INVESTING
Understanding Rental Cash Flow
Explore transparent monthly arithmetic with hypothetical inputs. This calculator does not predict actual rent, returns, or property performance.
Last reviewed:Build a hypothetical month.
Enter all values in dollars per month. Vacancy is a dollar allowance, not a percentage. Convert annual items to monthly amounts before entering them. Blank fields count as zero; negative or non-finite values are rejected.
Your hypothetical monthly calculation
Worked example—made-up values only
$3,000 rent − $150 vacancy = $2,850 effective rent. Taxes $300 + insurance $100 + maintenance $150 + management $200 + HOA $100 + utilities $100 + other $50 = $1,000 operating expenses. $2,850 − $1,000 = $1,850 NOI. $1,850 − $1,400 debt service = $450 cash flow before omitted costs.
NOI excludes financing. Cash flow here subtracts entered debt service from NOI. This simplified model does not include income tax, depreciation, acquisition or selling costs, appreciation, or capital expenditures. Maintenance is a user-entered allowance, not a prediction. Different accounting conventions can treat reserves differently; consult qualified advisers.
One-time replacements and longer vacancies can materially change actual cash needs. The calculator does not classify a property as a good or bad investment.
Record assumptions and verification questions →Further reading: IRS rental income and expenses ↗
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