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Financial
The Excel NPER function returns the number of periods needed to pay off a loan or reach a savings goal at a fixed rate and payment — the “how long will it take?” calculation.
Quick answer:
=NPER(7%/12, -250, 10000) // about 45 months
Syntax
=NPER(rate, pmt, pv, [fv], [type])
| Argument | Description | |
|---|---|---|
rate | Required | Interest rate per period. |
pmt | Required | Payment each period. |
pv | Required | Present value (loan/balance). |
fv | Optional | Future value (default 0). |
type | Optional | 0 end (default), 1 start. |
How to use it
How many months to clear a $10,000 balance at $250/month and 7%?
=NPER(7%/12, -250, 10000) // about 45 months
Cash-flow sign convention: money you pay out is negative, money you receive is positive. That is why loan payments and present values often come back negative — wrap in a minus sign or ABS for display.
Try it: interactive demo
Live demo
Change the inputs and watch the result update.
Result:
Practice workbook
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Frequently asked questions
What units is the result in?
The same period as the rate. With a monthly rate, NPER returns months; divide by 12 for years.
Why #NUM!?
The payment is too small to ever cover the interest, so the balance never reaches zero. Increase the payment.
Can NPER hit a savings target?
Yes — put your goal in fv and your deposit (negative) in pmt.
Does it return a whole number?
Not necessarily — it returns a fractional period count; round up for the actual number of payments.
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