Some of the post office saving schemes qualify for income tax benefits.

India Post provides nine types of small saving schemes at its designated branches, including the Public Provident Fund (PPF) and the Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS). For the quarter ending December 31, the government has kept the interest rates on small savings schemes unchanged at existing levels. Currently, the interest rates on the nine small savings schemes - which also include the Monthly Income Scheme (MIS) and the Kisan Vikas Patra certificates - are revised by the government every quarter.

Investment in the small savings schemes fetches returns to the tune of 4-8.6 per cent, according to the website of India Post (indiapost.gov.in), which has a network of more than 1.5 lakh branches across the country. (Also read: This Is The Minimum Investment You Need To Set Up A Post Office Account)

Here are the interest rates applicable to small savings schemes such as the PPF for the third quarter of the current financial year:

Small saving scheme Rate of interest Compounding frequency Post Office Savings Deposit 4.00% Annually One-Year Time Deposit 6.90% Quarterly Two-Year Time Deposit 6.90% Quarterly Three-Year Time Deposit 6.90% Quarterly Five-Year Time Deposit 7.70% Quarterly Five-Year Recurring Deposit 7.20% Quarterly Five-Year Senior Citizen Savings Scheme 8.60% Quarterly and paid Five-Year Monthly Income Scheme 7.60% Monthly and paid Five-Year National Savings Certificate 7.90% Annually Public Provident Fund Scheme 7.90% Annually Kisan Vikas Patra 7.60% Annually Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme 8.40% Annually

(Source: indiapost.gov.in)

Some of these post office saving schemes qualify for income tax benefits.