Rental property calculator: cash flow, cash-on-cash return and 10-year ROI
This rental property calculator turns a purchase into a full pro-forma: monthly cash flow, cash-on-cash return, cap rate, debt service coverage and a 10-year projection with rent growth, cost growth and property value growth. It answers the question behind most searches for a “rental property calculator” or “property ROI calculator”: how much do I make on the cash I actually put in?
Pick the US, India, UK or Australia to load typical figures and the local currency. The model uses a standard repayment loan (the same formula as the site’s mortgage tools), builds the table year by year, and reports total profit and IRR if you sell at the end of year 10. Results are estimates from the numbers you enter, not investment advice.
How to use the Rental Property Cash Flow Calculator
- Choose your Country to load example figures.
- Enter the Purchase price, down payment, rate, term, purchase costs and any repairs needed before renting.
- Enter the Rent a month, vacancy and the running costs: tax, insurance, charges, management, repairs and a capital reserve.
- Set the 10-year growth assumptions and selling costs.
- Read the cash flow, cash-on-cash return, DSCR and the 10-year profit, or download the table as CSV.
Rental Property Cash Flow Calculator features
Cash flow and cash-on-cash
Year-1 monthly cash flow and return on the cash you invested, including purchase costs and repairs.
10-year projection
Rent, costs, loan balance, value and equity for each year, with CSV download.
Total ROI and IRR
Combines yearly cash flow with the sale proceeds in year 10.
Leverage check
Compares the cap rate with the loan constant to show whether the loan helps.
Local examples
US, India, UK and Australia defaults and notes.
How the calculation works
Cash flow = rent collected − running costs − loan payments and Cash-on-cash return = yearly cash flow ÷ cash invested, where cash invested is the down payment plus purchase costs plus repairs. Net operating income (NOI) is rent collected minus running costs, before the loan. Rent and costs grow by the rates you set each year, while a repayment loan keeps the same payment.
Example: a $300,000 house with 25% down and a 7%, 30-year loan has a loan of $225,000 and a payment of $1,496.93 a month. Rent of $2,400 with 5% vacancy gives $27,360 collected; tax $3,600, insurance $1,400 and 18% of that rent for management, repairs and reserve leave an NOI of $17,435 (a cap rate of 5.81%). The cash invested is $75,000 down plus $9,000 of costs, $84,000. Loan payments are $17,963 a year, so year-1 cash flow is about −$528 (−$44 a month), a cash-on-cash return of −0.63% and a DSCR of 0.97.
Over ten years rent growth lifts cash flow, the loan falls to $193,078 and the house is worth $403,175. Total cash flow is $20,243, a sale after 6% selling costs nets $185,907, and total profit is $122,150, or 145% of the cash invested, an IRR of about 9.6%. Most of that comes from growth and loan paydown, not from monthly cash flow.
| Measure | Formula |
|---|---|
| Cash flow | Rent collected − running costs − loan payments |
| Cash-on-cash return | Yearly cash flow ÷ cash invested |
| Cap rate | NOI ÷ purchase price |
| DSCR | NOI ÷ yearly loan payments |
| Total profit | Cash flow over 10 years + sale proceeds − cash invested |
Using the results
- Cash-on-cash ignores loan paydown and price growth; the 10-year profit and IRR include them.
- Always keep a capital reserve: roofs, boilers and appliances fail eventually.
- Test the downside: raise vacancy, lower rent growth and set value growth to zero.
- For the property’s income yield see the cap rate calculator and the rental yield calculator; for the loan itself, the mortgage calculator.
Rental Property Cash Flow Calculator FAQ
How do you calculate cash flow on a rental property?
Take the rent you collect after vacancy, subtract running costs (tax, insurance, management, repairs, charges and a reserve), then subtract the loan payments. What remains is cash flow.
What is cash-on-cash return?
It is the yearly cash flow divided by the cash you actually invested: down payment, purchase costs and repairs. It shows the return on your own money, not on the whole property.
What is a good cash-on-cash return?
Many investors look for 8–12% in the US, but it depends on risk, market and whether you expect growth. A low or negative figure can still make sense if you expect strong appreciation, but it carries more risk.
Does this include taxes?
No. Income tax, depreciation, capital gains tax and mortgage interest relief rules vary by country and by person, and are not modelled. Ask a tax adviser.
How is the 10-year ROI calculated?
Total cash flow over ten years, plus the sale price less selling costs and the loan balance, minus the cash you first invested, divided by that cash. IRR is the yearly rate that matches the same cash flows.
Is this a rental property calculator for India?
Yes. Choose India for rupee examples with typical rent, society maintenance and loan figures. Indian yields are low, so expect modest or negative cash flow with a loan.