Mid-term AFR and the 120% rate
The federal mid-term rate is set monthly under IRC §1274(d) and published in a revenue ruling. The 120% row printed beside it is the interest rate a 72(t) series may use, subject to a 5% floor. Every month from January 2021 to October 2026 is below, read from the rulings themselves rather than from a secondary table, together with the ceiling each start month allows.
the mid-term AFR series through 2026-10 checked against the official publications, last on 2026-09-30 Every figure computed from the verified data file, not transcribed No sign-up Methodology and data status
The ceiling by start month
A 72(t) series may use any rate up to the greater of 5% and 120% of the mid-term rate for either of the two months before the month the first payment falls in. The higher of the two months is the one that binds.
| First payment in | Two months looked up | Ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 2026-05 4.91%, 2026-04 4.59% | 5.00% (the floor) |
| July 2026 | 2026-06 4.97%, 2026-05 4.91% | 5.00% (the floor) |
| August 2026 | 2026-07 5.23%, 2026-06 4.97% | 5.23% |
| September 2026 | 2026-08 5.23%, 2026-07 5.23% | 5.23% |
| October 2026 | 2026-09 5.40%, 2026-08 5.23% | 5.40% |
| November 2026 | 2026-10 5.54%, 2026-09 5.40% | 5.54% |
Computed by the same function the 72(t) calculator uses, from the annual-compounding figure. Notice 2022-6 does not say which compounding period's 120% rate applies; the annual one is the usual reading for a series computed annually, and the page says so rather than leaving it implicit.
The 120% row is not 1.2 times the annual rate
A table that computes its own 120% figure by multiplying the published annual mid-term rate by 1.2 will disagree with the row the IRS actually printed in 45 of these 70 months, by as much as 0.022 points (November 2023). The reason is that the IRS takes 120% of the semiannual rate and converts that to the other compounding periods. Running that conversion, (1 + s/200)² − 1, on the published 120% semiannual figure reproduces the published annual 120% figure in 70 of 70 months, every one of them.
It matters because the ceiling is a legal limit. The figures on this site are the published rows, never a recomputation. In 8 months the gap reaches 0.02 points once both are rounded the way the rulings print them:
| Month | Mid-term AFR | 1.2 × that | 120% as published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-08 | 3.15% | 3.780% | 3.80% |
| 2022-11 | 3.97% | 4.764% | 4.78% |
| 2022-12 | 4.27% | 5.124% | 5.14% |
| 2023-05 | 3.57% | 4.284% | 4.30% |
| 2023-11 | 4.69% | 5.628% | 5.65% |
| 2024-06 | 4.66% | 5.592% | 5.61% |
| 2024-09 | 4.02% | 4.824% | 4.84% |
| 2025-06 | 4.07% | 4.884% | 4.90% |
Every month
Annual compounding. The rulings print each rate for annual, semiannual, quarterly and monthly compounding; all four are in the downloads below. The month is taken from each ruling's own text, because the IRS index page has mislabelled one.
| Month | Revenue ruling | Mid-term AFR | 120% of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10 | Rev. Rul. 2026-19 | 4.61% | 5.54% |
| 2026-09 | Rev. Rul. 2026-17 | 4.49% | 5.40% |
| 2026-08 | Rev. Rul. 2026-13 | 4.35% | 5.23% |
| 2026-07 | Rev. Rul. 2026-12 | 4.35% | 5.23% |
| 2026-06 | Rev. Rul. 2026-11 | 4.13% | 4.97% |
