LoanMetric

Investment Property Calculator

Estimate the cash flow and tax impact of an investment property.

Adjust rent, vacancy, loan type, agent fees, ongoing costs, and depreciation to see pre-tax cash flow, taxable profit/loss, estimated tax impact, and after-tax cash flow.

Model rental income, costs, and tax impact to understand your after-tax investment position.

Your details

I want to

Example investment scenario

Property & Loan

Automatically calculated as purchase price minus deposit.

5.95%

Loan type

Rental Income

Effective rent = weekly rent x (52 - vacancy weeks).

Agent Fees

Fees in this section are treated as annual amounts (or annual assumptions).

Assumes one letting event per year.

Ongoing Costs

Tax Settings

Optional: Depreciation

Non-cash deduction; may improve tax result but does not change cash flow.

Enter your own annual estimate (for example from a quantity surveyor or accountant).

Your results

Mode

Decision insights

📈 Sensitivity reminder

Info
Try increasing the interest rate by 1% to test cash flow resilience.

Vacancy stress test reminder

Info
Try adding 2 vacancy weeks to see how lower occupancy affects annual cash flow.

⚠ Negative cash flow context

Watch
Negative cash flow means you may need to fund the shortfall. Consider buffers.

Compare loan types

Pre-tax cash flow-$3,360

Estimated tax impact$2,035

After-tax cash flow-$1,325

Principal repayment$0

After-tax difference (P&I − IO): -$6,327 / year

P&I costs about $6,327 more per year after tax (Year 1 estimate).

P&I figures are a Year 1 estimate. Principal repayments are not tax-deductible.

Break-even rent

Cash break-even rent$790 / week

Annual equivalent: $39,500

After-tax break-even rent$760 / week

Annual equivalent: $38,000

Break-even rent is the weekly rent required for the property to cover its annual costs.

Uses your vacancy, costs, loan type, and tax settings. After-tax break-even includes the estimated tax impact.

Yield

Gross yield5.5%

Net yield (pre-tax)-0.5%

Net yield (after-tax)-0.2%

Yields are estimates and exclude capital growth.

Return on Equity

Cash return on equity (pre-tax)-2.6%

Cash return on equity (after-tax)-1.0%

You are contributing additional cash each year relative to your initial deposit.

Quick Scenario Test

Select a scenario to preview temporary results.

A) Rental Summary

Effective annual rent$36,000

Vacancy impact$1,440

B) Costs Breakdown

Agent fees total$2,520

Ongoing costs total$5,900

Interest (annual)$30,940

C) Pre-Tax Cash Flow

-$3,360 / year

-$280 / month | -$129 / fortnight | -$65 / week

D) Taxable Profit / Loss

-$6,360 / year

E) Estimated Tax Impact

Marginal tax rate: 30.0%

Tax saving: $2,035 / year

F) After-Tax Cash Flow

Estimated Out-of-Pocket Cost After Tax

-$1,325 / year

-$110 / month | -$51 / fortnight | -$25 / week

Tax savings reduce the loss — they do not automatically make the investment profitable.

Capital Growth Context (Optional)

Capital growth (3.0%)$19,500 / year

After-tax cash flow-$1,325 / year

Estimated net position+$18,175 / year

Property price growth is uncertain and not guaranteed. This estimate is illustrative only.

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Results are estimates only and may differ from lender calculations. This information is general and not financial advice.

Next steps

Continue your scenario across LoanMetric calculators.

How to read these results

This calculator separates cash flow from tax results.

  • Pre-tax cash flow shows how much money you’re actually ahead or behind each year after rent, expenses, and loan payments.
  • Taxable profit/loss shows how the property affects your taxable income after deductions and depreciation.
  • Estimated tax impact compares your income tax before and after including the property result.
  • After-tax cash flow combines your real cash position with the estimated tax impact.

A property can have a negative cash flow but still generate a tax benefit — and a tax benefit alone does not mean the investment is profitable overall.

Important notes

  • Estimates only. Results are a guide based on the assumptions you enter and simplified tax settings. They are not quotes, approvals, or guaranteed outcomes.
  • Not financial or tax advice. This calculator provides general information only and doesn’t consider your personal objectives, financial situation, or needs.
  • Depreciation varies. Depreciation depends on property type, age, fit-out, and quantity surveyor schedules. If you’re unsure, leave it at $0.
  • Medicare levy is simplified. The Medicare levy is modelled as a simple percentage and does not apply thresholds, reductions, exemptions, or surcharge rules.
  • Not included. This calculator does not model capital gains tax, stamp duty, legal/conveyancing, lenders mortgage insurance, offset accounts, redraw behaviour, GST, special tax offsets, complex land-tax rules, or lender policy differences.

