NPer
Returns a Double specifying the number of periods for an annuity based on periodic, fixed payments and a fixed interest rate.
Syntax: NPer( rate, pmt, pv [ , fv [ , type ] ] )
- rate
- required Double specifying interest rate per period. For example, for a car loan at an annual percentage rate (APR) of 10 percent with monthly payments, the rate per period is 0.1/12, or 0.0083.
- pmt
- required Double specifying payment to be made each period. Payments usually contain principal and interest that doesn’t change over the life of the annuity.
- pv
- required Double specifying present value, or value today, of a series of future payments or receipts. For example, when borrowing money to buy a car, the loan amount is the present value to the lender of the monthly car payments to be made.
- fv
- optional Variant specifying future value or cash balance remaining after the final payment. For example, the future value of a loan is $0 because that’s its value after the final payment. However, to save $50,000 over 18 years for a child’s education, $50,000 is the future value. If omitted, 0 is assumed.
- type
- optional Variant specifying when payments are due. 0 means payments are due at the end of the period; 1 means payments are due at the beginning. If omitted, 0 is assumed.
An annuity is a series of fixed cash payments made over a period of time. An annuity can be a loan (such as a home mortgage) or an investment (such as a monthly savings plan).
For all arguments, cash paid out (such as deposits to savings) is represented by negative numbers; cash received (such as dividend checks) is represented by positive numbers.
Common Errors
| Error | When |
|---|---|
6 (&H6), Overflow | rate and pmt are of opposite signs, as in a loan or a savings plan, and a number of periods exists no number of periods exists, as when pmt does not cover the interest, or rate is -1 and pmt is greater than 0 |
11 (&HB), Division by zero | pmt is 0 and rate is not 0, or rate is -1 and pmt is less than 0 |
-2147467259 (&H80004005), Unspecified error | rate and pmt are both 0 |
13 (&HD), Type mismatch | fv or type is a string that is not a number fv or type is Null |
94 (&H5E), Invalid use of Null | rate, pmt or pv is Null |
Note BETA 1034
When rate and pmt are of opposite signs, as in a loan or a savings plan, and a number of periods exists, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise no error.
Note BETA 1034
When no number of periods exists, as when pmt does not cover the interest, or rate is -1 and pmt is greater than 0, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 5 (&H5), Invalid procedure call or argument, instead.
Note BETA 1034
When pmt is 0 and rate is not 0, or rate is -1 and pmt is less than 0, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 5 (&H5), Invalid procedure call or argument, instead.
Note BETA 1034
When rate and pmt are both 0, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 5 (&H5), Invalid procedure call or argument, instead.
Note BETA 1034
When fv or type is Null, VB6 and 64-bit VBA raise error 94 (&H5E), Invalid use of Null, instead.
Example
This example uses the NPer function to return the number of periods during which payments must be made to pay off a loan whose value is contained in PVal. Also provided are the interest percentage rate per period (APR / 12), the payment (Payment), the future value of the loan (FVal), and a number that indicates whether the payment is due at the beginning or end of the payment period (PayType).
Dim FVal, PVal, APR, Payment, PayType, TotPmts
Const ENDPERIOD = 0, BEGINPERIOD = 1 ' When payments are made.
FVal = 0 ' Usually 0 for a loan.
PVal = InputBox("How much do you want to borrow?")
APR = InputBox("What is the annual percentage rate of your loan?")
If APR > 1 Then APR = APR / 100 ' Ensure proper form.
Payment = InputBox("How much do you want to pay each month?")
PayType = MsgBox("Do you make payments at the end of month?", vbYesNo)
If PayType = vbNo Then PayType = BEGINPERIOD Else PayType = ENDPERIOD
TotPmts = NPer(APR / 12, -Payment, PVal, FVal, PayType)
If Int(TotPmts) <> TotPmts Then TotPmts = Int(TotPmts) + 1
MsgBox "It will take you " & TotPmts & " months to pay off your loan."