Landlord Profitability Calculator

Landlord profitability and rental cash flow calculator

This landlord profitability calculator estimates how much money a rental property is likely to produce after the costs that usually matter most: vacancy, operating expenses, and (optionally) a mortgage payment. The main intent is simple: you want to know whether a rental is likely to generate positive cash flow and what that looks like in monthly and annual terms.

Start with the minimum inputs and you will still get a usable result. Enter the monthly rent, then (if relevant) add any other recurring monthly income such as parking fees or a storage unit. Vacancy is optional, but leaving it blank can be misleading because most rentals experience some level of downtime, late payments, or tenant turnover. If you do not know your vacancy rate, the calculator assumes a conservative default and shows the impact clearly.

If you want a more realistic estimate, expand the Advanced section and add the expenses you actually pay. Some costs are fixed (like annual insurance), some are monthly (like levies), and others are best treated as a reserve (like maintenance). This calculator also allows percentage-based costs that scale with collected rent, such as property management and a maintenance reserve. The output separates operating performance (NOI) from financing (mortgage) so you can see whether the property is fundamentally healthy or only looks good because of a low loan payment.

Assumptions and how to use this calculator

• Vacancy is applied to gross scheduled income (monthly rent plus other monthly income) to estimate collected income. If you leave vacancy blank, a default is used to avoid unrealistic “always occupied” results.
• Maintenance reserve and management fees are calculated as a percentage of collected rent (after vacancy), which better reflects how these costs behave in practice.
• Property taxes and insurance are treated as annual costs; levies, utilities, and other operating expenses are treated as monthly costs and annualised.
• Mortgage payment is optional and is treated as a cash outflow for cash flow, not as an operating expense. The calculator does not separate principal and interest.
• This calculator estimates profitability from cash movement, not taxable income. It excludes depreciation, capital improvements, refinancing costs, and one-time transaction costs.

Common questions

What is the difference between NOI and cash flow?

Net Operating Income (NOI) is income after operating expenses but before financing. Cash flow goes one step further by subtracting the mortgage payment (if any). A property can have strong NOI but weak cash flow if the loan payment is high.

What vacancy rate should I use if I do not know it?

If you have no data, use a conservative estimate rather than zero. A small vacancy assumption protects you from overestimating profitability. If your area has seasonal demand or frequent tenant turnover, increase the vacancy rate and see how sensitive the result is.

Why treat maintenance as a percentage instead of a fixed number?

Maintenance is uneven, but over time it tends to scale with the property’s usage and revenue. A percentage-based reserve helps you smooth irregular costs into a realistic monthly/annual figure. If you have strong history for your specific property, you can replace the percentage approach by using the “Other operating expenses” field instead.

Does the mortgage payment include taxes and insurance?

Some mortgages bundle escrow items into the payment, while others do not. This calculator keeps taxes and insurance separate so the model stays transparent. If your mortgage payment already includes them, set tax and insurance to zero to avoid double counting.

What does break-even occupancy mean?

Break-even occupancy is the occupancy level needed for collected income to cover operating expenses plus the mortgage payment (if provided). It is a practical stress test: if your market cannot realistically achieve that occupancy, the rental is structurally risky.