How to

How to use XIRR for SIPs

A systematic investment plan is just a list of dated debits. Once you add what the folio is worth today, an XIRR calculator can tell you the annualised rate those rupees actually earned.

1. Pull a transaction list, not a screenshot of returns

Apps love to flash a single percentage. For XIRR you want the raw rows: trade date and amount. Sources that usually work:

  • MF Central — holdings and transaction download across CAMS and KFin folios.
  • CAMS / KFintech — email a consolidated account statement (CAS).
  • RTA or AMC statements — useful if you hold a single folio.
  • Distributor apps — Groww, Coin, Kuvera, Paytm Money and others export orders. Check that SIP dates are the debit dates, not the mandate date.

2. Translate each row into a signed cash flow

Statement lineIn the calculator
SIP purchase, lump-sum buy, switch-in from outside this folioInvest (negative)
Redeem, SWP credit, switch-out to cashRedeem (positive)
IDCW paid to bankRedeem (positive) on payout date
IDCW reinvestedSkip — units live in the current value
Stamp duty or GST deducted from the same debitKeep the bank debit as one invest; do not add a second row

XirrRupee follows the spreadsheet convention: negative = invest, positive = redeem. The Invest / Redeem toggle writes the sign so you do not have to remember it on a phone.

3. Add today’s market value

XIRR does not look up NAVs. If you still hold units, add a Redeem dated today forunits × NAV, or the holding value your app shows. TheAdd today’s value button on the xirr calculator creates that row; you fill the rupees.

Forgot this step? The solver will complain that every cash flow is an outflow. That is a feature.

4. Paste a CSV if the list is long

One flow per line: date,amount. Dates can be YYYY-MM-DD orDD/MM/YYYY. A header row is fine. Example:

date,amount
05/01/2023,-8000
05/02/2023,-8000
22/09/2026,185000

5. Read the rate as an annualised personal return

A 12% XIRR means: if every rupee had earned a constant 12% a year for the exact days it was invested, you would land on the same current value. It is not the last 12-month NAV change, and it is not a promise.

Common mistakes

  • Entering SIPs as positive numbers because “I invested ₹8,000” — flip the type to Invest.
  • Using mandate date instead of allotment / debit date.
  • Adding both a dividend credit and the reinvested units’ current value.
  • Mixing two people or two goals in one ledger, then wondering why the rate looks odd.
  • Comparing your XIRR to a category CAGR from a factsheet without matching the window or the cash-flow shape.

One folio or the whole portfolio?

Per-scheme XIRR is useful when you are deciding whether a fund earned its fees. Household XIRR is useful when you want one number for “our equity SIPs”. Do not drop every SIP from every app into one table unless you also drop one combined current-value row. The worked example stays inside a single story so the arithmetic stays readable.