Your result
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Enter your values, then click Calculate result.How this calculator helps
Model rental cash flow, net operating income, cap rate and cash-on-cash return from supplied rent, vacancy, costs and capital. Use one currency throughout and monthly amounts for rent, operating costs and debt service. Cash invested and property value are one-time capital bases, not monthly flows. The illustration does not load an address, listing price, rent feed or local tax schedule. Supply values from the property records or the scenario you want to inspect, and keep their date and assumptions with the output.
How to use it
- 1
Select the correct input roles for rental property cash flow calculator and enter the values described below. The demonstration defaults illustrate the method; they are not independently verified personal measurements or live market data.
- 2
Review vacancy allowance and the original source record. Match units, signs and the chosen mode before submitting, rather than relying on a familiar-looking default number.
- 3
Click Calculate result to submit the current fields. Editing an input preserves the prior submitted output until you calculate again; the pending-change message distinguishes that saved output from the new values.
- 4
Check the labeled output against the worked example and independent verification steps. Review scenario limitations before using the result in another document, and keep the complete input basis with a copied answer.
Formula and methodology
Collected rent = scheduled rent × (1−vacancy/100). NOI = 12×(collected rent−operating costs). Cash flow = NOI−12×loan payment.
The calculator applies the displayed arithmetic to the values entered on this device. It does not silently load a local tax rate, currency conversion or commercial assumption.
Worked calculation example
Scheduled rent of 2000 per month with 5% vacancy gives modeled collected rent 1900. Operating costs 600 leave monthly operating income 1300, or annual NOI 15600. A monthly loan payment 900 leaves annual cash flow 4800. Against 60000 invested cash, cash-on-cash return is 8%; on a 240000 property value basis, cap rate is 6.5%.
How to interpret your result
Operating costs should include the property expenses you intend to model, excluding loan payments and the vacancy adjustment already supplied. Taxes, insurance, management, maintenance and reserves may require different treatment in your own records; enter their combined monthly equivalent explicitly. NOI excludes debt service. Cash flow subtracts the complete supplied monthly loan payment, so principal and interest both reduce this cash-flow measure.
For different inputs or formulas, use Cap Rate Calculator — Annual NOI and Property Value; NPV Calculator; Rent Affordability Calculator.
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Scenario comparison
| Scenario | What it shows |
|---|---|
| No vacancy | collected rent equals scheduled rent. |
| No debt | annual cash flow equals NOI. |
| Cost stress | raising operating costs reduces both NOI and cash flow. |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Including loan payments inside operating costs and again as debt service.
- Comparing monthly income against annual expenses.
- Treating cap rate as appreciation-inclusive total return.
Calculate collected monthly rent first, then subtract operating costs before annualizing. Subtract twelve loan payments to reconcile annual cash flow. Divide each numerator by its explicitly labeled capital basis. Increasing loan payment should change cash-on-cash return while leaving NOI and cap rate unchanged. These checks validate the worksheet without verifying the property assumptions.
Authoritative reference. Method and scope reviewed on 5 October 2026. SolvePilot provides the original worked example and bounded browser implementation. Editorial and arithmetic review by Mohammad Qasim does not certify user measurements, a real contract or an individual professional decision. The reference supplies method, unit or source-record context; it does not approve this implementation or its inputs.What can affect the result?
One period and currency
Use one currency throughout and monthly amounts for rent, operating costs and debt service. Cash invested and property value are one-time capital bases, not monthly flows. The illustration does not load an address, listing price, rent feed or local tax schedule. Supply values from the property records or the scenario you want to inspect, and keep their date and assumptions with the output.
Vacancy allowance
Vacancy is a percentage reduction of scheduled rent over the modeled period, not a prediction of exactly which months will be vacant. It can also represent an explicitly chosen collection allowance if you label that assumption. Applying 5% to rent 2000 reduces collected rent by 100. Do not subtract vacancy again within the operating-cost field after already including it in this allowance.
Operating income and debt
Operating costs should include the property expenses you intend to model, excluding loan payments and the vacancy adjustment already supplied. Taxes, insurance, management, maintenance and reserves may require different treatment in your own records; enter their combined monthly equivalent explicitly. NOI excludes debt service. Cash flow subtracts the complete supplied monthly loan payment, so principal and interest both reduce this cash-flow measure.
Two return denominators
Capitalization rate divides annual NOI by the supplied property value basis. Cash-on-cash return divides annual cash flow after debt service by invested cash. They measure different relationships and can diverge materially when financing changes. Invested cash can include down payment and acquisition expenses if that is your chosen basis. Neither output is an internal rate of return or a total investment return including appreciation and sale proceeds.
Scenario limitations
Negative cash flow is displayed rather than hidden. Break-even occupancy is operating costs plus debt service divided by scheduled rent; a result above 100% means full collection would not cover those supplied costs. Zero scheduled rent makes that percentage undefined. The model assumes constant monthly figures and omits future resale, tax liability, depreciation, irregular capital work and financing changes. It is scenario arithmetic, not a property valuation or investment recommendation.
Privacy and browser processing
Values entered on this page are processed in the current browser session. SolvePilot does not require an account and does not receive the values entered into the calculator. Refreshing or closing the page clears the working values unless the browser itself restores a previous session. Avoid entering identifying or account information because the calculation needs summary values only.
Accuracy and verification
Accuracy depends first on input quality. Confirm definitions, scales, dates and source information before entering a value. Keep an independent record of any result used for planning because this page does not create an official statement or retain a calculation history.
Limits of this estimate
Negative cash flow is displayed rather than hidden. Break-even occupancy is operating costs plus debt service divided by scheduled rent; a result above 100% means full collection would not cover those supplied costs. Zero scheduled rent makes that percentage undefined. The model assumes constant monthly figures and omits future resale, tax liability, depreciation, irregular capital work and financing changes. It is scenario arithmetic, not a property valuation or investment recommendation.
Sources and review information
Frequently asked questions
Are rents and prices live?＋
No. All monetary figures are supplied by you and remain one stated scenario. The demonstration defaults are not local market quotes.
Does NOI include my mortgage?＋
No. NOI excludes financing. The separate cash-flow rows subtract your supplied loan payment after operating income is calculated.
Why is cash-on-cash return different from cap rate?＋
Their numerators and denominators differ: after-debt cash flow uses invested cash, while NOI uses the property value basis.
What if break-even occupancy exceeds 100%?＋
The supplied rent cannot cover operating costs and loan payments even at full collection under this simplified scenario.
Does this calculate rental tax?＋
No. Tax treatment and depreciation are outside the model. Any property-tax expense must be supplied as part of operating costs.