The date on which the principal amount of a note, draft, acceptance bond or other debt instrument becomes due and is repaid to the investor and interest payments stop. It is also the termination or due date on which an installment loan must be paid in full. 

|||The maturity date tells you when you will get your principal back and for how long you will receive interest payments. However, it is important to note that some debt instruments, such as fixed-income securities, are "callable", which means that the issuer of the debt is able to pay back the principal at any time. Thus, investors should inquire, before buying any fixed-income securities, whether the bond is callable or not.