Investment property cashflow calculator for Australia
First-year cashflow after loan repayments, weekly and annual, with break-even rent and break-even interest rate for the same purchase. Every line is shown so you can check it against your own numbers. No signup; calculations run in your browser and shareable links contain your scenario figures.
Current equity & capital growth
Growth compares current market value with the purchase price, excluding purchase costs, selling costs and tax. It is cumulative, not annualised.
- Current market value
- $750,000
- Current loan balance
- $600,000
- Current equity ($)Current market value minus current loan balance. Can be negative.
- $150,000
- Capital Growth vs Purchase ($)
- $0.00
- Capital Growth vs Purchase (%)Change in market value divided by purchase price.
- 0.00%
Cash you need at settlement
Purchase costs are assumed paid in cash, not borrowed.
- Purchase price
- $750,000
- Transfer duty (NSW)
- $27,937
- Other purchase costs
- $5,300
- Total cost of the property
- $783,237
- Less loan
- − $600,000
- Cash required
- $183,237
- Deposit aloneYour deposit is the equity in the property. The cash required also covers duty and fees.
- $150,000
- LVR
- 80.00%
Income
- Gross annual rent (52 weeks)
- $33,800
- Less vacancy2 weeks per year
- − $1,300
- Rent collected
- $32,500
- Total income
- $32,500
Operating costs
What the property costs to run, before any loan repayment.
- Council rates
- $2,200
- Water rates
- $1,100
- Landlord insurance
- $1,400
- Management fee7.7% of rent collected
- $2,503
- Letting fee1 week(s) of rent, once a year
- $650
- Repairs & maintenance
- $2,000
- Total operating costs
- $9,853
Net operating income
Income less operating costs, before any loan. This is the earning power of the property itself — it is the same whoever buys it, which is what makes yields comparable between listings.
- Total income
- $32,500
- Less operating costs
- − $9,853
- Net operating income
- $22,648
Loan repayments, year 1
- Repayment type
- Principal & interest
- Interest
- $37,001
- PrincipalCash out the door, but it becomes equity rather than being spent.
- $7,097
- Total repayments
- $44,098
Cashflow
Net operating income less total loan repayments.
- Net operating income
- $22,648
- Less loan repayments
- − $44,098
- Annual
- −$21,450.22
- Monthly
- −$1,787.52
- Weekly
- −$412.50
- Cash-on-cash returnFirst-year cashflow against the cash you put in.
- -11.71%
Yields
Gross yields use asking rent; net yields use net operating income. All yields exclude loan repayments.
- Gross yield on priceThe figure quoted in listings — 52 weeks of asking rent, no vacancy allowance.
- 4.51%
- Gross yield on current value52 weeks of asking rent divided by current market value, before vacancy and expenses.
- 4.51%
- Gross yield on total costAgainst what you actually outlaid, including duty and fees.
- 4.32%
- Net yield on price
- 3.02%
- Net yield on total cost
- 2.89%
Break-even
- Rent to break evenCovers operating costs and full principal & interest repayments.
- $1,125.09 / week
- Rent to cover interest onlyExcludes principal, on the view that principal is equity rather than a cost.
- $967.90 / week
- Interest rate to break evenThe rate at which cashflow reaches zero, all else held constant.
- 0.84%
How investment property cashflow is calculated
Cashflow is what is left after the rent has paid the running costs and the loan. The calculator works it out for the first year of ownership, before any income tax, and reports it per week because that is the figure investors actually quote to each other.
- Net operating income = rent collected after vacancy + other income − all operating expenses. No finance costs.
- Annual cashflow = net operating income − total loan repayments for year one, including principal. Negative means the property costs you money to hold.
- Weekly cashflow = annual ÷ 52. Monthly = annual ÷ 12.
- Cash-on-cash return = annual cashflow ÷ total cash you put in at settlement (deposit plus duty and fees).
Worked example: $750,000 purchase, $600,000 loan at 6.2%
The calculator’s starting scenario: $650 a week rent, 2 weeks’ vacancy, a $150,000 deposit and a 30-year principal-and-interest loan at 6.2% in NSW.
| Rent collected after vacancy | $32,500 | $650 × 50 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Less operating expenses | − $9,852.50 | rates, water, insurance, management, letting, repairs |
| Net operating income | $22,647.50 | the property before the loan |
| Less loan repayments, year 1 | − $44,098 | $37,001 interest + $7,097 principal |
| Annual cashflow | −$21,450.22 | negative |
| Weekly cashflow | −$412.50 | annual ÷ 52 |
| Cash-on-cash return | -11.71% | on $183,237 cash at settlement |
This property costs you money to hold: $412.50 a week, or $21,450 a year, before tax. Of the $44,098 in repayments, $7,097 reduces the loan and becomes equity, so the cash shortfall and the economic cost are not the same number.
Break-even rent and break-even interest rate
The calculator also solves the question in reverse. In the example the property breaks even at a weekly rent of $1,125.09 on principal and interest, or $967.90 if you only had to cover interest. It breaks even at an interest rate of 0.84%, all else held constant.
Break-even rent is solved in closed form rather than by adding the shortfall to the rent, because two expenses scale with rent: the management fee and the letting fee. Raising rent to cover a shortfall also raises those fees, so the naive answer always understates the rent required. The break-even interest rate is found by bisection between 0% and 25%; where no rate in that range balances the books, the result reads “not applicable” rather than 0%.
Why this page does not say “negatively geared”
Negative gearing is a tax concept: it describes a rental loss set against other income on a tax return, and its value depends on the owner’s marginal rate, depreciation and other personal circumstances. At the property level the accurate description is cashflow-negative, which is what is shown here. The figures are before income tax, so they are the same for every buyer of the same property with the same loan.
Interest-only loans and offset accounts
During an interest-only period repayments are interest alone and the balance does not fall. When it ends, the loan amortises over the remaining term, so a five-year interest-only period on a 30-year loan raises the later repayment above the equivalent 30-year principal-and-interest figure. An offset balance reduces the interest charged but does not repay the loan. Repayments use the standard annuity formula with monthly compounding, which matches the scheduled repayment on Australian loan documents.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good cashflow for an investment property?
The calculator does not rate the result. A positive weekly cashflow means the rent covers running costs and the full repayment; a negative one means you top it up from other income. Whether either suits you depends on your income, the loan structure and your expectations of growth, which is a conversation for a licensed adviser.
Does the cashflow include principal repayments?
Yes. It is your true cash position, not the cost of holding. Interest and principal are shown separately so you can see how much of a shortfall is money converted into equity rather than consumed.
Does the calculator include the tax benefit of a rental loss?
No. Figures are before personal income tax. Negative gearing, depreciation and capital gains tax depend on the owner and are outside the scope of this free property calculator.
Why is cashflow negative when the yield is positive?
Yield ignores the loan. A 4.51% gross yield on $750,000 produces $33,800 of rent, but the repayments on a $600,000 loan at 6.2% are $44,098 before any expenses. See the rental yield calculator and the guide on yield versus cashflow.
What is break-even rent?
The weekly rent at which annual cashflow is exactly zero with every other input held constant. Two figures are given: one covering full principal-and-interest repayments, one covering everything except principal.
Is stamp duty part of cashflow?
No. Duty is a one-off acquisition cost and sits in the cash required at settlement, not in the annual cashflow. It does reduce your cash-on-cash return because it increases the cash you put in. Duty for every state is on the stamp duty pages.