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Rental cash flow calculator
Estimate cash left from rent after operating costs, mortgage interest, principal repayments and capital spend, including when the property is empty.
How we calculate it
- Forecast rent is monthly rent multiplied by occupied months.
- Operating cash surplus is forecast rent minus annual operating cash costs. Those costs stay annual even when some months are void.
- Cash after finance subtracts annual mortgage interest and annual principal repayments once. It is calculated before extra vacancy costs.
- Vacant months are 12 minus occupied months. Extra vacancy costs are the extra cost per vacant month multiplied by vacant months. A blank extra-cost field counts as zero.
- Cash remaining subtracts annual capital spend and those extra vacancy costs. Empty-property scenarios use that same cash remaining.
- Break-even monthly rent divides that scenario’s costs by occupied months and rounds up to the next penny.
People sometimes search for this as rental profit. The result is cash flow. It does not calculate tax.
Every output is a forecast before tax. Cash remaining is not taxable property profit. Break-even rent is not a recommended market rent, mortgage eligibility or a forecast of actual occupancy. This is not tax advice.
Worked example
- Monthly rent: £1,000.00
- Occupied months: 12
- Forecast rent: £12,000.00
- Annual operating cash costs: £2,000.00
- Operating cash surplus: £10,000.00
- Annual mortgage interest: £3,000.00
- Annual principal repayments: £1,000.00
- Cash after finance: £6,000.00
- Annual capital spend: £500.00
- Cash remaining: £5,500.00
- At 10 occupied months, with no extra vacancy costs, forecast rent is £10,000.00 and cash remaining is £3,500.00.
- The following lines use £100.00 extra per vacant month.
- Extra costs per vacant month: £100.00
- At two vacant months, cash remaining is £3,300.00.
- Monthly rent needed for recurring costs: £620.00
- Monthly rent needed including capital spend: £670.00
- Maximum whole vacant months before cash remaining becomes negative: 5.
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Common questions
Forecast rent is monthly rent times occupied months. Operating costs, mortgage interest, principal repayments and capital spend are then subtracted in that order. £1,000 a month for 12 months, with £2,000 of operating costs, £3,000 of interest, £1,000 of principal and £500 of capital spend, leaves £5,500. The same figures also compare empty-property scenarios.
No. It estimates cash flow, which is what people often mean when they search for rental profit. It does not calculate taxable property profit, income tax, or a tax return. Finance-cost relief and other tax rules are not applied. Break-even rent is a cash-flow estimate. It does not calculate taxable profit, recommend a market rent or assess eligibility for a mortgage.
A void is time when the property is empty. Forecast rent uses only the occupied months you enter. Operating costs, mortgage interest, principal repayments and capital spend stay as the annual amounts you entered. At 10 occupied months in the worked example, with no extra vacancy costs, forecast rent is £10,000 and cash remaining is £3,500. Extra costs per vacant month are optional. A blank field includes none.
When at least one month is occupied, break-even monthly rent divides the costs for that empty-property scenario by the occupied months and rounds up to the next penny. One figure covers operating costs, mortgage interest, principal and any extra costs per vacant month. A second figure also covers the capital spend you entered. In the worked example, £100 extra per vacant month and two vacant months needs £620 a month before capital spend and £670 including it. If every month is empty, break-even rent is not shown. This is not a recommended market rent.
PaymentFlux helps eligible customers pay rent by card when a supported landlord, letting agent or property manager does not accept cards directly. Not every recipient is supported. This calculator does not check eligibility.
Pay rent by card
PaymentFlux helps eligible customers pay rent by card when a supported landlord, letting agent or property manager does not accept cards directly.