{
  "slug": "rental-cash-flow",
  "title": "Rental Property Cash Flow Calculator",
  "heading": "Rental Property Cash Flow Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/rental-cash-flow",
  "summary": "Monthly cash flow after mortgage, vacancy, and reserves.",
  "description": "Most first-time landlords forget the four reserves: vacancy, repairs, capital expenditure, and management. Skipping them turns a $250 'profit' into a loss the first time a water heater fails.",
  "formula": "Cash flow = Rent − (mortgage + taxes + insurance + HOA + vacancy + repairs + capex + management).",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=rental-cash-flow",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "rent",
      "label": "Monthly rent",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2400,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "mortgage",
      "label": "Mortgage payment (P&I)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1350,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "taxes",
      "label": "Property taxes per month",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 320,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "insurance",
      "label": "Insurance per month",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 110,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "hoa",
      "label": "HOA per month",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "vacancy",
      "label": "Vacancy reserve",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 30
    },
    {
      "id": "repairs",
      "label": "Repairs reserve",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 30
    },
    {
      "id": "capex",
      "label": "CapEx reserve",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 30
    },
    {
      "id": "management",
      "label": "Property management",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 8,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 20
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "cash",
      "label": "Monthly cash flow",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "annual",
      "label": "Annual cash flow",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "noi",
      "label": "Annual net operating income",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "reserves",
      "label": "Monthly reserves set aside",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "expenseRatio",
      "label": "Operating expense ratio",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "dscr",
      "label": "Debt service coverage ratio",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Monthly rent: 2400 $",
      "Mortgage payment (P&I): 1350 $",
      "Property taxes per month: 320 $",
      "Insurance per month: 110 $",
      "HOA per month: 0 $",
      "Vacancy reserve: 6 %",
      "Repairs reserve: 6 %",
      "CapEx reserve: 6 %",
      "Property management: 8 %"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Monthly cash flow: -$4.00",
      "Annual cash flow: -$48.00",
      "Annual net operating income: $16,152.00",
      "Monthly reserves set aside: $624.00",
      "Operating expense ratio: 43.9%",
      "Debt service coverage ratio: 1"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter monthly rent ($).",
      "Enter mortgage payment (p&i) ($).",
      "Enter property taxes per month ($).",
      "Enter insurance per month ($).",
      "Enter hoa per month ($).",
      "Enter vacancy reserve (%).",
      "Enter repairs reserve (%).",
      "Enter capex reserve (%).",
      "Enter property management (%).",
      "Read your monthly cash flow 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": {
        "rent": 1450,
        "mortgage": 800,
        "taxes": 190,
        "insurance": 70,
        "hoa": 0,
        "vacancy": 4,
        "repairs": 4,
        "capex": 4,
        "management": 5
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "rent": 2400,
        "mortgage": 1350,
        "taxes": 320,
        "insurance": 110,
        "hoa": 0,
        "vacancy": 6,
        "repairs": 6,
        "capex": 6,
        "management": 8
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "rent": 3850,
        "mortgage": 2150,
        "taxes": 510,
        "insurance": 180,
        "hoa": 0,
        "vacancy": 10,
        "repairs": 10,
        "capex": 10,
        "management": 13
      }
    }
  ],
  "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 rental property cash flow calculator work?",
      "a": "Most first-time landlords forget the four reserves: vacancy, repairs, capital expenditure, and management. Skipping them turns a $250 'profit' into a loss the first time a water heater fails. The underlying maths is: Cash flow = Rent − (mortgage + taxes + insurance + HOA + vacancy + repairs + capex + management)."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "9 values: monthly rent, mortgage payment (p&i), property taxes per month, insurance per month, hoa per month, vacancy reserve, repairs reserve, capex reserve, and property management. 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 monthly cash flow result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars 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/cash-on-cash-return",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/one-percent-rule"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Rental Property Cash Flow Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/rental-cash-flow)"
}