Rental Cash Flow Calculator

Cash flow is the single most important number for a rental property investor. It's the money left over each month after you've collected rent and paid every expense — including the mortgage. Positive cash flow means the property is putting money in your pocket. Negative cash flow means you're subsidizing the property out of your own pocket every month.

Rental cash flow is calculated by subtracting all monthly expenses from your effective gross income. Effective gross income is your gross rent minus vacancy losses — the income you realistically expect to collect after accounting for periods when the property is unoccupied. From there, you subtract operating expenses (taxes, insurance, maintenance, property management, utilities) and your mortgage payment (principal, interest, and PMI) to arrive at net cash flow.

Cash-on-cash return (CoC) puts your cash flow in context by expressing it as a percentage of your total cash invested. If you put $70,000 into a deal (down payment plus closing costs) and generate $5,600 in annual cash flow, your cash-on-cash return is 8%. This metric lets you compare real estate returns to other investments like stocks or bonds on a like-for-like basis.

A common benchmark is to target at least 6–8% cash-on-cash return, though this varies widely by market and investment strategy. Some investors in high-appreciation markets accept lower cash flow in exchange for equity growth. Others in cash-flow markets prioritize monthly income over appreciation.

Cash flow can be improved by increasing rent, reducing vacancy, cutting expenses, or refinancing to a lower rate. Use the full Rental Property Deal Analyzer to model how changes to any variable affect your bottom line.