What Is the Future Value of an Annuity?

An annuity is a series of equal payments made at regular intervals, such as $1,200 every year for 10 years. Two things make it an annuity: the payments are all the same amount, and they come at the same spacing. The future value of an annuity is what all those payments will be worth at the end, once each one has earned interest for the time it has been invested.

This is the maths behind regular saving: putting a fixed amount into a savings account, a retirement plan or a college fund every month or year. It tells you how much you will have, and how much of it is interest.

Types of annuities by payment timing

Ordinary annuity: payments are made at the end of each period. Most regular savings plans, and loan payments such as mortgages and car loans, work this way.
Annuity due: payments are made at the beginning of each period, such as rent, lease payments and insurance premiums. Each payment earns one extra period of interest, so the future value is higher.

The word "annuity" is also used for insurance products (fixed, variable and indexed annuities). This calculator is about the maths of equal payments, not about any particular product.

How to Calculate the Future Value of an Annuity

Ordinary annuity (payments at the end)

FV = PMT \times \frac{{(1 + \frac{i}{m})}^{n \cdot m} - 1}{\frac{i}{m}}

Annuity due (payments at the beginning)

{FV}_{due} = {FV}_{ordinary} \times (1 + \frac{i}{m})

Where:

PMT: the payment made each period.
i: the yearly interest rate as a decimal (6% = 0.06).
m: the number of payments a year: 1 annually, 2 semi-annually, 4 quarterly, 12 monthly, 365 daily.
n: the number of years, so n × m is the number of payments.

Interest compounds once per payment period, so monthly payments earn monthly compounding. At a 0% interest rate there is nothing to compound, and the future value is simply PMT × n × m.

Example

$1,200 paid at the end of every year for 10 years at 6% interest:

i ÷ m = 0.06 ÷ 1 = 0.06, and n × m = 10 × 1 = 10 payments
FV = $1,200 × (1.06¹⁰ − 1) ÷ 0.06 = $1,200 × (1.790848 − 1) ÷ 0.06 = $15,816.95
Paid in = $1,200 × 10 = $12,000.00, so interest earned = $3,816.95
As an annuity due, paid at the beginning of each year: $15,816.95 × 1.06 = $16,765.97

How to Use the Annuity Future Value Calculator

"If I save $1,200 at the end of every year for 10 years and earn 6% a year, how much will I have, and how much of it will be interest?" This calculator answers that.

Let's enter the numbers for this example in each box. They are already filled in when the calculator opens, so you can follow along and then change any box to match your own plan.

Payment Amount: Enter 1,200, which is the amount you pay in each period. If you pay monthly, enter the monthly amount (for example 100, not 1,200). It must be greater than 0.
Payment Interval: Leave it at Annually, which is how often you make a payment. You can also pick Semi-Annually, Quarterly, Monthly or Daily. Interest compounds at the same interval.
Payment Timing: Leave it at End (ordinary), which means each payment is made at the end of the year. Pick Beginning (due) if you pay at the start; for this example that gives $16,765.97 instead.
Annual Interest Rate: Enter 6, which is the yearly interest rate in percent that your money earns. Enter 0 if it earns no interest. It must be below 100.
Number of Years: Enter 10, which is how many years you keep making payments. It must be a whole number from 1 to 100.

Calculate and Reset

Click Calculate to see your results. If a box has a problem, such as a letter in a number box, a message pops up under that box instead. With the default numbers you get:

Your Results: a short summary in words: your payments grow to $15,816.95; you pay in $12,000.00, and $3,816.95 is interest earned, 24.13% of the final value.
Future Value: the headline number, $15,816.95.
Total Payments, Interest Earned, Number of Payments and Interest Share: $12,000.00 paid in, $3,816.95 of interest, 10 payments, and the share of the final value that came from interest (24.13%).
Chart: one bar for each year. The teal part is what you have paid in so far and the amber part is the interest earned so far; the top of the bar is your balance. Watch the interest part grow faster each year.
Yearly Schedule: for each year, the payments made, the interest earned and the balance at the end of the year, with a Total row at the bottom: $12,000.00 of payments plus $3,816.95 of interest make the final balance of $15,816.95. Use Download CSV to open it in a spreadsheet.
Share Results: a link that opens this calculator with your numbers filled in. Copy it, or share it on Facebook or X.

Amounts of $1 million or more are shortened, for example $1.25M. Click Reset to put every box back to its default and show the default results again.

Year	Payments	Interest Earned	Balance
1	$1,200.00$1,200	$0.00$0	$1,200.00$1,200
2	$1,200.00$1,200	$72.00$72	$2,472.00$2,472
3	$1,200.00$1,200	$148.32$148	$3,820.32$3,820
4	$1,200.00$1,200	$229.22$229	$5,249.54$5,250
5	$1,200.00$1,200	$314.97$315	$6,764.51$6,765
6	$1,200.00$1,200	$405.87$406	$8,370.38$8,370
7	$1,200.00$1,200	$502.22$502	$10,072.61$10,073
8	$1,200.00$1,200	$604.36$604	$11,876.96$11,877
9	$1,200.00$1,200	$712.62$713	$13,789.58$13,790
10	$1,200.00$1,200	$827.37$827	$15,816.95$15,817
Total	$12,000.00$12,000	$3,816.95$3,817	$15,816.95$15,817

Annuity Future Value Calculator

Your Results