Investment property calculator FAQs

Negative gearing is when your deductible expenses (such as interest, agent fees, rates, insurance, and repairs) are higher than your rental income, creating a net rental loss. In Australia, a net rental loss can typically be offset against other taxable income (like salary), which may reduce the tax you pay.

Negative gearing Australia and cash flow planning

For many investors, the hardest part of property analysis is separating tax effects from actual cash flow. This page is designed to make that distinction explicit. It supports negative gearing Australia scenario testing by showing pre-tax cash flow, taxable position, estimated tax impact, break-even rent, and return metrics together. That structure helps you avoid over-relying on one number and instead evaluate whether the scenario is workable under your financing and vacancy assumptions.

Rental property tax deductions and taxable position

Rental property tax deductions can include interest, management fees, rates, insurance, and eligible maintenance, depending on circumstances and records. This calculator applies a simplified but transparent treatment so you can estimate taxable profit or loss and compare tax before and after property effects. It is not personal tax advice, but it is a strong planning reference for testing assumptions before discussions with an accountant, broker, or lender.

Break-even rent calculator and financing choices

Break-even rent calculator outputs are particularly useful when markets are uncertain. They estimate the weekly rent needed to reach pre-tax and after-tax break-even points under your selected assumptions. Combined with the loan-mode comparison, this helps you understand how interest-only versus principal-and-interest structures change annual cash commitments. If borrowing structure is still being refined, compare with the borrowing capacity calculator and the home loan calculator to test repayment sensitivity outside investment assumptions.

Investment property return calculator context

As an investment property return calculator, this page reports metrics including gross/net yield, return on equity, and scenario deltas so you can evaluate sensitivity rather than only base-case outcomes. For income-side planning and debt comfort testing, use the take-home pay calculator to align household cash assumptions with property-level modelling.

Tax effects can reduce losses, but they do not by themselves make a scenario attractive. The most useful interpretation approach is to review after-tax cash flow, break-even rent, and debt structure together, then stress-test with modest adverse changes in rent, vacancy, and rate assumptions.

Example scenario: break-even rent calculator for negative gearing

Example query: "negative gearing Australia break-even rent calculator." Start with your expected weekly rent, vacancy, financing mode, and ongoing cost assumptions. Note pre-tax and after-tax cash flow, then review the break-even rent lines. Next, run a scenario with +1% rate and +2 vacancy weeks to see how quickly the break-even level moves. This process helps you judge whether your expected rent has enough buffer to absorb realistic downside risk.

Because tax and credit policy outcomes vary by circumstance, treat this as structured estimate work rather than final advice. Strong decisions typically combine scenario testing with professional confirmation of tax treatment, loan product terms, and overall risk capacity before committing capital.

For definitions used in rental modelling, visit the Finance Glossary. To test borrowing limits alongside property scenarios, use the borrowing capacity calculator.

Data Sources & Methodology

Australian resident income tax brackets

This calculator estimates income tax using Australian resident income tax brackets published by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Rates and thresholds can change over time.

Rental income & vacancy

Effective annual rent is calculated as weekly rent × (52 − vacancy weeks).

Agent fees

Management fees are calculated as a percentage of rent collected. Letting fees are modelled as weeks of rent and applied once per year for simplicity. Renewal and advertising fees are treated as annual amounts.

Loan costs

Interest-only loans estimate annual interest as loan amount × interest rate.

Principal & interest loans use a standard amortisation formula with monthly repayments. Results represent a Year 1 estimate of interest and principal.

Cash flow vs taxable position

Pre-tax cash flow includes real cash income and expenses.

Taxable profit/loss includes deductible expenses and optional depreciation, but excludes principal repayments.

Tax impact estimation

Tax impact is calculated by comparing tax on your base income versus tax after including the rental net result.

Medicare levy

If enabled, the Medicare levy is estimated as a simplified percentage of taxable income and does not model thresholds or exemptions.

Projection mode

The 5-year view applies user-entered growth assumptions for rent, expenses, and optional property value, while keeping base income and tax brackets constant for simplicity. For P&I loans, we simulate monthly amortisation across 60 months and aggregate each year's interest, principal, and end balance.