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Applicable Federal Rates · May 2025

Applicable Federal Rates for May 2025

Every rate the IRS published for May 2025 in Rev. Rul. 2025-10: 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 May 2025 the mid-term AFR was 4.10% and 120% of it was 4.93% (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 4.93%. The § 7520 rate for the month was 5.0%.

Table 1 — Applicable Federal Rates, by compounding period
RateAnnualSemiannualQuarterlyMonthly
Short-term (3 years or less)
AFR4.05%4.01%3.99%3.98%
110% AFR4.46%4.41%4.39%4.37%
120% AFR4.87%4.81%4.78%4.76%
130% AFR5.28%5.21%5.18%5.15%
Mid-term (over 3, up to 9 years)
AFR4.10%4.06%4.04%4.03%
110% AFR4.52%4.47%4.45%4.43%
120% AFR4.93%4.87%4.84%4.82%
130% AFR5.35%5.28%5.25%5.22%
150% AFR6.18%6.09%6.04%6.01%
175% AFR7.24%7.11%7.05%7.01%
Long-term (over 9 years)
AFR4.62%4.57%4.54%4.53%
110% AFR5.09%5.03%5.00%4.98%
120% AFR5.56%5.48%5.44%5.42%
130% AFR6.03%5.94%5.90%5.87%
Table 2 — Adjusted AFR (§ 1288, tax-exempt obligations)
TermAnnualSemiannualQuarterlyMonthly
Short-term adjusted AFR3.06%3.04%3.03%3.02%
Mid-term adjusted AFR3.10%3.08%3.07%3.06%
Long-term adjusted AFR3.50%3.47%3.46%3.45%
Tables 3 and 5 — § 382 and § 7520 rates
Adjusted federal long-term rate (§ 382)3.50%
Long-term tax-exempt rate (§ 382; highest of this and the prior two months)3.64%
§ 7520 rate (annuities, life estates, remainders)5.0%

Source: IRS Rev. Rul. 2025-10, 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 4.06% × 1.2 4.87% (published semiannual 120%: 4.87%) annual (1 + s/2)² − 1 4.93% (published: 4.93%) quarterly 4 × ((1 + s/2)^(1/2) − 1) 4.84% (published: 4.84%) monthly 12 × ((1 + s/2)^(1/6) − 1) 4.82% (published: 4.82%)

The § 7520 rate is the annual 120% mid-term figure rounded to the nearest 0.2%, with a tie rounding up: 4.93% → 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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