XIRR Calculator
Work out the annualised return on investments with irregular dates — SIPs, lumpsums, top-ups and redemptions — from your actual cashflows.
The XIRR calculator finds the annualised return on an investment where the cashflows happen on irregular dates. That is exactly the situation for most real portfolios: a SIP that started at some point, an extra lumpsum added later, a switch, a partial redemption. CAGR cannot handle that — XIRR can.
How to use the calculator
- Open your fund statement or transaction history and list every transaction with its date.
- Enter one cashflow per line as date, amount, using YYYY-MM-DD format.
- Write money you paid in as a negative number and money you received as a positive number.
- For an investment you still hold, add a final line with today's date and the current value as a positive amount.
- The calculator shows the annualised return, the total invested and the absolute gain.
How it is calculated
Σ Ci ÷ (1 + r)(di − d0) ÷ 365 = 0
Where Ci is each cashflow (negative for investments, positive for receipts) and d is its date, with d0 the earliest date. There is no closed-form answer, so the rate is found iteratively.
Worked example
₹20,000 invested, ₹45,000 received a year later, with one top-up in between
Cashflows: −₹20,000 on 1 Jan, −₹20,000 on 1 Jul, +₹45,000 on 1 Jan next year
XIRR ≈ 16.9% a year; total invested ₹40,000 and absolute gain ₹5,000.
Who should use this calculator
- Mutual fund investors running a SIP and wanting to know the actual annualised return on their own money, not the fund's headline number.
- Anyone who added a lumpsum, topped up a SIP or switched funds during the year, where a simple return calculation no longer works.
- Investors comparing two funds they have held for different periods and with different contribution patterns.
- Anyone reviewing a portfolio of shares with buys at various prices and dates, plus dividends received along the way.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Forgetting the current value. If you still hold the investment, add a final line with today's date and the present value as a positive amount. Without it, the calculator sees only money going out and no return at all.
- Using the wrong sign. Money you paid in must be negative and money you received positive. One flipped sign produces a nonsense answer rather than an error.
- Entering dates in the wrong format. Use YYYY-MM-DD. Dates are what make XIRR different from IRR, and a misread date shifts the result noticeably over long periods.
- Comparing XIRR with the fund's quoted return. The fund reports a time-weighted return that ignores your timing. XIRR is money-weighted and reflects your experience. They measure different things.
- Leaving out dividends or redemptions. Any money that came back to you is a positive cashflow. Omitting it understates the return.
- Including the same transaction twice. Statements often list switches as both a redemption and a purchase. Counting both as separate cashflows double counts the money.
XIRR, CAGR and the fund's headline number
Three different figures describe three different things, and confusing them is the main reason investors distrust their own returns.
CAGR works only for a single investment at the start and a single value at the end. As soon as money goes in more than once, CAGR either cannot be computed or quietly overstates the result.
The fund's quoted return is time-weighted. It measures how the fund's NAV performed, regardless of when you invested. It answers: did the fund do well?
XIRR is money-weighted. It accounts for the size and timing of every cashflow and answers a different question: did I do well with my money? If you invested a large amount just before a fall, XIRR will be lower than the fund's reported return — and that is the more honest number for you.
XIRR terms explained
- XIRR
- The annualised rate that makes the present value of all dated cashflows equal to zero. It handles irregular dates.
- Cashflow
- Any movement of money in or out of the investment, with its date. Investments are negative, receipts positive.
- Money-weighted return
- A return that accounts for the size and timing of your contributions — what XIRR measures.
- Time-weighted return
- A return that ignores contribution timing and measures the investment itself, which is what funds usually report.
- Absolute return
- The total percentage gain or loss, with no adjustment for how long the money was invested.
- Present value
- What a future cashflow is worth today once discounted back at a given rate. XIRR finds the rate that balances these values.
Building your cashflow list from a statement
Most fund statements, broker reports and apps provide a transaction history that can be copied almost directly. Work through it in order and note two columns: the date and the amount. Purchases, SIP instalments and switches into the fund are negative. Redemptions, dividends paid out and switches out are positive.
Then add one final line representing where you stand today. If you are computing a return on an investment you still hold, use today's date and the current market value as a positive figure. If you have fully exited, the redemption already covers it.
Finally, sanity-check the totals before trusting the rate. Total invested should match what you know you put in, and the value should look like your current holding. If those two numbers are right and the dates are in order, the XIRR is right. When a result looks surprising, it is almost always a missing line, a duplicated transaction or a sign error rather than a problem with the maths.
Frequently asked questions
What is XIRR and how does it differ from CAGR?
XIRR is the annualised return for cashflows that happen on irregular dates. CAGR works only when there is a single investment at the start and a single value at the end. As soon as you add money more than once, CAGR either cannot be used or overstates the return, and XIRR is the correct measure.
Should the current value be included?
Yes, if you still hold the investment. Add a final cashflow dated today with the current market value as a positive amount. Without it, the calculation would treat everything invested as a loss, because no money has come back yet.
Why is my XIRR different from what the fund shows?
Funds normally quote a time-weighted return, which measures the performance of the fund itself and ignores when you invested. XIRR is money-weighted: it reflects your actual experience, including whether your larger contributions went in before or after a rise. Both are correct and useful for different questions.
What if the calculator shows an error instead of a rate?
The cashflows need at least one negative and one positive amount. If everything is negative, no return can exist. If everything is positive, the same applies. Check that your final current-value line is present and entered as a positive number.