Rental Cash Flow Calculator
What is left each month after operating costs and the mortgage payment.
Result
Monthly cash flow: $411.83Estimate
This is pre-tax cash flow. It sets nothing aside for a roof or a boiler unless you entered a reserve as an expense row, and it excludes depreciation and any tax effect.
- Annual cash flow
- $4,941.92Estimate
- Net operating income
- $23,621.60
- Annual debt service
- $18,679.68
- Monthly principal and interest
- $1,556.64
https://calcgallery.com/real-estate/rental-cash-flow-calculator/
Results are arithmetic from the numbers you enter, not investment, lending, tax or valuation advice. The site supplies no rents, prices, cap rates or market data, and whether a deal is sound depends on facts no calculator can see. Read the full disclaimer
How to use the Rental Cash Flow Calculator
- Enter the rent, the vacancy you expect and any income that is not rent.
- List the annual operating costs, leaving the mortgage out.
- Enter the loan amount, rate and term. The payment is worked out for you.
Two different questions on one page
Net operating income describes the property. Cash flow describes the purchase.
net operating income = effective gross income − operating expensesannual cash flow = net operating income − annual debt serviceThe same building produces one NOI and as many cash flows as there are ways to finance it. That is why the mortgage is entered on its own, below the operating costs rather than among them.
Where the payment comes from
The principal and interest figure uses the same amortisation convention as the mortgage and loan calculators on this site: a stated annual rate divided across twelve monthly periods, the nominal convention lenders use, and a level payment that clears the balance over the term. A test checks the two pages agree to the cent, because a calculator that quietly disagreed with its own sibling would be worse than one that was obviously wrong.
Taxes and insurance stay in the operating expenses where they belong. If you are reading a payment off a statement that includes escrow, use only the principal and interest part here.
What it does not set aside
Cash flow is not profit. A property that clears a few hundred a month is one boiler away from a year of it, and the arithmetic above makes no provision for that. Owners commonly reserve for capital items; if you want that reflected, add it as an expense row and label it so you remember it is a reserve rather than a bill.
With your numbers
- Net operating income = $23,621.60 a year
- Less annual debt service $18,679.68 ($1,556.64 a month)
- Annual cash flow = $4,941.92, which is $411.83 a month
Quick reference
This is pre-tax cash flow. It sets nothing aside for a roof or a boiler unless you entered a reserve as an expense row, and it excludes depreciation and any tax effect.
| Example | Monthly cash flow |
|---|---|
| Worked example, 75% loan to value | $411.83 |
| Bought outright, no loan | $1,968.47 |
| Higher rate on the same loan | $165.43 |
| Fifteen-year term | -$155.31 |
| Smaller property, self-managed | €380.49 |
| Negative cash flow | -€825.39 |
Common questions about the Rental Cash Flow Calculator
- Why is the mortgage entered separately from the expenses?
- So it is never counted twice, and so the page can show net operating income and cash flow side by side. NOI excludes debt service by definition; cash flow is what is left after it.
- Is this what lands in my account?
- Before tax, and before anything you set aside. It does not reserve for a roof or a boiler unless you entered a reserve as an expense row, and it includes no tax effect.
- Does the payment include taxes and insurance?
- No. This page treats the loan payment as principal and interest only, because taxes and insurance are already in your operating expenses. Putting an escrowed payment here as well would double-count them.
- Why does a longer term improve cash flow?
- A longer term spreads the same principal over more payments, so each one is smaller. Monthly cash flow improves while total interest over the life of the loan rises.
- What does a negative result mean?
- The property does not cover its own costs and loan at the numbers entered, so the shortfall comes from elsewhere each month. The page reports the negative figure rather than hiding it.