PMT Function in Microsoft Excel
📘 Part 1: Introduce
📌 Definition
The PMT function is one of Excel’s financial functions. It’s designed to calculate the payment for a loan based on consistent payments and a fixed interest rate.
📌 Purpose
The main aim of the PMT function is to determine the monthly loan payment. It’s a go-to tool when you’re looking to figure out your monthly repayment amount for a loan with a set interest rate and duration.
📌 Syntax & Arguments
The formula structure for the PMT function is:
PMT(rate, nper, pv, [fv], [type])
📌 Explain the Arguments in the function
- rate: The interest rate for the loan. Essential to the function.
- nper: Total number of payments for the loan. Also mandatory.
- pv: Present value or the total amount a series of future payments is worth now, commonly referred to as the principal. This is non-negotiable.
- fv: Future value or a cash balance you aim to achieve after the final payment. If left out, it defaults to 0.
- type: Specifies when payments are due. Use 0 (or leave it out) for end-of-period payments and 1 for start-of-period payments.
📌 Return value
The PMT function provides the payment amount for a loan, factoring in constant payments and a fixed interest rate.
📌 Remarks
The PMT-calculated payment encompasses the principal and interest but leaves out taxes, reserve payments, or related fees. Consistency is critical when defining the rate and nper units. For instance, for monthly payments on a four-year loan with a 12% annual interest rate, use 12%/12 for the rate and 4*12 for nper.
📘 Part 2: Examples
Example 1: Monthly Loan Payment
- Purpose: To compute the monthly payment for a loan with specific terms.
- Data sheet and formulas:
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Description | Data | Formula | Result |
| 2 | Annual Rate | 8% | =PMT(B2/12,B3,B4) | ($1,037.03) |
| 3 | Months | 10 | ||
| 4 | Loan Amount | $10,000 |
- Explanation: This example demonstrates how to calculate the monthly payment for a loan using the terms specified in cells B2 to B4. The formula in column C uses the PMT function with the annual rate divided by 12 (for a monthly rate), the number of months, and the loan amount. The result indicates a monthly payment of $1,037.03.
Example 2: Monthly Loan Payment with Future Value
- Purpose: To calculate the monthly payment for a loan considering a desired future value.
- Data sheet and formulas:
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Description | Data | Formula | Result |
| 2 | Annual Rate | 6% | =PMT(B2/12,B3,B4,B5) | ($129.08) |
| 3 | Months | 18 | ||
| 4 | Loan Amount | $50,000 | ||
| 5 | Future Value | $0 |
- Explanation: This example demonstrates how to calculate the monthly payment for a loan using the terms specified in cells B2 to B5. The formula in column C uses the PMT function with the annual rate divided by 12 (for a monthly rate), the number of months, the loan amount, and the desired future value. The result indicates an amount to save each month to have $50,000 at the end of 18 years.
Example 3: Monthly Loan Payment with Payments at the Beginning of the Period
- Purpose: To compute the monthly payment for a loan where payments are made at the beginning of the period.
- Data sheet and formulas:
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Description | Data | Formula | Result |
| 2 | Annual Rate | 8% | =PMT(B2/12,B3,B4,0,1) | ($1,030.16) |
| 3 | Months | 10 | ||
| 4 | Loan Amount | $10,000 |
- Explanation: This example calculates the monthly payment for a loan using the terms specified in cells B2 to B4, with payments due at the beginning of the period. The formula in column C uses the PMT function with the annual rate divided by 12, the number of months, the loan amount, a future value of 0, and a type value of 1. The result indicates a monthly payment of $1,030.16.
📘 Part 3: Tips and tricks
- Consistency is Key: Always ensure that the units for rate and nper are consistent. If you’re looking at monthly payments, adjust the rate and nper accordingly.
- Exploring Future Value: The Fv argument is optional, but it can be helpful if you aim for a specific cash balance after the final payment.
- Payment Timing: The Type argument lets you decide if payments are due at the start or end of the period. This can affect the final payment amount, so choose wisely!