Abstract: The reasons in the loss of accuracy and asymptotic rate of quadratic conver-gency of Newton iteration in finite load increments when using classical tangent stiffness matrix methods of elastoplastic finite element analysis are briefly discussed. A consistent algorithm is proposed which preserves the asymptotic rate of quadratic convergency of Newton iteration and holds a first order accuracy and unconditional stability. It is characterized by the path-independent strategy and the consistent elastoplastic ta...