Free calculator
IRR calculator (internal rate of return)
Find a periodic internal rate of return (IRR): the annual rate that sets NPV to zero for your up-front outlay and a short list of net cash flows in one-year steps—the same NPV=0 story as Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel IRR. Enter the initial investment as a positive number (we store it as an outflow at time 0); for later years, use signed values (inflow +, outflow −). Not an XIRR / dated-flow engine—for MIRR with finance and reinvestment rates, use the MIRR calculator; not tax- or product advice—see methodology.
When to use an IRR line
You have more than two money dates, not just in vs out at the end, and you want a headline discount rate for NPV = 0 in round-year steps.
- Compare a project to a hurdle or to CAGR-style stories—after you are explicit about the year-by-year cash (still an illustration, not a board sign-off).
- Teach the
IRR/NPV=0link with the same two-column story people use in interview and MBA problem sets—before a bigger Excel or Sheets model takes over. - Homework and certification drills with 3–6 years of free cash flow—annual only on this page.
- Move to CAGR or ROI when the story is really one buy and one sell; move to a sheet
XIRRfor irregular dates—see below.
IRR is any rate r (with r > −1 in a standard setup) that makes the net present value of the schedule zero: CF₀ + CF₁⁄(1+r) + CF₂⁄(1+r)² + … = 0 with one term per equal period. There is no closed form for a long list, so tools use a root-finding routine; we do the same numerically, aligned with IRR.
What “NPV = 0 at IRR” means
At the IRR, the sum of all cash flows, each discounted to today at that rate, is zero—not “return ÷ years” and not a CAGR of two totals unless the problem reduces to that special case.
Annual grid only in v1
Each line is one year after the previous, like IRR’s default one row per period with no calendar dates in the function. For sub-annual or uneven timing, the usual spreadsheet tool is XIRR; we do not reimplement it here.
What this page is not
XIRR on date series, real-estate notary and mortgage line items, inflation- and tax-adjusted “economic” IRR, and levered LBOs with debt tranches. MIRR lives on its own page when you need finance/reinvest rates; build the rest in a model when you need them; use this page for the core periodic IRR definition.
For round-year project math, your hurdle or WACC is a separate input; we do not score projects—only the mechanical IRR on the numbers you type. For two totals and optional time to CAGR or ROI %, use the ROI calculator or the CAGR calculator —two-point growth, not a multi-row NPV=0 search. For a level PMT and one nominal rate, use the TVM calculator —it is the annuity family, not arbitrary rows. For time-to-recoup with optional discounted payback, use the payback period calculator .
Google Sheets & Excel
English function names; IRR matches one row per equal time step with t0 as the first cell. XIRR (amounts with dates) stays in your workbook. For MIRR, open the MIRR calculator on this site.
Copy your cash series into a row or column, then: **`=IRR(B1:H1)`** or add an optional second argument, e.g. **`=IRR(B1:H1,0.1)`**.Use the initial outlay as a negative in B1 if you prefer raw spreadsheet sign rules; you can also keep positive t0 in the tool above—we convert for IRR parity in the help text.
**`=XIRR(amounts, dates, guess)`** in Excel; in Google **Sheets**, the same function name and two-column layout apply.Use when months are not a clean annual grid. We do not run XIRR in the browser on this v1 page.
Frequently asked questions
What is internal rate of return (IRR)?
IRR (here, periodic IRR like Excel IRR) is a rate r that makes the net present value of your list of cash flows zero when you discount at r in constant time steps—one term per year on this page.
Why is my initial investment “positive” but called an outflow?
Many people think in dollars spent as a positive line. Spreadsheets usually store t0 as a negative (money out). This page accepts a positive initial line for you and negates it internally for t0 so the sum line matches the IRR(values) sign story—check the help copy next to the box.
Is IRR the same as CAGR on this site?
No. The CAGR tools take one start value, one end value, and one time span. IRR is defined on a vector of dated-in-steps cash flows and is not the same as (ending ÷ beginning)^(1/t)−1 unless the history collapses to a two-flow case.
Is IRR the same as the ROI % on the ROI calculator?
No. The ROI page is a one-in, one-out or one-in, one-out + optional time to CAGR story. IRR is for multi-year and in-between inflows and outflows at equal spacing. Use IRR for schedules; use ROI for two headline numbers when that is what you have.
Is this the same as the TVM calculator’s “rate” field?
TVM solves one of PV, FV, level PMT, rate, or N when the payment and compounding rules are tidy annuities. IRR is for a row of arbitrary net cash flows at equal intervals, which TVM does not cover as a free-form list—different problem shape.
How do I match this in Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel?
Build one row (or column) of cash, first cell = t0 (use negative for out if you are mirroring a sheet exactly), then use =IRR(...) with the same sign pattern you used in the sheet. Add an optional guess if your software asks for it.
Can I paste dates for each cash flow (XIRR)?
Not in v1 of this page—timing is a one-year ladder only. In Excel / Sheets, use XIRR/XNPV when amounts land on calendar dates, then compare to this periodic IRR in teaching notes.
Do you show modified IRR (MIRR)?
Yes—use the MIRR calculator for MIRR(values, finance_rate, reinvest_rate) with the same annual cash ladder as here. This IRR page stays IRR / NPV = 0 with one periodic rate only.
I need a monthly IRR—where do I go?
Excel IRR on monthly values returns a rate per month; you annualize with (1+monthly)¹²−1 when you need an approximate annual figure, or you stay monthly-native in your model. This tool uses one value per year only; see methodology.
Can a project have more than one IRR?
Yes, some “wiggly” cash-flow paths (sign changes more than once in a deep way) can show more than one mathematical IRR. One displayed value from a solver is a convention—treat it as a stylized teaching output and escalate to a full model in practice.
Is this a real estate or SCPI return calculator?
It is a generic periodic IRR for any year-step list you type—not a jurisdiction- or lease-specific asset model. In FR, TRI in immobilier articles often wraps tax and fees—we do not—treat the page as educational only.
Is this investment, tax, or business advice?
No. It is a free educational calculator and illustration—not a fiduciary or licensed product recommendation, not a filing, and not a substitute for advice when real money and contracts are in play.