Rental Property Calculator: Cash Flow and ROI

Rental property calculator

Estimate financing, net operating income, cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash return and a multi-year sale scenario for a long-term rental property.

Currency

Purchase price

Down payment (%)

Closing costs paid in cash

Initial repairs or renovation

Mortgage APR (%)

Mortgage term (years)

Rental income and vacancy

Monthly rent

Other monthly property incomeFor example, parking, laundry or storage.

Vacancy and credit loss (%)

Operating expenses

Annual property tax

Annual property insurance

Monthly HOA or association fee

Monthly owner-paid utilities

Other monthly operating expenses

Maintenance reserve (% of scheduled rent)

Management fee (% of collected income)

Holding and sale assumptions

Holding period (years)

Annual property appreciation (%)

Annual rent and other-income growth (%)

Annual fixed-expense growth (%)

Selling costs (% of projected sale price)

Estimated first-year cash flow before income tax

—

Loan amount—

Monthly principal and interest—

Initial cash invested—

Effective annual income—

Annual operating expenses—

Net operating income (NOI)—

Cap rate—

Cash-on-cash return—

Debt-service coverage ratio—

Cash break-even occupancy—

Projected property value—

Projected loan balance—

Net sale proceeds—

Cumulative operating cash flow—

Projected total profit—

Estimated annual IRR—

How the rental property calculations work

Effective income = (scheduled rent + other property income) × (1 − vacancy rate)

NOI = effective income − operating expenses. Mortgage payments, income taxes, depreciation and capital improvements are excluded from NOI.

Cash flow before tax = NOI − mortgage principal and interest

Cap rate = first-year NOI ÷ purchase price

Cash-on-cash return = first-year cash flow ÷ initial cash invested

DSCR = NOI ÷ annual mortgage debt service

Initial cash invested includes the down payment, cash closing costs and initial renovation. The sale projection compounds the entered appreciation assumption, subtracts selling costs and the remaining loan balance, and adds yearly operating cash flows. IRR is calculated from the initial cash outflow, annual cash flows and final net sale proceeds.

Worked example using the default assumptions

A $300,000 property with 20% down creates a $240,000 loan. With $2,800 monthly rent, $100 other monthly income, 5% vacancy and the displayed expenses, first-year NOI is about $19,627. At 6.5% for 30 years, principal and interest are about $1,517 per month, leaving about $1,424 of first-year cash flow before income tax.

What this adds beyond a cap rate

A cap rate compares one year of NOI with property value and deliberately ignores financing. This rental property calculator also models acquisition cash, mortgage amortization, annual rent and expense changes, appreciation, selling costs and the remaining loan balance. The assumptions remain estimates rather than forecasts.

Important: Results are for scenario planning only. They do not include income tax, depreciation, tax recapture, loan fees financed into the mortgage, major capital replacements, refinancing, irregular vacancies or local legal requirements. Verify property records, leases, insurance, taxes, financing and expected repairs before investing.

Input guidance and limits

Use scheduled contract rent before vacancy. Enter concessions and nonpayment through a conservative vacancy-and-credit-loss percentage.
Maintenance reserve is a planning allowance, not a guarantee that repairs will match the percentage.
Management is applied to effective collected income; maintenance is applied to scheduled rent.
Fixed operating expenses grow by the expense-growth assumption. Rent and other property income grow by the rent-growth assumption.
The mortgage is modeled as a fixed-rate fully amortizing loan with monthly payments. A 100% down payment produces no debt service.
IRR can be unavailable when the entered cash-flow pattern does not produce a solution within the calculator’s search range.

Frequently asked questions

Is mortgage principal included in NOI?

No. NOI measures property operations before financing. Principal and interest are subtracted afterward to calculate cash flow before tax.

What is a good cash-on-cash return?

There is no universal threshold. Required returns vary with location, property condition, financing, risk, liquidity and alternative investments. Compare scenarios using consistent assumptions.

Can the projected sale value be trusted?

No appreciation rate is guaranteed. Test lower, zero and negative appreciation assumptions and consider transaction costs and major repairs.

Does this calculate rental income tax?

No. Tax treatment depends on jurisdiction and the investor’s circumstances. The calculator stops at cash flow before income tax and does not model depreciation or recapture.

Related tools: Cap Rate Calculator, Mortgage Calculator and ROI Calculator.