Excel NPER Function

Summary

The Excel NPER function is a financial function that returns the number of periods for loan or investment. You can use the NPER function to get the number of payment periods for a loan, given the amount, the interest rate, and periodic payment amount.

Purpose

Get number of periods for loan or investment

Return value

The number of periods

Syntax

=NPER (rate, pmt, pv, [fv], [type])

Arguments

rate - The interest rate per period.
pmt - The payment made each period.
pv - The present value, or total value of all payments now.
fv - [optional] The future value, or a cash balance you want after the last payment is made. Defaults to 0.
type - [optional] When payments are due. 0 = end of period. 1 = beginning of period. Default is 0.

Usage notes

You can use the NPER function to get the number of payment periods for a loan (or an investment), given the amount, the interest rate, and a periodic payment amount.

Notes:

PMT normally includes principal and interest but not taxes, reserve payments, or fees.
Be sure you supply rate consistent with periods. For example, if an annual interest rate is 12 percent, use 12%/12 for rate to get NPER to return periods in months.