Free calculator
Cash-on-cash return calculator
See the first-year return on the cash you actually put into a rental. Enter your annual cash flow and the cash invested — down payment, closing, and upfront repairs — for an estimate from your numbers.
The short answer
Last updated: July 2026
Cash-on-cash return is your annual pre-tax cash flow divided by the total cash invested — down payment, closing costs, and upfront repairs. It measures the return on money out of your pocket, not the whole property. $3,600 of cash flow on $80,000 invested is about 4.5%. This estimate uses your inputs.
After the estimate:
Self-management softwareCash-on-cash return calculator
The return on the cash you put in.
Divide your annual pre-tax cash flow by the total cash invested — down payment, closing costs, and upfront repairs — to estimate cash-on-cash return.
Annual pre-tax cash flow
$
Rent left after operating expenses and the mortgage — what actually lands in your pocket for the year.
Down payment
$
Closing costs
$
Upfront repairs
$
Input-driven result
Your inputs
Formula
Result below
Cash-on-cash return
4.5%
Cash flow $3,600/yr ÷ $80,000 invested.
Total cash invested
$80,000
Down payment $70,000 + closing $6,000 + repairs $4,000.
Cash invested by source
Down payment
$70,000
Closing costs
$6,000
Upfront repairs
$4,000
Annual cash flow
$3,600
Estimate based on your inputs. Not a promise of results.
Estimate only. Cash-on-cash measures the first-year return on the cash you put in — it ignores loan paydown, appreciation, and taxes. Your actual cash flow depends on vacancy, repairs, and rate changes.
How it works
How this tool works.
Cash-on-cash return answers a question cap rate can’t: what did the money you actually spent earn this year? Because it’s measured against your down payment and closing costs rather than the full price, it reflects how leverage changes your return.
Enter your annual pre-tax cash flow and the cash you put in — down payment, closing costs, and any upfront repairs — and this calculator estimates the percentage return. It’s an illustration from your inputs, not a promised yield.
Make the result useful
Cash-on-cash return decisions
Annual pre-tax cash flow is income after operating costs and modeled debt service.
Cash invested includes all cash committed, not just the down payment.
Financing affects the numerator through debt service and the denominator through cash required.
The measure should be read with DSCR and monthly cash cushion.
Calculation lens
cash-on-cash return = annual pre-tax cash flow ÷ total cash invested
Use the output as a documented scenario result, not a guarantee.
Does not predict rent, refinance, appreciation, or repairs.
Questions landlords ask
Questions about this tool and its limits.
Built by a landlord who's done every one of these jobs by hand.
Aptoria was built by an owner-operator managing a Brooklyn portfolio — the 11pm calls, the awkward rent texts, the April receipt-pile — not by a software team guessing at the problem.
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