| 2026-05 | Rev. Rul. 2026-09 | 4.08% | 4.91% |
| 2026-04 | Rev. Rul. 2026-07 | 3.82% | 4.59% |
| 2026-03 | Rev. Rul. 2026-06 | 3.93% | 4.72% |
| 2026-02 | Rev. Rul. 2026-03 | 3.86% | 4.63% |
| 2026-01 | Rev. Rul. 2026-02 | 3.81% | 4.57% |
| 2025-12 | Rev. Rul. 2025-24 | 3.79% | 4.55% |
| 2025-11 | Rev. Rul. 2025-21 | 3.83% | 4.60% |
| 2025-10 | Rev. Rul. 2025-19 | 3.87% | 4.65% |
| 2025-09 | Rev. Rul. 2025-17 | 4.04% | 4.86% |
| 2025-08 | Rev. Rul. 2025-14 | 4.06% | 4.88% |
| 2025-07 | Rev. Rul. 2025-13 | 4.19% | 5.04% |
| 2025-06 | Rev. Rul. 2025-12 | 4.07% | 4.90% |
| 2025-05 | Rev. Rul. 2025-10 | 4.10% | 4.93% |
| 2025-04 | Rev. Rul. 2025-08 | 4.21% | 5.06% |
| 2025-03 | Rev. Rul. 2025-06 | 4.46% | 5.36% |
| 2025-02 | Rev. Rul. 2025-05 | 4.52% | 5.43% |
| 2025-01 | Rev. Rul. 2025-01 | 4.24% | 5.10% |
| 2024-12 | Rev. Rul. 2024-26 | 4.18% | 5.03% |
| 2024-11 | Rev. Rul. 2024-24 | 3.70% | 4.45% |
| 2024-10 | Rev. Rul. 2024-21 | 3.70% | 4.45% |
| 2024-09 | Rev. Rul. 2024-17 | 4.02% | 4.84% |
| 2024-08 | Rev. Rul. 2024-15 | 4.34% | 5.22% |
| 2024-07 | Rev. Rul. 2024-13 | 4.49% | 5.40% |
| 2024-06 | Rev. Rul. 2024-12 | 4.66% | 5.61% |
| 2024-05 | Rev. Rul. 2024-09 | 4.42% | 5.31% |
| 2024-04 | Rev. Rul. 2024-07 | 4.30% | 5.17% |
| 2024-03 | Rev. Rul. 2024-04 | 4.13% | 4.97% |
| 2024-02 | Rev. Rul. 2024-03 | 3.98% | 4.79% |
| 2024-01 | Rev. Rul. 2024-02 | 4.37% | 5.25% |
| 2023-12 | Rev. Rul. 2023-21 | 4.82% | 5.79% |
| 2023-11 | Rev. Rul. 2023-20 | 4.69% | 5.65% |
| 2023-10 | Rev. Rul. 2023-18 | 4.43% | 5.33% |
| 2023-09 | Rev. Rul. 2023-16 | 4.19% | 5.04% |
| 2023-08 | Rev. Rul. 2023-13 | 4.09% | 4.92% |
| 2023-07 | Rev. Rul. 2023-12 | 3.85% | 4.62% |
| 2023-06 | Rev. Rul. 2023-10 | 3.56% | 4.28% |
| 2023-05 | Rev. Rul. 2023-09 | 3.57% | 4.30% |
| 2023-04 | Rev. Rul. 2023-06 | 4.15% | 4.99% |
| 2023-03 | Rev. Rul. 2023-05 | 3.70% | 4.45% |
| 2023-02 | Rev. Rul. 2023-03 | 3.82% | 4.59% |
| 2023-01 | Rev. Rul. 2023-01 | 3.85% | 4.62% |
| 2022-12 | Rev. Rul. 2022-22 | 4.27% | 5.14% |
| 2022-11 | Rev. Rul. 2022-20 | 3.97% | 4.78% |
| 2022-10 | Rev. Rul. 2022-18 | 3.28% | 3.94% |
| 2022-09 | Rev. Rul. 2022-17 | 2.93% | 3.52% |
| 2022-08 | Rev. Rul. 2022-14 | 3.15% | 3.80% |
| 2022-07 | Rev. Rul. 2022-12 | 2.99% | 3.59% |
| 2022-06 | Rev. Rul. 2022-10 | 2.93% | 3.52% |
| 2022-05 | Rev. Rul. 2022-09 | 2.51% | 3.01% |
| 2022-04 | Rev. Rul. 2022-08 | 1.87% | 2.24% |
| 2022-03 | Rev. Rul. 2022-04 | 1.74% | 2.09% |
| 2022-02 | Rev. Rul. 2022-03 | 1.40% | 1.69% |
| 2022-01 | Rev. Rul. 2022-01 | 1.30% | 1.57% |
| 2021-12 | Rev. Rul. 2021-23 | 1.26% | 1.52% |
| 2021-11 | Rev. Rul. 2021-21 | 1.08% | 1.30% |
| 2021-10 | Rev. Rul. 2021-18 | 0.91% | 1.09% |
| 2021-09 | Rev. Rul. 2021-16 | 0.86% | 1.03% |
| 2021-08 | Rev. Rul. 2021-14 | 1.00% | 1.20% |
| 2021-07 | Rev. Rul. 2021-12 | 1.00% | 1.20% |
| 2021-06 | Rev. Rul. 2021-09 | 1.02% | 1.22% |
| 2021-05 | Rev. Rul. 2021-08 | 1.07% | 1.28% |
| 2021-04 | Rev. Rul. 2021-07 | 0.89% | 1.07% |
| 2021-03 | Rev. Rul. 2021-05 | 0.62% | 0.74% |
| 2021-02 | Rev. Rul. 2021-04 | 0.56% | 0.67% |
| 2021-01 | Rev. Rul. 2021-01 | 0.52% | 0.62% |
Highest 120% rate in this range: 5.79% in December 2023. Lowest: 0.62% in January 2021. The 5% floor governed 43 of the 68 start months covered, most recently a series beginning July 2026.
