{
  "slug": "cash-on-cash-return",
  "title": "Cash on Cash Return Calculator",
  "heading": "Cash-on-Cash Return Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cash-on-cash-return",
  "summary": "Annual cash flow as a return on the money you actually put in.",
  "description": "Cash-on-cash is the metric leveraged investors live by: it measures return on the cash invested, not on the purchase price, so financing terms change the answer dramatically.",
  "formula": "CoC = Annual pre-tax cash flow ÷ Total cash invested × 100.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=cash-on-cash-return",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "down",
      "label": "Down payment",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 85000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "closing",
      "label": "Closing costs",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 9000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "rehab",
      "label": "Rehab / make-ready",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 12000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "monthlyCash",
      "label": "Monthly cash flow",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 420,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": -2000,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "appreciation",
      "label": "Annual appreciation",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": -10,
      "max": 20
    },
    {
      "id": "price",
      "label": "Property price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 425000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "principal",
      "label": "Annual principal paydown",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 5200,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "coc",
      "label": "Cash-on-cash return",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "totalRoi",
      "label": "Total return incl. appreciation and paydown",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "annualCash",
      "label": "Annual cash flow",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "invested",
      "label": "Total cash invested",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "totalReturn",
      "label": "Total annual return in dollars",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "payback",
      "label": "Years to recover your cash",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Down payment: 85000 $",
      "Closing costs: 9000 $",
      "Rehab / make-ready: 12000 $",
      "Monthly cash flow: 420 $",
      "Annual appreciation: 3 %",
      "Property price: 425000 $",
      "Annual principal paydown: 5200 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Cash-on-cash return: 4.75%",
      "Total return incl. appreciation and paydown: 21.69%",
      "Annual cash flow: $5,040.00",
      "Total cash invested: $106,000.00",
      "Total annual return in dollars: $22,990.00",
      "Years to recover your cash: 21"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter down payment ($).",
      "Enter closing costs ($).",
      "Enter rehab / make-ready ($).",
      "Enter monthly cash flow ($).",
      "Enter annual appreciation (%).",
      "Enter property price ($).",
      "Enter annual principal paydown ($).",
      "Read your cash-on-cash return on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "down": 51000,
        "closing": 5500,
        "rehab": 7000,
        "monthlyCash": 250,
        "appreciation": 1.7999999999999998,
        "price": 255000,
        "principal": 3100
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "down": 85000,
        "closing": 9000,
        "rehab": 12000,
        "monthlyCash": 425,
        "appreciation": 3,
        "price": 425000,
        "principal": 5200
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "down": 136000,
        "closing": 14500,
        "rehab": 19000,
        "monthlyCash": 675,
        "appreciation": 4.800000000000001,
        "price": 680000,
        "principal": 8300
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the cash-on-cash return calculator work?",
      "a": "Cash-on-cash is the metric leveraged investors live by: it measures return on the cash invested, not on the purchase price, so financing terms change the answer dramatically. The underlying maths is: CoC = Annual pre-tax cash flow ÷ Total cash invested × 100."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "7 values: down payment, closing costs, rehab / make-ready, monthly cash flow, annual appreciation, property price, and annual principal paydown. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the cash-on-cash return result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a percentage and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cap-rate",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/rental-cash-flow",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/brrrr"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Cash on Cash Return Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cash-on-cash-return)"
}