WorksheetFunction.Rate Method (Excel)

Returns the interest rate per period of an annuity. RATE is calculated by iteration and can have zero or more solutions. If the successive results of RATE do not converge to within 0.0000001 after 20 iterations, RATE returns the #NUM! error value.

Syntax

expression .Rate(Arg1, Arg2, Arg3, Arg4, Arg5, Arg6)

expression A variable that represents a WorksheetFunction object.

Parameters

Name

Required/Optional

Data Type

Description

Arg1

Required

Double

Nper - the total number of payment periods in an annuity.

Arg2

Required

Double

Pmt - the payment made each period and cannot change over the life of the annuity. Typically, pmt includes principal and interest but no other fees or taxes. If pmt is omitted, you must include the fv argument.

Arg3

Required

Double

Pv - the present value — the total amount that a series of future payments is worth now.

Arg4

Optional

Variant

Fv - the future value, or a cash balance you want to attain after the last payment is made. If fv is omitted, it is assumed to be 0 (the future value of a loan, for example, is 0).

Arg5

Optional

Variant

Type - the number 0 or 1 and indicates when payments are due.

Arg6

Optional

Variant

Guess - your guess for what the rate will be.

Return Value

Double

Remarks

For a complete description of the arguments nper, pmt, pv, fv, and type, see PV.

Set type equal to

If payments are due

0 or omitted

At the end of the period

1

At the beginning of the period

  • If you omit guess, it is assumed to be 10 percent.

  • If RATE does not converge, try different values for guess. RATE usually converges if guess is between 0 and 1.

Make sure that you are consistent about the units you use for specifying guess and nper. If you make monthly payments on a four-year loan at 12 percent annual interest, use 12%/12 for guess and 4*12 for nper. If you make annual payments on the same loan, use 12% for guess and 4 for nper.

See Also

Concepts

WorksheetFunction Object

WorksheetFunction Object Members