Property Cashflow Calculator

Property cashflow is the actual dollar amount left in your pocket after every cost of owning your investment property is paid. It's different from your taxable position; cashflow deals with real money movement, not paper deductions like depreciation.

A property is cashflow positivewhen rent exceeds all expenses. It's cashflow negativewhen you're putting money in each month to cover the shortfall. Most Australian investment properties are cashflow negative in the early years.

Understanding your real cashflow is critical: it determines whether you can hold the property long term, and whether you can afford to buy another one.

Typical costs to include when calculating cashflow:

• Mortgage repayments (principal + interest, or interest-only)
• Council rates and water rates
• Building and landlord insurance
• Property management fees (usually 6–9% of rent)
• Letting fees (when a new tenant moves in)
• Strata / body corporate fees (if applicable)
• Repairs and maintenance
• Vacancy allowance (typically 2–4 weeks per year)
• Land tax (if applicable in your state)

Depreciation is notincluded in cashflow; it's a paper deduction that only affects your tax position.

Gross yield is annual rent divided by property value. It tells you nothing about your actual returns because it ignores all expenses.

Net yield subtracts all ownership costs except the mortgage, so it tells you what the property earns regardless of how you financed it.

Cashflow is the real dollar figure after the mortgage too: what actually lands in (or leaves) your bank account.