CPF Accrued Interest Calculator
Estimate the CPF refund owed back to your account when you sell — the principal used plus 2.5% per annum accrued interest — and the cash left after repaying the loan, computed with CPF Board rules.
CPF Accrued Interest Calculator
2.5% p.a. refund owed to CPF on sale · 2026
Not a penalty. The refund returns to your own CPF Ordinary Account and can fund your next home or retirement. Figures are estimates using annual compounding; CPF computes interest monthly. Check your exact figure in your CPF home ownership dashboard.
Refund Summary
2.5% P.A.Principal versus accrued interest
The refund is the CPF principal you used plus the interest it would have earned at 2.5% in your Ordinary Account. The longer you hold, the larger the accrued-interest share.
Refund composition
Accrued interest over time
The total refund grows each year as 2.5% compounds on the CPF used. This chart shows the refund building over your holding period.
Cash left after sale
On sale, the outstanding loan and selling costs are paid, then the CPF principal plus accrued interest is refunded to your CPF OA. What remains is your cash.
Year-by-year accrued interest
How the principal, cumulative accrued interest, and total refund grow across the holding period.
| Year | Principal used | Accrued interest | Total refund |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | SGD 150,000 | SGD 3,750 | SGD 153,750 |
| Year 5 | SGD 150,000 | SGD 19,711 | SGD 169,711 |
| Year 10 | SGD 150,000 | SGD 42,013 | SGD 192,013 |
How CPF accrued interest works
When you use CPF OA for property, those funds stop earning the 2.5% OA interest. CPF tracks what they would have earned and requires the principal plus that accrued interest to be refunded to your CPF account when you sell. Per CPF Board.
| CPF used | After 5 yrs | After 10 yrs | After 15 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| SGD 100,000 | SGD 113,141 | SGD 128,008 | SGD 144,830 |
| SGD 200,000 | SGD 226,282 | SGD 256,017 | SGD 289,660 |
| SGD 300,000 | SGD 339,422 | SGD 384,025 | SGD 434,490 |
CPF Accrued Interest — Rates, Examples & Formulas
The 2.5% accrued interest rule, worked examples by CPF used and holding period, and how the refund affects sale proceeds — sourced from CPF Board.
The Rule
CPF used for property must be repaid with interest on sale.
SGD 300,000 Used
Total refund on a lump sum at 2.5% compounding.
On Sale
Order in which sale proceeds are applied.
Accrued Interest Worked Examples (Lump Sum)
Total CPF refund (principal plus accrued interest) for a lump sum used at purchase, at 2.5% annual compounding. Per CPF Board.
| CPF used | After 5 yrs | After 10 yrs | After 15 yrs | After 20 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SGD 100,000 | SGD 113,141 | SGD 128,008 | SGD 144,830 | SGD 163,862 |
| SGD 200,000 | SGD 226,282 | SGD 256,017 | SGD 289,660 | SGD 327,723 |
| SGD 300,000 | SGD 339,422 | SGD 384,025 | SGD 434,489 | SGD 491,585 |
| SGD 400,000 | SGD 452,563 | SGD 512,034 | SGD 579,319 | SGD 655,447 |
How the Refund Affects Sale Proceeds
On sale, the outstanding loan and selling costs are paid first, then the CPF principal and accrued interest are refunded to your CPF OA before you receive any cash. Per CPF Board.
| Step | Amount (example) | Running balance |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | SGD 900,000 | SGD 900,000 |
| Less outstanding loan | − SGD 400,000 | SGD 500,000 |
| Less selling costs | − SGD 16,000 | SGD 484,000 |
| Less CPF refund (150k used, 10 yrs) | − SGD 192,013 | SGD 291,987 |
| Cash to seller | SGD 291,987 | SGD 291,987 |
CPF Accrued Interest News
CPF Board updates on accrued interest — the 2.5% Ordinary Account rate, the refund obligation on sale, compounding, and pledged amounts.
CPF used for property must be refunded with 2.5% accrued interest on sale
When you sell, the CPF Ordinary Account savings you used for the property must be refunded — principal plus accrued interest at 2.5% per annum — to your CPF account before you receive any cash. It is not a penalty; the refund replenishes your retirement savings.
How the refund grows
- SGD 300,000 used → ~SGD 339,000 after 5 years
- SGD 300,000 used → ~SGD 384,000 after 10 years
- SGD 300,000 used → ~SGD 434,000 after 15 years
Plan ahead
Model your refund and the cash left after sale in the CPF accrued interest calculator.
The accrued interest rate is the 2.5% Ordinary Account rate
Accrued interest is charged at the Ordinary Account rate of 2.5% per annum — the interest the CPF used would have earned had it stayed in your OA. CPF compounds this on a monthly basis from each withdrawal date.
Why 2.5%
It restores the OA interest foregone while the money was tied up in the property, keeping your retirement savings whole.
Rate changes
The OA rate is reviewed by CPF Board; if it changes, the accrued interest rate follows.
Lump-sum and monthly CPF use accrue interest differently
A lump sum used at purchase compounds at 2.5% for the whole holding period. CPF used monthly for instalments accrues interest on each contribution from its own date, so the accrued interest builds up gradually rather than all at once.
Practical effect
Two buyers using the same total CPF can owe different accrued interest depending on how early the money was withdrawn.
Estimate both
The calculator models a lump sum, monthly instalments, or both together.
