DURATION Function in Excel: How Sensitive a Bond Is to Rates

⏱ 1 min readUpdated 28 September 2026

FinancialLevel: ExpertAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. Related functions

DURATION returns Macaulay duration in years. Roughly, a bond with duration 7 loses about 7% in price if rates rise 1% — which is why long-duration debt funds swing more.

Syntax

=DURATION(settlement, maturity, coupon, yld, frequency, [basis])
Argument What it means
frequency 1, 2 or 4.

Examples

Example 1

=DURATION(DATE(2020,6,1), DATE(2030,6,1), 7%, 7.5%, 2)

Roughly 7 years for a 10-year 7% bond.

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