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IRR Calculator

Calculate Internal Rate of Return for investment projects. Analyze cash flows, NPV, and make accept/reject decisions.

Currency
Initial Investment

Period 0 - the upfront investment cost

Cash Flows
$
$
$
Comparison Rate

Used for NPV comparison and accept/reject decision

Internal Rate of Return

8.90%

Converged in 4 iterations
Profitability Index

1.00

Value creating
NPV at 10%

$-210.37

Negative - destroys value

Reject Investment

IRR (8.90%) below hurdle rate (10.00%)

Cash Flow Timeline

P0

$-10,000.00

P1

+$3,000.00

P2

+$4,000.00

P3

+$5,000.00

Outflow
Inflow
Summary

Total Outflows

-$10,000.00

Total Inflows

+$12,000.00

Net Cash

$2,000.00

Present Value Schedule (at IRR)
PeriodCash FlowDiscount FactorPresent ValueCumulative PV
0$-10,000.001.0000$-10,000.00$-10,000.00
1$3,000.001.0890$2,754.91$-7,245.09
2$4,000.001.1858$3,373.13$-3,871.95
3$5,000.001.2913$3,871.95$0.00

Understanding Internal Rate of Return

What is IRR?

IRR is the discount rate that makes the Net Present Value (NPV) equal to zero. It represents the effective annualized rate of return on an investment.

0 = CF0 + CF1/(1+IRR) + CF2/(1+IRR)^2 + ...

This equation has no closed-form solution and must be solved numerically using iterative methods like Newton-Raphson.

Decision Rules

  • Accept if: IRR exceeds your required rate of return (hurdle rate)
  • Reject if: IRR is below your hurdle rate
  • Multiple IRRs: When cash flows change sign more than once, multiple IRRs may exist. Use NPV or MIRR instead.
  • Profitability Index: PI greater than 1.0 indicates value creation. The higher the better.