Annualised return calculator — any holding period turned into a yearly rate

How to use the annualised return calculator

1. Enter the Buy value: the total you paid, including charges if you want a net figure.
2. Enter the Sell value: the amount you received, or today’s value.
3. Enter the Income received (dividends, interest) paid out to you in cash. Use 0 if none.
4. Enter the Days held and choose the Currency.
5. Read Annualised return, Holding period return, Total gain and Years held.

What it does and when to use it

Returns quoted over different periods cannot be compared directly. A trade that made 8% in four months and a fund that made 20% in two years are measured on different clocks. Investor.gov describes the annual rate of return as the profit or loss over a one-year period; annualising puts everything on that one-year clock.

This calculator suits share trades, bonds bought between coupon dates, short-term deposits, or any investment where you know the exact dates. Because it has an income field, it can capture a share’s dividends as well as its price change. For an investment held for whole years with no income, the investment return calculator gives the same CAGR from years. To compare the result with a deposit’s yearly yield, the effective annual rate calculator converts quoted rates. For dividend income on its own, try the dividend yield calculator.

How it works

1. Holding period return (HPR) = (sell value + income − buy value) ÷ buy value
2. Annualised return = (1 + HPR)^(365 ÷ days) − 1

This is the same form the CFPB’s Regulation DD appendix uses to state a deposit’s annual percentage yield: one period’s growth raised to the power of 365 divided by the days in the term. If the investment lost everything, the result is −100%.

Total gain is the sell value plus income minus the buy value, and Years held is days ÷ 365.

Worked examples

These figures come from the calculator’s own function.

Exactly one year. Buy ₹1,00,000, sell ₹1,10,000, no income, 365 days. Annualised return 10%, the same as the holding period return, with a total gain of ₹10,000.00.

A short, strong gain. Buy ₹1,00,000, sell ₹1,15,000, 180 days. Holding period return 15%, annualised return 32.76%, years held 0.49. The calculator adds a note that short periods magnify the yearly rate.

Two years with dividends. Buy $5,000, sell $5,600, income $150, 730 days. Total gain $750.00 and holding period return 15%, which annualises to 7.24% a year, less than half of 15% because the gain was spread over two compounding years.

Limits and tips

• One purchase, one sale. If you bought or sold in several lots on different dates, a single annualised figure is approximate; the IRR calculator handles yearly cash flows.
• Income timing is ignored. All income is treated as received at the end.
• Taxes and inflation are not deducted.
• Calculated in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.