An IRR calculator answers a basic but important question: after accounting for what you invested, what you received, and how long your money was at work, what annualized return did you earn?
Private investments rarely move money on a regular schedule, so the calculator uses XIRR — the date-aware version of internal rate of return — and the actual date of every cash flow.
AltTrack's free IRR calculator for private investments calculates XIRR from exact transaction dates. It also calculates DPI and TVPI, so you can distinguish cash already returned from value that remains unrealized. No account is required.
This guide explains what the calculator does, how to enter an investment correctly, and how to interpret the result without asking one percentage to tell you more than it can.
What this IRR calculator calculates
The calculator produces three related measures:
XIRR is your annualized return based on the amount and exact date of each contribution, distribution, and terminal value. It answers the timing question: how quickly did the investment create value?
DPI — Distributed to Paid-In Capital — is total realized distributions divided by total contributed capital. It answers the cash question: how much of what I invested has actually come back?
TVPI — Total Value to Paid-In Capital — is realized distributions plus remaining value, divided by contributed capital. It answers the total-value question: what is the investment worth, realized and unrealized, relative to what I put in?
Read together, the three measures are more informative than any one of them alone. XIRR is sensitive to time. DPI is limited to realized cash. TVPI includes the investment's latest estimated value.
You do not need to choose a calculation method before using the tool. Enter the dates you already have and it handles the timing. If you want the technical distinction, see XIRR vs. IRR for private market investments.
What to enter in the calculator
You need a complete cash-flow history for one investment.
1. Contributions
Enter every amount you funded and the date it left your account. For a drawdown fund, use the capital-call funding dates — not the date you signed the subscription agreement or the date of your total commitment.
Include any investment-related amount that was actually part of your cash outflow. The calculator's Contribution label handles the negative sign internally, so enter the amount as a positive number.
2. Distributions
Enter every cash distribution and the date you received it. Use the gross amount paid by the investment before deciding what to do with the money afterward.
If a distribution was automatically reinvested into the same investment, enter the distribution and a matching contribution on the same date. That preserves both the cash returned and the capital put back to work.
3. Current value or exit proceeds
If you still own the investment, select Still invested and enter its estimated current value as of a specific date. The latest sponsor statement or capital-account statement is usually the appropriate source.
If the investment has fully exited, select Fully exited and enter the final proceeds actually received. Exit proceeds are treated as realized cash, so DPI and TVPI will be the same once no residual value remains.
The date matters here too. A current value reported as of June 30 should be entered with June 30, even if the statement arrived several weeks later.
Use the calculator: Open the XIRR, DPI, and TVPI calculator, enter each contribution and distribution, then add either current value or final exit proceeds. The example buttons let you inspect a real estate, private credit, or private equity cash-flow pattern before entering your own.
A worked IRR calculator example
Suppose a real estate investment has the following cash-flow history:
- $100,000 contribution on March 15, 2024
- $4,500 distribution on November 15, 2024
- $5,000 distribution on May 15, 2025
- $5,250 distribution on November 15, 2025
- $5,500 distribution on May 15, 2026
- $118,000 estimated current value as of September 16, 2026
Entered into the calculator, those cash flows produce approximately:
- XIRR: 14.8%
- DPI: 0.20x
- TVPI: 1.38x
The investment has returned about 20 cents in cash for every dollar contributed. Its distributions plus estimated remaining value equal about $1.38 for every dollar contributed. Accounting for when each cash flow occurred, its annualized return is about 14.8%.
These results describe different parts of the same investment. The 1.38x TVPI does not mean the investor has received $138,000 in cash; $118,000 of the total is still an estimated value. The 0.20x DPI makes that distinction visible.
How to read the XIRR-over-time chart
When an investment has enough cash-flow entries, the calculator also plots XIRR over time. Each point is a snapshot based on the cash-flow history available through that date. The final point uses the complete set of entries and matches the headline XIRR.
The chart is most useful for seeing direction, not for diagnosing performance from one early point. Young investments often show volatile XIRR because a small valuation change or early distribution is being annualized over a short period. As the holding period lengthens and more cash flows occur, the measure generally becomes less sensitive to any single entry.
With only a contribution and a current value or exit, the calculator omits the chart. There is not enough history to show a meaningful path.
How current value affects the answer
For an investment that has not exited, the current value is a hypothetical closing cash flow used to calculate return through the valuation date. It is not treated as a distribution and does not increase DPI.
That distinction is important:
- A higher current value increases XIRR and TVPI.
- It does not change DPI because no additional cash was received.
- An outdated value produces a return that is outdated by the same amount.
- An optimistic sponsor mark can make both XIRR and TVPI look stronger than the eventual realized result.
When comparing two investments, check the valuation dates and the share of total value that remains unrealized. A 15% XIRR supported mostly by distributions is different from a 15% XIRR supported mostly by an estimated NAV.
What is a good IRR for a private investment?
There is no single IRR that is good across private equity, real estate, private credit, and venture capital.
An appropriate interpretation depends on the strategy's risk, leverage, liquidity, duration, fees, and the reliability of its remaining value. It also depends on whether the number is gross or net of fees and carry. If the calculator contains the actual cash that left and returned to your account, it is measuring your investor-level experience — not a sponsor's gross deal-level return.
Use the result to answer more disciplined questions:
- Is the return above or below the sponsor's original target, measured on a compatible basis?
- How much of the result is realized in cash?
- How old is the valuation supporting the unrealized portion?
- Was the return sufficient for the risk and illiquidity accepted?
- How does the investment compare with other opportunities available over the same period?
The calculator supplies a measurement. It does not turn that measurement into a universal verdict.
Common mistakes when using an IRR calculator
- Use funded capital, not total commitment. Enter each capital call when it is actually funded.
- Include every cash flow. A missing contribution or distribution changes all three results.
- Match current value to its real valuation date. Do not attach today's date to an older sponsor mark.
- Keep current value separate from distributions. It is estimated remaining value, not cash received.
- Compare like with like. Your investor-level result may not be comparable with a sponsor's gross return.
If the calculator cannot produce a result, first check for missing contributions, incorrect transaction types, duplicate entries, or mismatched dates and amounts.
Use XIRR, DPI, and TVPI as a set
The central value of an IRR calculator is not that it produces one definitive percentage. It is that it puts the timing of an investment's cash flows into a consistent framework.
XIRR tells you the annualized pace of return. DPI tells you how much cash has come back. TVPI tells you how much realized and unrealized value exists in total. Together, they provide a compact but disciplined view of a private investment's progress.
You can calculate XIRR, DPI, and TVPI for one investment without creating an account. For a deeper guide to maintaining the same calculation across multiple holdings, read how to calculate XIRR on an alternative investment portfolio.