Cash-on-Cash Return Calculator — Real Estate ROI
Calculate your cash-on-cash return on any rental property investment. Enter down payment, closing costs, rehab, and annual net cash flow — get your CoC return and monthly cash flow. Used by Canadian and US real estate investors. Free.
Cash-on-cash return measures actual cash yield on your invested dollars — the down payment, closing costs, and any renovation spend. Unlike cap rate, it accounts for your financing: the same property at 5% cap rate can produce 8% CoC with a mortgage or 5% CoC with all cash. Target 8–12%+ in most markets; below 4% usually means negative leverage.
Inputs
After all expenses AND mortgage
Results
Cash-on-Cash Return
5.22%
Total Cash Invested
$115,000
Monthly Cash Flow
$500
Understanding This Calculator
Learn how cash-on-cash return measures the yield on the actual dollars you put into a deal, and how leverage changes the picture.
How the math works
Cash-on-cash return = annual net cash flow ÷ total cash invested × 100%.
Total cash invested is every dollar you put in up front: down payment + closing costs + renovation or setup costs. Annual net cash flow is what is left after all operating expenses and the mortgage — the same bottom line as the cash-flow calculator.
Unlike cap rate, CoC is a levered metric: it reflects your financing. The same property at a 5% cap rate can show an 8% CoC with a well-priced mortgage (positive leverage) or a lower CoC than the cap rate when the loan is expensive (negative leverage).
Worked example
Using the defaults:
- Total cash invested = $100,000 down + $10,000 closing + $5,000 rehab = $115,000
- Annual net cash flow (after all expenses and the mortgage) = $6,000, or $500/month
- CoC = 6,000 ÷ 115,000 = 5.2%
Note what CoC leaves out: the $6,000 says nothing about principal paydown, appreciation, or tax effects. A deal with a modest 5.2% CoC can still deliver a strong total return once equity growth is counted — which is what the IRR calculator captures.
How to read the result
Common reference points: many investors target 8–12%+ CoC on financed rentals; in expensive, appreciation-driven markets (Vancouver, Toronto, NYC), 4–6% is often accepted. A CoC below your mortgage rate usually signals negative leverage — borrowing is dragging your return down rather than amplifying it.
Use CoC to compare deals you plan to finance similarly, and to answer the practical question: what does each invested dollar pay me in cash this year? Pair it with cap rate (property quality) and DSCR (financing safety) before deciding — no single metric should approve a deal on its own.