The FV Excel function is a Financial formula that calculates and returns the future value of a loan or an investment, based on constant payments and interest rate. In this guide, we’re going to show you how to use the Excel FV function and also go over some tips and error handling methods.


Supported versions

  • All Excel versions

FV Function Excel Syntax

FV(rate, nper, pmt, [pv], [type])


Arguments

rate The interest rate for the loan.
nper The total number of payments for the loan.
pmt The constant payments for the loan.
[pv] Optional. The present value, or a cash balance you want after the last payment is made. Default value is 0 (zero).
[type]

Optional. When the payments are due.

0 = end of period. (Default)

1 = beginning of period.


Examples

Without present value and due date type

The FV function has 3 required arguments: rate, nper and pmt. Using these arguments, you can calculate the future value of a loan based on constant payments. The function assumes payments are made at the end of each period, and the loan is to be paid in full.

For example, the following formula calculates the future value of a loan which has $3,000 payments over 36 months with a 6% annual interest.

=FV(0.06/12,36,-3000)

Please note that, 6% interest is divided by 12, because interest is given as an annual rate, and periods are in months.

With present value and due date type

You can specify a target cash balance for after the last payment is made, and whether payments are to be made at the beginning of each period or the end.

The following formula is the extended version of the first example. It calculates the same payment amount for the same period and interest rate. The difference is that $50,000 has already been paid, and payments are made at the beginning of each period.

=FV(0.06/12,36,-3000,50000,1)

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Tips

  • If pmt is entered as a positive number, the calculated payment amount will be negative. This is because the money is "coming out of pocket". If you’d like to show negative numbers instead, multiply everything with ‘-1’.
  • Other related financial functions: