Finance Calculator (Time Value of Money)

Solve for FV, PV, PMT, N or the interest rate in one place.

The time value of money

Money today can earn interest, so it is worth more than the same amount later. Five numbers describe any simple loan or savings plan: the present value (PV), the future value (FV), the regular payment (PMT), the number of periods (N) and the interest rate (I/Y). If you know four, this calculator finds the fifth.

Sign convention

Money you receive is positive and money you pay is negative. A loan has a positive PV and negative payments. A savings plan has negative deposits and a positive FV, which the calculator returns as a positive number when you pay in.

Example

Starting with 10,000 (entered as −10,000) and adding 200 a month (−200) for 10 years at 5%, paid monthly, gives a future value of about 47,527. In the Payment tab, a 200,000 loan at 5% over 30 years has a payment of about −1,073.64 a month, negative because it is money you pay.

Use the tabs to solve for each variable. For specific jobs, the loan, compound interest and savings goal calculators have simpler layouts.

Frequently asked questions

What does N mean?

N is the number of periods. This calculator asks for years and the periods per year, and shows the answer in years.

Why does the rate tab sometimes fail?

The signs must make sense: you need money going both in and out. If every number has the same sign, no rate fits.

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