New Delhi, July 11 -- For most salaried employees, the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is one of the largest financial assets they build over the course of their working lives. Every month, a portion of their salary flows into the retirement account, earns interest and eventually becomes a sizeable corpus that can support them after retirement.

The tax advantages attached to EPF are among its biggest attractions. However, many employees assume that EPF is entirely tax-free from start to finish. The reality is more nuanced. The tax treatment differs at the contribution stage, while the money is accumulating interest, and when the corpus is eventually withdrawn.

"People often look at EPF as a single product, but the taxation has to be und...