Free calculator
Rental Property Break-Even Calculator
Estimate how many months the entered monthly net cash flow would take to recover the entered down payment, closing costs, and initial repairs. The result assumes cash flow stays constant and excludes appreciation, principal paydown, taxes, and sale proceeds.
Break-even
162 months
13.5 years · $73,000 modeled initial cash
10 to 15 years. At the entered monthly cash flow, modeled recovery takes between 120 and 180 months.
How break-even is calculated
Break-even months = Total cash invested ÷ Monthly net cash flowTotal cash invested = down payment + closing costs + initial repairs/rehab. Monthly net cash flow = rent minus all operating expenses minus mortgage P&I. Divide one by the other and you get the number of months until you've gotten your initial investment back, purely from rental income.
Worked example: you put $60,000 down on a $300,000 property + $8,000 closing + $5,000 initial repairs = $73,000 invested. Monthly cash flow $450. Break-even = $73,000 ÷ $450 = 162 months = 13.5 years.
Frequently asked questions
What is the break-even point on a rental property?
Break-even on a rental property is the number of months it takes for the property's net cash flow to return your initial cash invested (down payment + closing costs + initial repairs). It measures pure cash-on-cash recovery — it excludes appreciation and equity build from mortgage paydown.
What's a good break-even period for a rental property?
There is no universal good period. Compare the modeled duration with your own liquidity needs, cash-flow targets, financing, evidence quality, and alternative uses of capital. The result assumes the entered monthly cash flow remains constant.
Does break-even include appreciation or equity?
No. Break-even isolates cash-on-cash recovery — how fast monthly cash flow alone returns your investment. Adding appreciation + principal paydown gives you total return (use IRR or 10-year projection for that). Break-even is a useful complement, not a replacement.
How is break-even different from cash-on-cash return?
Cash-on-cash is annualized (return ÷ cash invested, as a percentage). Break-even is duration (cash invested ÷ monthly cash flow, expressed in months). They measure the same dynamic from different angles. 12% cash-on-cash ≈ 100-month (8.3-year) break-even.
If my cash flow is negative, what does break-even mean?
With zero or negative monthly cash flow, there is no cash-flow recovery period under the entered assumptions. Appreciation, principal paydown, future rent changes, taxes, and sale proceeds are outside this calculation and should be modeled separately.
Related metrics and calculators
Embed this calculator on your site — free
Paste this into any blog post, CMS or WordPress page. It resizes itself, needs no script tag of yours, and costs nothing. A small “Calculator by TrueCap” credit sits under it.
Embed code (HTML)
<iframe
id="truecap-embed-break-even-calculator"
src="https://usetruecap.com/embed/break-even-calculator"
loading="lazy"
sandbox="allow-scripts allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"
referrerpolicy="no-referrer"
style="width:100%; max-width:640px; border:0; height:640px; display:block;"
title="Break-Even Calculator by TrueCap"
></iframe>
<p style="max-width:640px; margin:6px 0 0; font:12px/1.4 system-ui, sans-serif; color:#6b7280;">
Calculator by <a href="https://usetruecap.com/tools/break-even-calculator?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=break-even-calculator" style="color:#0070c4; text-decoration:none;">TrueCap</a> — underwrite a full property
</p>
<script>
(function(){
var f=document.getElementById("truecap-embed-break-even-calculator");
if(!f)return;
window.addEventListener("message",function(e){
var d=e.data;
if(e.origin!=="https://usetruecap.com"||e.source!==f.contentWindow)return;
if(!d||d.type!=="truecap:embed:resize"||d.slug!=="break-even-calculator"||typeof d.height!=="number"||!Number.isFinite(d.height))return;
f.style.height=Math.min(2400,Math.max(640,d.height))+"px";
});
})();
</script>Ready to run a full property after using the break-even calculator?
Run the released rental analyzer with labeled, editable assumptions. No signup is required for the first analysis.