Real Estate Investing Calculators

Cash-on-cash return.

Cash-on-cash return is the annual pre-tax cash flow from a rental divided by the cash you actually invested (down payment, closing costs and up-front repairs). Enter the price, financing, rent and expenses below to get it, along with monthly cash flow and the property’s cap rate. Runs in your browser; nothing is sent or stored.

Your numbers

Purchase price

Down payment

Closing costs

Up-front repairs or renovation

Mortgage interest rate

Amortization (years)

Monthly rent

Vacancy allowance

Property tax per year

Insurance per year

Maintenance and repairs (% of collected rent)

Property management (% of collected rent)

Other monthly costs (utilities, HOA)

Every figure is yours; nothing is looked up. The mortgage payment uses monthly compounding. Canadian fixed-rate mortgages compound semi-annually, so a Canadian lender’s payment will differ slightly.

Result

Fill the form and press Calculate.

Not financial advice. This is an estimating tool built on the numbers you enter. Real estate returns depend on assumptions that can be wrong; check them with a lender, an accountant and local sources before you buy.

Worked example

$300,000 house, 25% down ($75,000), $6,000 closing costs, so $81,000 of cash invested. Rent $2,400 a month with 5% vacancy gives $27,360.00 collected a year. Expenses (tax, insurance, 8% maintenance) are $6,988.80, so NOI is $20,371.20. The mortgage costs $1,422.15 a month ($17,065.84 a year), leaving $3,305.36 a year. Cash-on-cash return is $3,305.36 / $81,000.00 = 4.08%.

How it works

Collected rent = monthly rent x 12 x (1 - vacancy). Operating expenses = property tax + insurance + other monthly costs x 12 + (maintenance % + management %) x collected rent. NOI = collected rent - operating expenses. Annual cash flow = NOI - 12 monthly mortgage payments. Cash-on-cash return = annual cash flow / (down payment + closing costs + repairs). Principal paid down, appreciation and taxes are not part of cash-on-cash return.

Sources and basis

Corporate Finance Institute describes cash-on-cash return as a rate of return that compares total cash earned to total cash invested, generally based on annual pre-tax cash flow, and warns that pre-tax figures can hide a tax cost. BiggerPockets likewise describes it as annual pre-tax income compared with the amount invested.

Cash on Cash Return - Definition, Formula, Examples (Corporate Finance Institute, published Feb 16, 2020), opened 2026-10-08.
What Is Cash-On-Cash Return & How To Calculate It (BiggerPockets), opened 2026-10-08.

FAQ

How do you calculate cash-on-cash return?

Divide annual pre-tax cash flow by the total cash you invested. In the worked example that is $3,305.36 / $81,000.00 = 4.08%.

What is the difference between cash-on-cash return and cap rate?

Cap rate ignores financing: it is NOI divided by price (6.79% in the example). Cash-on-cash return counts the mortgage payment and divides by your cash invested, so it changes with the loan.

What is a good cash-on-cash return?

There is no published standard. Investors compare it with what else they could earn on the same cash and with the risk of the property, so set your own target before you look at deals.

Does cash-on-cash return include principal paydown or appreciation?

No. It measures cash flow only. Mortgage principal you repay and any rise in value are real gains but are not in this ratio.

Should closing costs and repairs count as cash invested?

Yes. Cash invested is everything you paid out of pocket to get the property rentable: down payment, closing costs and up-front repairs.