All versions
Financial
The Excel IPMT function returns the interest portion of a specific loan payment.
Quick answer:
=IPMT(6%/12, 1, 5*12, 25000) // interest in month 1
Syntax
=IPMT(rate, per, nper, pv, [fv], [type])
| Argument | Description | |
|---|---|---|
rate | Required | Rate per period. |
per | Required | The period (1 to nper) to find interest for. |
nper | Required | Total periods. |
pv | Required | Present value. |
fv | Optional | Future value (default 0). |
type | Optional | 0 end, 1 start. |
How to use it
IPMT returns the interest portion of a specific loan payment.
=IPMT(6%/12, 1, 5*12, 25000) // interest in payment 1
Try it: interactive demo
Live demo
This is the formula pattern IPMT uses — copy it into Excel with your own numbers.
Result: computed in Excel
Practice workbook
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Frequently asked questions
IPMT vs PPMT?
IPMT is the interest part of a payment; PPMT is the principal part. They sum to PMT.
Why does the interest shrink each period?
As principal is paid down, less interest accrues — later payments are mostly principal.
Which Excel versions support it?
All modern versions.
Why might it return #NUM! or #VALUE!?
Out-of-range arguments (e.g. negative rate or settlement after maturity) give #NUM!; non-numeric inputs give #VALUE!.
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