How to Calculate IRR for Irregular Dates with XIRR in Excel

Find the true annual return on a brokerage account with deposits and withdrawals on random dates.

You will learn to

• Calculate an annualised return from dated cash flows
• Convert an annual return to a monthly one
• Adjust a return for inflation

How it works

XIRR(values, dates) returns the annualised internal rate of return for cash flows that happen on any dates. Enter deposits as negatives, withdrawals and today’s account value as positives, and pair each with its date: =XIRR(B2:B7,A2:A7).

Because XIRR weights each deposit by how long it was invested, it is the fair way to measure your personal return when you add money at different times. Subtract inflation with (1+XIRR)/(1+inflation)−1 to see your real return.

=XIRR(B2:B7,A2:A7)