Yield to Maturity Calculator
A $950 bond with a $1,000 face value, a 5% coupon, 10 years left, and semiannual coupons has a yield to maturity of about 5.66%. This yield to maturity calculator estimates the annualized return on a plain fixed-coupon bond when you buy at today's price and hold it to maturity. Enter the bond price, face value, coupon rate, years to maturity, and payment frequency to see the bond's nominal YTM, periodic yield, and current yield.
Quick answer
Yield to maturity is the discount rate that makes the bond's coupon payments and maturity value add up to the current price.
What this tells you
- •Yield to maturity is the discount rate that makes the bond's coupon payments and maturity value add up to the current price.
- •If the bond price is below face value, YTM is usually above the coupon rate. If the price is above face value, YTM is usually below the coupon rate.
- •This calculator reports YTM as a nominal annual rate compounded at the coupon payment frequency.
How to Use
- 1Enter the current bond price in dollars for one bond, not as a percent-of-par quote.
- 2Enter the face value, which is often $1,000 for many US bonds.
- 3Enter the annual coupon rate as a percent, such as 5 for a 5% coupon.
- 4Enter the years left to maturity and choose how many coupon payments the bond makes each year.
- 5Calculate to see the estimated yield to maturity, periodic yield, current yield, and coupon cash flow details.
How It Works
Formula
Price = Σ [Coupon payment ÷ (1 + r)^t] + [Face value ÷ (1 + r)^n]
Coupon payment = Face value × coupon rate ÷ payments per year
Nominal YTM = periodic rate r × payments per yearThe bond price equals the present value of every fixed coupon payment plus the present value of the face value paid at maturity. Because the periodic yield sits inside each discount factor, the calculator solves for that rate with a deterministic bisection search. The model assumes equal coupon periods and settlement on a coupon date.
Calculation note: values are processed in the order shown above, using the current input units.
Worked Examples
Discount bond with a higher YTM than the coupon rate
The bond pays $25 every six months and returns $1,000 at maturity. Because you buy it below face value, the yield to maturity ends up above the 5% coupon rate.
Premium bond with a lower YTM than the coupon rate
This bond pays only $30 a year in coupons but costs $100 above face value today. That premium drags the yield to maturity below the 3% coupon rate.
10-Year 5% Coupon Bond at Different Prices
These examples use a $1,000 face value bond with semiannual coupon payments so you can see how price changes YTM.
| Bond price | Current yield | Estimated YTM |
|---|---|---|
| $900 | 5.56% | 6.37% |
| $950 | 5.26% | 5.66% |
| $1,000 | 5.00% | 5.00% |
| $1,050 | 4.76% | 4.38% |
| $1,100 | 4.55% | 3.79% |
These figures assume fixed coupons, no accrued interest, and maturity exactly on the final coupon date. Real bond quotes can use clean prices and settlement conventions that shift the result.
Common mistakes
- Entering a quote like 95 instead of the dollar price, which would be $950 on a $1,000 face bond
- Assuming yield to maturity must match the coupon rate even when the bond trades above or below face value
- Using this simple fixed-coupon model for callable, putable, or off-cycle settlement bonds
Limitations
This calculator models a plain fixed-coupon bond only. It assumes the price you enter is the value used in the discounting equation, coupons stay fixed, principal is repaid once at maturity, and settlement happens on a coupon date. It does not handle accrued interest, day-count conventions, odd first or last coupons, callable or putable features, defaults, taxes, fees, or reinvestment risk.