NPer

Specifies the number of periods for an annuity based on periodic fixed payments and a fixed interest rate.

Syntax

NPer(rate, pmt, pv[, fv[, type]])

The NPer function has the following named arguments:

rate

Required. Variant specifying interest rate per period. For example, if you obtain a car loan at an annual percentage rate (APR) of 10 percent and make monthly payments, the rate per period is 0.1/12, or 0.0083.

pmt

Required. Variant specifying payment to be made each period. Payments usually contain principal and interest that does not change over the life of the annuity.

pv

Required. Variant specifying present value, or value today, of a series of future payments or receipts. For example, when you borrow money to buy a car, the loan amount is the present value to the lender of the monthly car payments you will make.

fv

Optional. Variant specifying future value or cash balance you want after you have made the final payment. For example, the future value of a loan is $0 because that is its value after the final payment. However, if you want to save $50,000 over 18 years for your child's education, then $50,000 is the future value. If omitted, 0 is assumed.

type

Optional. Variant specifying when payments are due. Use 0 if payments are due at the end of the payment period, or use 1 if payments are due at the beginning of the period. If omitted, 0 is assumed.

Remarks

An annuity is a series of fixed cash payments made over a period of time. An annuity can be a loan (such as a home mortgage) or an investment (such as a monthly savings plan).

For all arguments, cash paid out (such as deposits to savings) is represented by negative numbers; cash received (such as dividend checks) is represented by positive numbers.