A $650,000 rental with $260,000 down and rent of $3,600 a month leaves $401.56 a month after the mortgage, before income tax. Over ten years the same property returns $341,385 in total profit, about 8.30% a year on the $280,000 you put in.
How does the calculator get to those numbers?
It looks at two things, income and wealth. The income side covers rent, vacancy, running costs and the mortgage payment, and ends in monthly cash flow. The wealth side grows the home’s value, the rent and the costs each year, pays down the loan, and shows the equity you’d hold at the end.
Total profit joins the two. Take your equity after selling costs, add all the cash flow collected along the way, then subtract the cash you first put in, and what’s left is the number the ten-year figure reports.
| Measure | Default result | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Net operating income | $31,772 | Yearly income before the mortgage |
| Cap rate | 4.89% | Income as a share of price |
| Cash-on-cash return | 1.72% | Cash flow on cash invested |
| Debt service coverage | 1.18 | Income against loan payments |
| Total profit, 10 years | $341,385 | Equity plus cash flow, less cash in |
What does the default rental look like in numbers?
Start with a $650,000 price, $260,000 down and $20,000 for closing and renovation, so $280,000 of cash goes in. The mortgage is 4.9% over 25 years. Rent of $3,600 a month, less 4% vacancy and $9,700 of yearly costs, gives net operating income of $31,772. Mortgage payments take $26,953 a year, which leaves $401.56 a month.
Ten years on, with 3% yearly price growth the home is worth $873,546 and the mortgage is down to $286,845, so equity is $586,701. Add $78,361 of cash flow collected, take off selling costs and your original cash, and profit is $341,385.
Now poke at the risks, because that’s where the page earns its keep. Lift rent to $4,000 and cash flow climbs to $785.56 a month, with total profit of $391,841. Raise the rate to 6.5% instead and cash flow shrinks to $35.35 a month, with debt service coverage of 1.01. At that point the page warns that a lender may not approve the loan.
The rent change is easy to check by hand. An extra $400 of rent, less the 4% vacancy allowance, is $384 a month, and $401.56 plus $384 is $785.56. So every extra $100 of rent is worth about $96 a month to you here. Rent is the lever that moves this deal most.
Is pre-tax cash flow what I’d take home?
No, and the gap is real. Tax on the rent is missing, and so is tax owed when you sell at a profit. An accountant can tell you how much of the profit you’d keep.
It helps to know what the CRA lets landlords subtract. Its page on rental expenses you can deduct separates minor repairs, which you can deduct in the year, from repairs that are capital in nature, which can only be claimed through capital cost allowance. That difference changes your tax bill, and the calculator doesn’t try to model it.
The forecast assumes steady yearly growth in value, rent and costs, and real markets don’t behave so politely. One mortgage rate is applied to the whole period, although real loans get renewed at new rates. Time changes the answer too: a five-year hold gives $121,794 of profit and 7.49% a year.
A big repair, a long vacancy or a tenant dispute can wipe out a year of cash flow.
What should you ask before trusting a ten-year result?
Three questions are worth a minute. Would the deal still work if rent stayed flat for two years? Could you carry the payment through a three-month vacancy out of your own savings? And what happens at renewal if the rate is a point or two higher than today’s 4.9%? If the answer to any of those is “not sure”, change the inputs and watch what the cash flow does.
Which other measures are worth a look?
No single ratio covers everything. The cap rate calculator looks at price and income only, while the cash-on-cash return calculator zooms in on one year. To see how the payment moves with the rate, open the mortgage calculator. For the tax bill at sale, try the capital gains tax calculator.
Where this information comes from
The loan payment comes from the site’s mortgage engine, and every rental measure is arithmetic on your inputs. Defaults such as rent, vacancy and growth are planning values, not forecasts. Replace them with local rents, your real tax bill and actual insurance quotes. This website has no link with any government body, and every figure is a rough estimate.
About this calculator
- What it does
- Estimate cash flow, cap rate and total return on a rental property with a mortgage.
- Category
- Real Estate
- Last checked
- September 30, 2026
- Result type
- Estimate for information only, not tax advice.
Frequently asked questions
How much cash flow does the default rental make?
$401.56 a month after the mortgage and before income tax, on a $650,000 property with $260,000 down.
What does the coverage ratio mean?
It sets yearly income after costs against the loan payments. The default is 1.18, and a number near 1.0 means the rent barely covers the loan.
Does it count tax?
No. Neither tax on the rent nor tax on a sale gain is included.
How is total profit worked out?
Equity after selling costs, plus the cash flow you collected, less the cash you put in. The 10-year default is $341,385.
What if the mortgage rate rises?
At 6.5% instead of 4.9%, monthly cash flow falls to $35.35 and the calculator warns that a lender may decline.
Sources and updates
Updated: . How we check rates · Editorial team · Updates