Excel - Microsoft Excel XIRR Function

Description

The Excel XIRR function returns the Internal Rate of Return for a supplied series of cash flows (ie. a set of values, which includes an initial investment value and a series of net income values, which are not necessarily periodic). 

The format of the function is : 

XIRR( values, dates, [guess] ) 

Where the arguments are as follows : 

Warning: If you attempt to input the dates in text format, there is a chance that Excel may misinterpret them, due to different date systems, or date interpretation settings. 

Also, be aware that it is not recommended to input Excel dates as serial numbers, as the serial numbers may vary across different computer systems. 

XIRR Function Example

In the spreadsheet below, the cashflow for an investment is shown in cells B2 - B7. The initial investment of $100 is shown in cell B2 and the net income over 5 periods is shown in cells B3 - B7. 

Cells C2 - C7 show the dates for the cashflows in column B. 

The XIRR function in cell D2 shows the calculation of the Internal Rate of Return after 3 periods and the function in cell D4 shows the Internal Rate of Return after 5 periods. The formulas for the equations are shown in the spreadsheet on the left and the results are shown in the spreadsheet on the right. 

XIRR Function Errors

If you get an error from the Excel Xirr function this is likely to be one of the following : 

Common Errors