Rental cash flow calculator

Rental cash flow is the money left each month after vacancy, operating costs and the loan payment. A home renting for $1,800 with $90 of vacancy, $583 of costs and a $944 loan payment clears about $183 a month.

  • Free, no signup
  • Official county data
  • Formulas published

Rental assumptions

Model rent, financing, and operating costs. Results update as you edit.

Property

Purchase & income

Price, rent, and capital required at closing.

$
$
%
%
$
$
$

Operating costs

Vacancy, reserves, and ownership expenses.

%
$
$
$
%
%
%
$

Calculated results

Rental performance

Cash flow and return metrics from your assumptions.

Enter purchase price and monthly rent to see cash flow and DSCR.

Enter assumptions

Complete the required inputs to save.

What does the rental cash flow calculator do?

This calculator totals rent, subtracts vacancy, operating costs and principal and interest, and shows monthly and yearly cash flow with a clear verdict. Pick a county to start from local tax and insurance figures.

Who should use it?

Buy-and-hold investors checking whether a property pays for itself.

What you need to enter

  • Monthly rent and other income
  • Vacancy rate
  • Tax, insurance, maintenance, management and HOA
  • Loan amount, rate and term

How the calculation works

  1. 1Monthly rent less vacancy gives effective income.
  2. 2Effective income less operating costs gives NOI.
  3. 3NOI less the loan payment gives cash flow.

The same formulas run the full workspace and are listed on the formulas page.

Worked example

A $180,000 rental with 25% down at 7.5% over 30 years

Rent
$1,800 a month
Vacancy (5%)
$90 a month
Operating costs
$583 a month
Loan payment
$944 a month
Cash flow
About $183 a month

A thin margin like this can disappear with one large repair, so test higher vacancy and maintenance.

How to read the results

  • Positive cash flow means the rent covers the costs you entered, so check that those costs are realistic.
  • Test a higher vacancy rate and repair budget before relying on a small positive number.

Common mistakes and limits

  • Counting only the mortgage and leaving out operating costs.
  • Using a pre-sale tax bill.
  • Budgeting nothing for repairs and turnover.

Questions people ask

Start with rent, then subtract vacancy, operating costs such as taxes, insurance and maintenance, and the loan payment.

FlipMetric

Ready to run your own numbers?

Use the calculator above, or open the full workspace. Your first analysis doesn't need an account.

Open the workspaceSee pricing

Estimates only, not financial, legal or tax advice. Read the disclaimer.