XIRR (Extended Internal Rate of Return) is the annualized return on a series of cash flows that occur at irregular dates. It's the standard metric for measuring SIP returns, mutual fund portfolios, real estate investments, and angel/PE deals — anything with non-uniform timing.

How is XIRR different from CAGR?

CAGR assumes a single inflow and a single outflow. It works for lumpsum investments — you put in ₹X today, you have ₹Y after N years, here's the rate. XIRR handles multiple inflows and outflows on different dates. SIPs, in particular, must use XIRR — CAGR will mislead you.

What's the input format?

Negative amounts = outflows (money you put in: SIP installments, lumpsum buys). Positive amounts = inflows (money coming back: redemptions, dividends, current portfolio value). The last entry is typically today's date with the current value positive amount.

Why do my SIPs show different XIRR than CAGR?

Because XIRR weights early investments more heavily. ₹5,000 invested in month 1 h months to grow; ₹5,000 invested in month 12 h. CAGR treats the total invested it all went in at once — overstating the return. XIRR is the honest number.

What's a 'good' XIRR for mutual funds?

Long-term: 10–14% for diversified equity, 7–9% for hybrid, 5–8% for debt funds (post-tax). Below 8% over 5+ years suggests poor fund choice or unfortunate timing. Above 18% over 10+ years usually means concentrated bets that may not repeat. The Nifty 50 h ~12% XIRR over the last 20 years for monthly SIPs.

XIRR Calculator

⚠️ Not financial advice. Results are illustrative only and should not be used as the basis for any investment, tax, or financial decision. Consult a qualified financial adviser or chartered accountant before acting on any figure shown.

What is an XIRR calculator?

An XIRR calculator solves the Internal Rate of Return equation for cash flows that occur at non-uniform dates. The math is iterative — there's no closed-form solution — so the calculator uses a Newton-Raphson method with a bisection fallback to converge on the rate that makes the NPV of all cash flows equal zero.

Why XIRR is the right metric for SIP returns

Imagine you SIP ₹10,000/month for 5 years and your portfolio is worth ₹8 lakh today. Total invested: ₹6 lakh. Naive return: 33% absolute. CAGR pretends it all went in at month 1: about 5.9%. XIRR — accounting for the actual timing of each ₹10k contribution — typically gives ~12–14%. The XIRR number is the one to compare across funds and benchmarks.

Common XIRR mistakes

Forgetting to include the current portfolio value as the last positive cash flow. Mixing up sign conventions (treating SIPs as positive). Using monthly instead of daily timing precision (this calculator uses daily — paste exact dates from your CAS). For Indian mutual funds, the easiest way is to download your CAS from CAMS or KFintech, which lists every transaction date and amount.

Interpreting XIRR for different investment types

For mutual fund SIPs, an XIRR of 12–14% over 10 years in a large-cap fund is excellent — it beats the historical Nifty 50 SIP XIRR of approximately 12% over most 10-year windows. For real estate investments, factor in rental income (positive cash flow at each receipt) and maintenance costs (additional negative outflows) alongside the purchase price (negative) and sale price (positive) — the resulting XIRR is the true annualized return on the property, often 6–10% in Indian metros once all costs are included. For angel investments or startup equity, include every funding round as a negative and the exit or write-down as the final positive or zero; pre-money valuations above 20x revenue are only justified if the XIRR assumptions show 25%+ even under conservative exit scenarios.

XIRR vs absolute return vs CAGR — which to use when

Absolute return (total gain percentage with no time adjustment) is only meaningful for lumpsum investments held for under 1 year. CAGR normalizes for time but assumes a single inflow-outflow pair — it works for lumpsum investments and FDs. XIRR handles multiple irregular cash flows and is the correct metric for SIPs, real estate with rental income, and any portfolio with additions or withdrawals. When comparing two funds where you have made different monthly SIPs, XIRR is the only way to make a fair comparison — absolute return and CAGR will mislead you because they don't account for the timing of each contribution. SEBI now mandates that AMCs show XIRR (labelled as "personal return") in investor account statements to promote this more accurate self-assessment.

How to get your cash flows from CAMS or KFintech

Log into CAMS Online (camsonline.com) or KFintech (kfintech.com) and download your Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) for any date range. The statement lists every transaction — purchase, redemption, dividend, switch — with exact date and NAV. Export to Excel, separate the SIP debits (negative values) and any redemptions (positive values), add today's current value as the final positive entry, and paste into the XIRR calculator. For investors on Zerodha Coin, the portfolio section shows per-fund XIRR directly — cross-check with this calculator using your CAS data to verify.