Cash-on-Cash Return Calculator – Rental Property CoC

A cash-on-cash return calculator for rental property investors. Enter the purchase price, down payment, closing costs, upfront rehab, mortgage rate and term, plus monthly rent, vacancy, management, taxes, insurance, maintenance, CapEx and HOA. It returns net operating income, cap rate, DSCR, monthly and annual cash flow, and the cash-on-cash return percentage. Unlike cap rate, CoC counts only the cash you invested and subtracts the mortgage. Everything runs locally in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

🔒 Pure browser calculation — nothing is uploaded.

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Your cash-on-cash return

Loan amount—
Monthly mortgage payment (P&I)—
Net operating income (NOI, annual)—
Cap rate—
DSCR (debt-service coverage)—
Monthly cash flow—
Annual cash flow—
Total cash invested—
Cash-on-cash return—

Operating expenses exclude the mortgage — the loan payment is calculated separately from your rate, term, and loan amount. DSCR is annual NOI ÷ annual debt service; lenders on DSCR loans typically want at least 1.20–1.25. Cash-on-cash measures this year's cash yield only; it ignores appreciation, principal paydown, and tax benefits.

How to calculate cash-on-cash return

Cash-on-cash return is the workhorse metric for leveraged rental investors. It tells you the pre-tax yield your own cash earns in a year: CoC = annual cash flow ÷ total cash invested × 100. The calculator builds the deal from the bottom up — it starts with rent plus other income, knocks off a vacancy allowance to reach effective gross income, subtracts itemized operating expenses (management, maintenance, CapEx, taxes, insurance, HOA) to get net operating income (NOI), then subtracts the amortized mortgage payment and multiplies by twelve. Put $62,500 of cash into a deal that throws off $8,400 a year and your cash-on-cash return is 13.4%.

The denominator is what makes CoC honest about leverage: it counts only the cash that left your pocket — down payment, closing costs, and upfront rehab — never the financed portion of the price. Borrow more and you invest less of your own money, which can lift the percentage even as the bigger loan payment trims monthly cash flow and lowers your DSCR. That tension is the whole game, and you can feel it by sliding the down payment field up and down.

The calculator also surfaces the two metrics that matter alongside CoC. The cap rate (NOI ÷ purchase price) describes the asset's unleveraged return, ignoring financing entirely, while DSCR (annual NOI ÷ annual debt service) tells a lender how comfortably the rent covers the loan — most want at least 1.20–1.25. Cap rate is the crucial contrast to cash-on-cash: a high cap rate with an expensive loan can still produce a mediocre CoC, so always look at all three before you commit.

Pair this with the financing-blind view in the cap rate calculator, model a refinance-and-recycle strategy in the BRRRR calculator, or browse every tool in the real estate investment calculators hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

Cash-on-cash return (CoC) measures the annual pre-tax cash flow a rental property produces against the actual cash you put into it. The formula is annual cash flow ÷ total cash invested × 100. If a property nets $4,800 of cash flow a year and you invested $60,000 of your own money, your cash-on-cash return is 8%. It answers the practical question every investor cares about: what yield is my own money earning this year?

Total cash invested is the money that actually left your pocket to acquire and stabilize the deal: the down payment, closing costs (lender fees, title, escrow, transfer tax), and any upfront rehab needed before the unit can be rented. It deliberately excludes the financed portion of the price — that's the lender's money, not yours, which is exactly why leverage can lift your cash-on-cash return.

Cap rate divides net operating income by the property price and ignores financing entirely — it describes the asset as if you paid all cash. Cash-on-cash instead uses only the cash you actually invested and does subtract the mortgage payment, so it reflects your real leveraged yield. Two investors buying the same building at the same cap rate can have very different CoC returns depending on their loan. This calculator now shows both the cap rate and CoC side by side; dig deeper with the cap rate calculator.

Enter your operating expenses only, itemized: vacancy, property management, maintenance, CapEx reserves, annual property tax and insurance, and HOA. Do not include the mortgage — the calculator computes the loan payment separately from your rate, term and loan amount. Also leave out income tax and depreciation. Double-counting debt service in the expense fields is the most common mistake that makes a CoC number look far worse than reality.

No rental stays occupied 100% of the time — tenants turn over, units sit empty between leases, and some rent goes uncollected. A vacancy allowance (5% is a common default; check local norms) turns optimistic gross rent into realistic effective gross income before expenses. Skipping it inflates your NOI, cap rate, cash flow, and cash-on-cash return, making the deal look better than it is. Set it to match your market and your unit's turnover history.

It's usually wise to budget it anyway. Entering a management percentage (8% of rent is typical) keeps the analysis honest: if you ever stop self-managing, or want to sell to an investor who will hire a manager, the deal still has to work. Self-managing isn't free either — it's your time. If you genuinely want to model hands-on numbers, set management to 0%, but know you're counting your labor as profit.

Debt-service coverage ratio (DSCR) is annual NOI ÷ annual mortgage payment (principal and interest). It tells a lender how comfortably the property's income covers its loan. A DSCR of 1.0 means income exactly covers debt service with nothing to spare; below 1.0 the property can't pay its own mortgage. Most lenders on DSCR investment loans want at least 1.20–1.25, and stronger ratios unlock better terms. The calculator shows your DSCR so you can check a deal against typical lender thresholds before you apply.

There's no universal target, but many buy-and-hold investors aim for roughly 8–12% cash-on-cash, with anything above that considered strong for a stabilized rental. In expensive coastal markets investors often accept lower CoC and bank on appreciation; in cash-flow markets double digits are achievable. Judge the number against your alternatives — a CoC below what an index fund or savings account pays rarely justifies the work and risk.

It cuts both ways. A larger down payment shrinks the loan and the monthly mortgage payment, which lifts monthly cash flow and DSCR — but it also raises your total cash invested, the denominator. A smaller down payment keeps more cash in your pocket and can boost CoC through leverage, yet thinner cash flow and a lower DSCR leave less cushion for vacancy and repairs. Slide the down payment field up and down to see your break-even point.

A negative cash-on-cash return means the property loses money each month after the mortgage and expenses — rent doesn't cover debt service plus operating costs, and your DSCR is below 1.0. It's common on highly leveraged or overpriced deals. A negative CoC isn't automatically a dealbreaker if you're buying for appreciation or principal paydown, but you must be able to fund the shortfall every month. The calculator shows the negative figure plainly rather than hiding it.

No — and that's a key limitation. Cash-on-cash measures only the cash flow your money earns this year. It ignores the equity you build as tenants pay down your loan, property appreciation, and tax benefits like depreciation. Those can make a low-CoC deal worthwhile over time. For the full picture on a value-add or refinance strategy, run the numbers through the BRRRR calculator.

No. This calculator is pure client-side JavaScript — your purchase price, rent, and every other figure are never uploaded, logged, or stored. It keeps working offline once the page has loaded.