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FINANCE & ACCOUNTING · GOOGLE SHEETS

XIRR
estimate return for cash flows on irregular dates.

Use XIRR to calculate return when cash-flow dates vary. This guide shows the exact structure, a working example and the mistakes most likely to break it.

JosephineVerified by JosephineReviewed July 25, 2026
THE FORMULA=XIRR(cashflow_amounts, cashflow_dates, [rate_guess])
A

cashflow_amountsnegative and positive flows

B

cashflow_datescorresponding dates

C

rate_guessoptional starting estimate

TRY IT YOURSELF

Change the sheet.
Watch the answer update.

Edit any highlighted cell below. The example recalculates immediately.

LIVE PLAYGROUND=XIRR(B2:B8,A2:A8)
fx=XIRR(B2:B8,A2:A8)
A · DATE / PERIODB · CASH FLOW
2
3
4
5
RESULT40.74%Updates live

Try changing a value above. This example runs entirely in your browser.

IN PLAIN ENGLISH

How the formula
thinks.

  1. 01

    cashflow_amountsnegative and positive flows

  2. 02

    cashflow_datescorresponding dates

  3. 03

    rate_guessoptional starting estimate

COMMON FIXES

When XIRR
doesn’t behave.

WRONG RESULT

Wrong result

Check that every range starts and ends on the same rows, and that numbers are stored as numbers.

FORMULA PARSE ERROR

Formula parse error

Check commas, quotation marks and closing parentheses. Your locale may use semicolons instead of commas.

UNEXPECTED BLANKS

Unexpected blanks

Test the source cells for hidden spaces, empty strings and inconsistent data types.

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