Emergency Fund Calculator
How big should your safety net be — and how fast can you build it?
Count only the expenses that would continue if your income stopped — EMIs, rent, food, utilities, school fees, insurance premiums. A job loss in India typically isn't cushioned by unemployment insurance, which is exactly why the 6-month floor matters more here than in markets that have one.
Where to park it, and the tax angle: split the fund — roughly one month's expenses in a savings account (instant), the rest across sweep-in FDs or a liquid/overnight mutual fund (accessible in a day). Interest on savings accounts and FDs is taxable at your slab; savings-account interest gets a ₹10,000 deduction under 80TTA (old regime; ₹50,000 under 80TTB for seniors), and FD interest sees 10% TDS past ₹50,000/yr at one bank. Liquid-fund gains are taxed at slab only when you actually redeem — nothing accrues to tax in the years you don't touch it, which quietly makes them the more tax-efficient pocket for the untouched portion. Don't chase yield here: this money's job is to exist, not to earn.