Investment Return Calculator

Total invested is the purchase value plus purchase costs plus any additional contributions. Total value received is the sale value minus sale costs plus cash distributions and withdrawals. Simple return (ROI) = (total received - total invested) / total invested. Annualised return (CAGR) = (total received / total invested)^(1 / years) - 1.

ROI is the total gain or loss over the whole holding period and ignores time. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is the constant yearly rate that would produce the same result. Use CAGR to compare investments held for different periods; use ROI for the plain total-cash result. A 50% ROI over five years is a CAGR of 8.45%.

Divide total value received by total invested, raise the ratio to the power of 1 / years, then subtract 1. For $15,000 received on $10,000 over 5 years: (15,000 / 10,000)^(1 / 5) - 1 = 1.5^0.2 - 1 = 0.0845, or 8.45% a year. The formula needs a value received above zero.

Because CAGR compounds. 8.45% a year for five years is a 50% total, since each year's growth builds on the previous year's larger balance. Dividing 50% by 5 gives 10%, an arithmetic average that ignores compounding and overstates the equivalent annual rate. CAGR is the correct annual figure for multi-year results.

Yes — include the cash dividends, interest or rent you received and did not reinvest, in Cash distributions; they are part of what the investment paid you, and including them gives the total return rather than the price-only return. Do not count a reinvested distribution twice: if it stayed in the investment, it is already in the sale value.

Only if you enter them: buying commissions go in Purchase costs and selling commissions in Sale costs. Returns calculated without fees overstate what you received. A $10 commission on a $500 purchase raises your cost by 2%, which shows clearly in the annualised return on a short holding period.

Use the purchase price as the purchase value, buying costs (transfer tax, legal fees, inspection) as purchase costs, the gross selling price as the sale value, agent commission and closing costs as sale costs, and net rental income received as cash distributions. For the return on your own equity in a mortgaged property, enter the equity you put in and the net equity you took out after repaying the loan.

It is the annual growth in purchasing power after the constant inflation rate you enter: (1 + nominal CAGR) / (1 + inflation) - 1. It divides rather than subtracts, so a 10% CAGR with 3% inflation is a 6.80% real return, not 7%. It illustrates a fixed assumption; it is not a record of actual inflation or a forecast.

It summarises their total cash effect but does not time-weight each contribution or withdrawal. For a return that accounts for exact cash-flow dates, use a money-weighted measure such as IRR or XIRR. This page does not approximate one without dates, because doing so would produce a misleading percentage.

You can, but treat it as a projection. An 8% gain in three months annualises to 1.08^(12 / 3) - 1 = 36.0%, which assumes you could repeat the same gain four times in a row. Most professional reporting does not annualise periods under a year for that reason; quote "8% in three months" instead.

Use the current market value as the sale value. That gives an unrealised return: the gain exists on paper but is not locked in, and no tax has been triggered. Subtract realistic selling costs so the figure is closer to what you would keep. $20,000 invested, now worth $27,000, with $500 of selling costs: unrealised gain $6,500, ROI 32.5%.

Before tax, here and in almost all quoted returns. For an after-tax estimate, subtract the tax due on the gain and on any distributions from the amount received. $10,000 invested with a $4,000 long-term gain taxed at 15%: tax $600, after-tax gain $3,400, after-tax ROI 34% instead of 40%. Assets inside an IRA or 401(k) are not taxed on sale; IRS Publication 550 has the rules.