WRONG RESULTWrong result
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FINANCE & ACCOUNTING · GOOGLE SHEETS
Verified by JosephineReviewed July 25, 2026✓
IRR
estimate the internal rate of return for periodic cash flows.
Use IRR to measure an investment’s return. This guide shows the exact structure, a working example and the mistakes most likely to break it.
Verified by JosephineReviewed July 25, 2026✓THE FORMULA
=IRR(cashflow_amounts, [rate_guess])A
cashflow_amountsinitial outflow and later flows
B
rate_guessoptional starting estimate
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Watch the answer update.
Edit any highlighted cell below. The example recalculates immediately.
| A · DATE / PERIOD | B · CASH FLOW | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 5 |
RESULT
11.06%Updates liveTry changing a value above. This example runs entirely in your browser.
IN PLAIN ENGLISHHow the formula
How the formula
thinks.
- 01
cashflow_amountsinitial outflow and later flows
- 02
rate_guessoptional starting estimate
COMMON FIXESWhen IRR
When IRR
doesn’t behave.
FORMULA PARSE ERRORFormula parse error
Check commas, quotation marks and closing parentheses. Your locale may use semicolons instead of commas.
UNEXPECTED BLANKSUnexpected blanks
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