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Applicable Federal Rates · December 2024

Applicable Federal Rates for December 2024

Every rate the IRS published for December 2024 in Rev. Rul. 2024-26: the short-, mid- and long-term AFR at four compounding periods, the multiples, the adjusted AFR, and the § 7520 rate. The 120% mid-term row is worked below the table.

In December 2024 the mid-term AFR was 4.18% and 120% of it was 5.03% (annual compounding), so a 72(t)/SEPP payment beginning in either of the two following months could use up to the greater of 5% and 5.03%. The § 7520 rate for the month was 5.0%.

Table 1 — Applicable Federal Rates, by compounding period
RateAnnualSemiannualQuarterlyMonthly
Short-term (3 years or less)
AFR4.30%4.25%4.23%4.21%
110% AFR4.73%4.68%4.65%4.64%
120% AFR5.17%5.10%5.07%5.05%
130% AFR5.61%5.53%5.49%5.47%
Mid-term (over 3, up to 9 years)
AFR4.18%4.14%4.12%4.10%
110% AFR4.60%4.55%4.52%4.51%
120% AFR5.03%4.97%4.94%4.92%
130% AFR5.45%5.38%5.34%5.32%
150% AFR6.31%6.21%6.16%6.13%
175% AFR7.38%7.25%7.19%7.14%
Long-term (over 9 years)
AFR4.53%4.48%4.46%4.44%
110% AFR4.99%4.93%4.90%4.88%
120% AFR5.45%5.38%5.34%5.32%
130% AFR5.90%5.82%5.78%5.75%
Table 2 — Adjusted AFR (§ 1288, tax-exempt obligations)
TermAnnualSemiannualQuarterlyMonthly
Short-term adjusted AFR3.26%3.23%3.22%3.21%
Mid-term adjusted AFR3.16%3.14%3.13%3.12%
Long-term adjusted AFR3.43%3.40%3.39%3.38%
Tables 3 and 5 — § 382 and § 7520 rates
Adjusted federal long-term rate (§ 382)3.43%
Long-term tax-exempt rate (§ 382; highest of this and the prior two months)3.43%
§ 7520 rate (annuities, life estates, remainders)5.0%

Source: IRS Rev. Rul. 2024-26, Tables 1, 2, 3 and 5 (PDF on irs.gov). Percentages are shown as the ruling prints them; nothing here is rounded or derived except the worked lines below, which are labelled as such. Rates apply to the calendar month named, under IRC § 1274(d); which month governs a given instrument depends on the Code section that uses it.

How the 120% mid-term rate is derived

The IRS applies each multiple to the semiannual mid-term AFR, then converts that semiannual rate to the other compounding periods. Multiplying the annual figure by 1.2 does not reproduce the published table; this does, within 0.01 percentage points, in every ruling since January 2000.

semiannual mid-term AFR 4.14% × 1.2 4.97% (published semiannual 120%: 4.97%) annual (1 + s/2)² − 1 5.03% (published: 5.03%) quarterly 4 × ((1 + s/2)^(1/2) − 1) 4.94% (published: 4.94%) monthly 12 × ((1 + s/2)^(1/6) − 1) 4.92% (published: 4.92%)

The § 7520 rate is the annual 120% mid-term figure rounded to the nearest 0.2%, with a tie rounding up: 5.03% → 5.0%, which is what the ruling publishes.

What these rates are for

IRC § 1274(d) requires the IRS to publish the applicable federal rates every month: the short-term rate for instruments of three years or less, the mid-term rate for over three and up to nine years, and the long-term rate beyond that, each set from the average market yield on outstanding U.S. Treasury obligations of comparable maturity. The multiples serve other Code sections: 120% of the mid-term rate caps a 72(t)/SEPP fixed-amortization or annuitization payment (Notice 2022-6) and, rounded to 0.2%, is the § 7520 rate used to value annuities, life estates and remainders; the 110%, 130%, 150% and 175% rows feed § 42, § 382, § 467 and § 468 computations. The adjusted AFR in Table 2 is the § 1288 rate for tax-exempt obligations.

Informational only, not tax, legal or financial advice. Confirm the figure against the linked ruling before relying on it.

Last reviewed: November 2026 · snapshot built 2026-10-26 from irs.gov.

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