PV Function in Google Sheets

Calculate the present value of an investment or loan based on a constant interest rate.

PV Function

The PV function in Google Sheets calculates the present value of an investment or loan based on a constant interest rate and periodic payments.

Syntax

PV(rate, number_of_periods, payment_amount, [future_value], [end_or_beginning])
  • rate: The interest rate for each period.
  • number_of_periods: The total number of payment periods.
  • payment_amount: The amount of each payment.
  • future_value: (Optional) The cash balance you want to attain after the last payment is made. Default is 0.
  • end_or_beginning: (Optional) Indicates when payments are due. 0 for end of the period, 1 for beginning.

Examples

  1. Basic Present Value Calculation

Calculate the present value of a series of $1000 payments over 10 years:

=PV(0.05, 10, -1000)

This will output -7721.73.

Notes

  • Negative numbers indicate cash outflows.
  • Useful for evaluating investments or loans.
  • FV: Calculate the future value of an investment based on periodic, constant payments.
  • NPV: Calculate the net present value of an investment based on a series of cash flows.