FormulaCraft

How to calculate a loan payment in Excel and Google Sheets

Topic:Finance basics
Excel & Google Sheets
=PMT(B2/12,C2,-A2)
✓

Verified example

Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.

Loan AmountAnnual RateMonthsMonthly Payment
100000.0636
250000.0560
50000.0824
500000.04120

=PMT(B2/12,C2,-A2)→304.2193745156

Try it with your data

Edit the grid or formula, then run it through a real spreadsheet engine — no signup.

Sample data — click any cell to edit

Runs server-side · free · no signup

Step by step

  1. 1Set up columns: Loan Amount (A), Annual Interest Rate (B), and Number of Monthly Payments (C).
  2. 2In the Payment column enter =PMT(B2/12,C2,-A2). Dividing B2 by 12 converts the annual rate to monthly. Negating A2 ensures the result is a positive payment amount.
  3. 3Format the result as Currency. The value represents the monthly payment required to pay off the loan.

Tips

Working on a sheet you inherited? Run the Auditor on the whole file first — it flags every #REF!, #N/A, broken column pattern, and inconsistent formula in seconds, free, no signup.

Frequently asked

Why is my PMT result negative?

PMT returns a negative value by convention because it represents cash flowing out. Negate the PV argument (use -A2 instead of A2) to get a positive result.

Can I use PMT for quarterly or annual payments?

Yes. For quarterly payments divide the rate by 4; for annual payments use the rate as-is. Adjust the nper argument to match the total number of those payment periods.

More on Finance basics

See all →
How-to

How to calculate tiered commission

Apply different commission rates by sales tier using IFS. Works in Excel 2019/365 and Google Sheets.

How-to

How to calculate gross margin

Compute gross margin percentage as (price − cost) / price. Identical in Excel and Google Sheets.

How-to

How to calculate compound interest

Compute a compounded future value with principal × (1 + rate)^years using POWER. Identical in Excel and Google Sheets.

How-to

How to calculate cost per unit

Divide total cost by total units to find cost per unit using a simple formula in Excel or Google Sheets.

How-to

How to calculate a selling price from a target margin

Use cost and target gross margin percentage to back-calculate the required selling price in Excel or Google Sheets.

How-to

How to calculate simple interest

Multiply principal, rate, and time to compute simple interest using a straightforward formula in Excel or Sheets.

Formulas used

PMTIPMTPPMTRATENPERCUMPRINC

Related tasks

Written and reviewed by FormulaCraft Team. Each formula on this page is run through our verification engine before publishing.

Last reviewed: