interest both will be taxable in the current financial year. Tax rates are divided into two categories. Depending upon employees who have submitted or not, their PAN details to UAN authorities. Flat 10% tax rate is applicable to the amount accrued till date for employees furnishing necessary details. On the other hand, a flat 30% TDS rate is applicable to those employees who haven't submitted their details.

Investment in a National Pension Scheme from PF account is advisable in case of PF withdrawal. Subsequently, withdrawing funds from NPS is tax-free in the hands of employees. This is an effective way to save tax on PF withdrawal.

The continuous phase of service can be deemed when employees switch between the organizations. Therefore, the PF account of the old employer is transferred to a new employer. This will not count as a pause in the employee's service cycle.

Employees can withdraw funds from their EPF accounts in a full or partial settlement. But the withdrawal before retirement is allowed only under the following situations.

• On attaining the age of retirement.

• If any EPF account holder has a home loan which they need to repay or foreclose.

• In order to pay off medical bills.

• On being jobless for a period of 60 days or 2 months as the case may be.

• For repairs and alteration of the existing house.

• To meet marriage or education cost.

Sometimes employees omit to enter or wrongly mention the exit date in their resignation documents. In such situations, they might face some adverse consequences of it. This may lead to a delay in their PF withdrawal. Hence to solve this issue here is an effective option. The Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has come up with a facility in the form of a Unified Account Portal. Here employees can enter the date of exit from their previous employer. Earlier this facility of entering exit date is available only to employers. Now employees can also add their exit date by their own. By using Unified Account Number (UAN) and password one can easily add the exit date. So always cross verify the entered details. Click on 'Service History' under the 'View on top panel ' tab to verify. In order to avoid any unusual situation in future always do the recheck.

There are many retirement plans offered by employers to secure the future of employees. The Provident Fund is measured as the most reliable option among all. An EPF account which is lying dormant for more than 3 years still continues to earn interest on their funds. Moreover, contributory membership of 10 years in PF, ensures life-long pension to the members. Premature withdrawal is another helpful option of PF, and this should be used only in urgency. I hope this article helps both employers as well as employees. Be aware and understand properly the benefits and tax implications of provident funds.