Download the series
Generated from the data this page and the 72(t) calculator both read. CSV carries the month, the ruling and all eight published rates. JSON adds the provenance and the notes. Every field in both is a figure printed in the ruling on its row; nothing in the files is computed here.
IRS revenue rulings under IRC §1274(d), Table 1. Last independently verified 2026-09-30. Reuse them freely.
Sources
- IRS Revenue Rulings under IRC §1274(d), one per month (irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-YY-NN.pdf), Table 1 'Applicable Federal Rates', Mid-term rows: AFR and 120% AFR for annual, semiannual, quarterly and monthly compounding
- IRS 'Applicable Federal Rates' index page (irs.gov/applicable-federal-rates), used only to locate the ruling for each month; the month each ruling applies to is taken from the ruling's own text, because the index page has mislabeled a ruling's month and lists §6621 interest-rate rulings alongside the AFR rulings
- IRS Notice 2022-6 §3.02(c): the SEPP interest rate may not exceed the greater of 5% and 120% of the federal mid-term rate for either of the two months immediately preceding the month in which the distribution begins
Statements on this page and their sources
Each sentence below states a fact the calculator does not compute. It was checked against the document named, most recently on 2026-09-30; the date is when to re-read it.
- A 72(t) series may use any interest rate up to the greater of 5% and 120% of the federal mid-term rate for either of the two months immediately before the month the distribution begins.
- IRS Notice 2022-6 §3.02(c) —
The interest rate that may be used to apply the fixed amortization method or the fixed annuitization method is any interest rate that is not more than the greater of (i) 5% or (ii) 120% of the federal mid-term rate (determined in accordance with section 1274(d) for either of the two months immediately preceding the month in which the distribution begins).
- IRS Notice 2022-6 §3.02(c) —
- The 120% row the IRS prints is not 1.2 times the printed annual mid-term AFR: converting the printed 120% semiannual rate to an annual equivalent reproduces the printed annual figure in all 70 months from January 2021 to October 2026, while 1.2 times the printed annual AFR disagrees with the published row in 45 of them, by up to 0.022 points.
- IRS revenue rulings under IRC §1274(d), Table 1, one per month, January 2021 to October 2026; the comparison is arithmetic over the published rows and is shown on the page itself
- IRS Notice 2022-6 §3.02(c), which sets the ceiling by reference to 120% of the federal mid-term rate without naming a compounding period
AFR history: verified · last verified 2026-09-30. Verification: Two independent automated reads of each ruling's PDF text on 2026-09-10 — the first by the lead, the second blind to the first (report V-72T, which also hand-read eight rulings from the text and from rendered page images) — agree on all four mid-term AFR and 120% figures for every month from January 2021 to September 2026; a red team (report R-72T) hand-read twelve further months and checked the ceiling logic for six start months. Every month satisfies 120% AFR ≈ 1.2 × mid-term AFR within 0.025 points. October 2026 (Rev. Rul. 2026-19) was added on 2026-09-30 after two independent reads that agree on all eight figures: the lead's text extraction, and a second reader blind to it who also read a rendered image of the table. See the methodology page.
Questions this page answers
What is the 120% mid-term AFR?
The federal mid-term applicable federal rate is set each month under IRC §1274(d) and published in a revenue ruling. The 120% row beside it is what a 72(t) series may use as its interest rate, subject to a 5% floor. For October 2026 the mid-term rate is 4.61% and the 120% row is 5.54%, from Rev. Rul. 2026-19.
Is the 120% rate just 1.2 times the AFR?
No, and this is the part most tables get wrong. The IRS computes 120% of the semiannual rate and converts it to the other compounding periods. Doing that conversion reproduces the published annual 120% figure in all 70 months here. Multiplying the published annual AFR by 1.2 instead disagrees with the published row in 45 of them, by as much as 0.022 points.
Which month's rate applies to my 72(t)?
Either of the two months immediately before the month your first payment falls in, whichever is higher, and never less than 5%. A series beginning in November 2026 may use up to 5.54%.
When did the 5% floor stop mattering?
The floor governed 43 of the 68 start months covered here, most recently through July 2026. From August 2026 the 120% rate has been the higher of the two, so it sets the ceiling on its own.