Goal: How long will it take? NPER calculates the number of periods (months/years) needed to pay off a loan or reach a savings goal.
Total Time
0
Months
🏁
StartGoal
-
Monthly Pmt
-
Target Amount
-
Interest Rate
Ready...
💻 Formula Structure
=NPER(rate, pmt, pv, [fv], [type])
1. Rate: Interest rate per period (divide annual by 12).
2. Pmt: Payment made each period.
3. Pv: Present Value (Current Loan or Savings).
4. Fv: Future Value (Goal, or 0 for loan payoff).
-- How many months?
=NPER( 18%/12, -200, 5000, 0 )
Total Periods:
-
⚠️ Common Pitfalls
🚫 Sign Matches
If you are paying off a loan (PV is positive), your PMT must be negative. If signs don't match correctly (money in vs money out), NPER returns an error.
🚫 Impossible Goals
If your payment is too small to cover the interest (e.g., Interest is $100 but you pay $50), the debt grows forever. NPER will return a #NUM! error.