
The syntax for the formula is RATE(term, pmt, principal, future_value, type, guess_rate) with the first three arguments required.

All you need is your loan term, payment amount, principal, and Excel’s RATE function. If you have a current loan and are unsure of your annual interest rate, you can calculate it in just minutes. The formula result updates automatically. You can enter a lower interest rate or higher number of payments to get your payment amount where it needs to be. With the formula in place, you can then change the amounts you’ve entered to see how this affects the payment. You would enter the following formula in cell B5 to determine your payments: Here, we have our annual interest rate in cell B2, number of payments in cell B3, and loan amount in cell B4.


These let you see how much you can afford based on different amounts, rates, and timeframes. If you want to figure out the payment amounts, interest rate, or term for a loan, you can use a few handy Excel functions. Loan Payment, Interest, and Term Functions in Excel You’ll immediately see the amortization table update with all the details you need to keep up with your loan payments, principal, balance, interest, and cumulative interest.