CPF Accrued Interest — Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the 2.5% accrued interest rule, how it is calculated, and what it means when you sell — sourced from CPF Board.
When you use CPF Ordinary Account (OA) savings for a property, those funds stop earning the 2.5% OA interest. CPF tracks the interest they would have earned — the accrued interest — and requires the principal plus accrued interest to be refunded to your CPF account when you sell the property.
CPF Board — Home OwnershipNo. It is not a penalty. The refund goes back into your own CPF Ordinary Account, replenishing your retirement savings. It exists so that using CPF for property does not permanently reduce the retirement funds you would otherwise have accumulated.
CPF Board — Home OwnershipThe accrued interest rate is the Ordinary Account rate of 2.5% per annum, compounded. This is the interest the CPF used would have earned had it stayed in your OA. The rate is set by CPF Board and can change.
CPF Board — Interest RatesFor a lump sum used at purchase, the refund is principal × (1.025) raised to the number of years held. For CPF used monthly to service instalments, each contribution compounds at 2.5% from its own date, so the accrued interest builds up gradually over the holding period.
CPF Board — Home OwnershipAt 2.5% compounding, SGD 300,000 of CPF used grows to about SGD 339,000 after 5 years, SGD 384,000 after 10 years, and SGD 434,000 after 15 years — the last carrying roughly SGD 134,000 of accrued interest. The longer you hold, the larger the accrued-interest share of the refund.
CPF Board — Home OwnershipCPF computes accrued interest on a monthly compounding basis. This calculator uses annual compounding for simplicity, so the estimate is close but may differ slightly from your exact CPF figure. Your authoritative amount is shown in your CPF home ownership dashboard.
CPF Board — Home OwnershipOn sale, the sale proceeds first repay the outstanding housing loan and selling costs, then the CPF principal plus accrued interest is refunded to your CPF Ordinary Account before you receive any cash. Whatever remains after these deductions is your cash.
CPF Board — Home OwnershipYes, it can. If the property has not appreciated enough, the loan repayment plus the CPF refund can absorb most or all of the sale proceeds, leaving little or no cash. This is why the refund obligation is worth modelling before you sell — though the refunded amount still returns to your CPF OA.
CPF Board — Home OwnershipIf you pledged the property to make up part of your retirement sum, that pledged amount is also refunded to your Retirement Account on sale, in addition to the CPF principal and accrued interest. This calculator estimates the principal-plus-accrued-interest refund; check pledged amounts separately.
CPF Board — Home OwnershipFor long-term owners of well-located property, capital appreciation often exceeds the accrued interest, so the refund is comfortably covered by the higher sale price. Buyers who sell in a down market or shortly after buying may find the refund leaves less cash than expected.
CPF Board — Home OwnershipUsing less CPF and more cash for instalments reduces the accrued-interest that builds up, since interest only accrues on the CPF actually used. This is a trade-off between short-term cash flow and the size of the eventual refund. Model both approaches with your own figures.
CPF Board — Home OwnershipYour exact CPF used and accrued interest are shown in your CPF home ownership dashboard when you log in. It reflects your actual monthly transaction history, which this calculator approximates.
CPF Board — Home OwnershipThe relationships this calculator uses to estimate the refund and the cash left after sale.
Lump Sum Refund
Principal compounds at 2.5% for the full period.
SGD 300,000 over 10 years = SGD 384,025
Monthly Contributions
Each year's contributions compound for the remaining years.
Interest builds gradually as instalments are paid
Accrued Interest
The interest portion of the refund.
Grows with both the amount used and the years held
Cash After Sale
What is left once loan, costs, and refund are paid.
Can be low if appreciation is small or CPF used is large
Important Disclaimer
For educational and informational purposes only. This calculator estimates the CPF accrued interest owed back to your CPF account when you sell a property. It applies the 2.5% per annum Ordinary Account interest rate, compounded on the CPF used, from the date of withdrawal to the date of sale. For a lump sum the refund is principal × (1.025) raised to the number of years; for monthly instalments each contribution compounds from its own date. Estimates here use annual compounding, whereas CPF computes accrued interest on a monthly compounding basis, so your exact figure may differ.
No warranty of accuracy. While Money Snap sources the 2.5% rate and the accrued-interest rule from CPF Board, this calculator is provided "as is" without any express or implied warranty as to accuracy, completeness, or timeliness. The interest rate is reviewed by CPF Board and may change. This tool does not account for pledged amounts, partial refunds, changes in CPF used over time, or the exact monthly transaction history that CPF uses — all of which affect the actual refund. Your authoritative figure is shown in your CPF home ownership dashboard.
Not financial advice. Information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation, or needs. Results do not constitute financial, property, or tax advice. The accrued interest refund is not a penalty — it returns to your own CPF Ordinary Account. Before acting on any figure shown, verify your accrued interest and refund in your CPF home ownership dashboard or obtain advice from an MAS-licensed adviser.
Limitation of liability. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Money Snap accepts no liability for any loss, damage, cost, or expense arising from reliance on this calculator or the information it produces. Users are responsible for verifying all figures with CPF Board before relying on them. Use is subject to our Terms of Use.
Official data sources
Accrued interest rate is the 2.5% OA floor rate. Estimates use annual compounding; CPF computes interest monthly — check your exact figure in the CPF home ownership dashboard.