How to Calculate NPV and IRR on a TI-84

The TVM Solver only handles level payments — the same amount every period. If your cash flows are uneven (a different amount in year 1 than year 2, say), that’s a different pair of functions in the same Finance app: npv( and irr(.

Where they live

Press APPS → Finance, and you’ll see both listed below the TVM Solver: 2: npv( and 3: irr(. Unlike the TVM Solver’s guided input screen, these are typed functions — you build the expression yourself on the home screen, the same way you’d call sin( or log(.

Enter the cash flows as a list first

Both functions take a list of cash flow amounts, so store that list before calling either one. Say your cash flows after the initial outlay are $100, $100, $100, $150, and $200:

{100,100,100,150,200} STO-> L1

Now L1 holds the cash flow stream, and both npv( and irr( can reference it.

npv( — net present value

Syntax: npv(interest rate, CF0, CFList)

• interest rate — the discount rate, as a plain number (14 for 14%, not .14)
• CF0 — the initial cash flow at time 0 (usually negative, since it’s money going out)
• CFList — the list you just stored

For an initial outlay of $50 discounted at 14%, using the list above:

npv(14,-50,L1)

The result is the net present value of that cash flow stream — positive means the investment clears the discount rate, negative means it doesn’t.

irr( — internal rate of return

Syntax: irr(CF0, CFList)

Same cash flows, no interest rate needed — IRR solves for the rate that makes NPV equal to zero:

irr(-50,L1)

The result is a percentage: the break-even discount rate for that specific cash flow stream.

What this site’s calculator covers instead

The TI-84 calculator here implements the TVM Solver under Tools → Finance — present value, future value, payment, and rate for level cash flows — but not npv( or irr( yet, since those need list support wired into the Finance tool specifically. For level-payment problems (loans, fixed annuities, standard savings math), the in-browser TVM Solver covers the same ground as the real device. For uneven cash flow analysis, the steps above are for a physical calculator.