Use the investment property calculator to accurately predict the weekly cashflow position of your next investment property.
How to use this calculator
Simply enter the details of the investment property that you want to purchase and your income and our calculator will work out the rest for you.
- Step 1: Enter the details of the purchase including property price and your deposit.
- Step 2: Enter your income and the expected rent income.
- Step 3: Enter the costs associated with the property (our calculator will estimate some of them for you).
Speak to our mortgage brokers today by calling 1300 889 743 or by filling in our free assessment form to find out how we can help you with an investment loan.
What is investment property cashflow?
You should see each investment property that you own as a separate mini-business.
You have income and you have expenses associated with the property and you either make a loss or a profit each week.
If your interest, repairs, maintenance, council rates, water rates, insurance and property management fees are more than your rent income then the property has a negative cashflow.
That means you need to put in a little money each week to cover the shortfall.
Most properties have a negative weekly cashflow at the time they are purchased but, as they grow in value, positive cashflow outstrips the weekly costs so the investor makes a profit.
Over time the rent increases and the property becomes positively geared.
Some properties have a positive cashflow from the moment that they are purchased.
If so, then well done to you!
Often, these types of properties are in mining towns, remote locations or they’re blocks of units.
Negative gearing can significantly improve the cashflow of your property if you have a high taxable income.
Investors who are on the top two tax brackets tend to benefit the most from negatively-geared properties as long as they have a high growth rate.
However, this can vary depending on your overall situation, so check out the negative gearing vs positive gearing page to compare the pros and cons of each investment strategy.
Also, read about managing cash flow while negative gearing.
Calculating your income
The cash flow calculator needs to know your taxable income so that it can work out the benefits you may receive from depreciation and negative gearing.
If you’re not sure how much rent you’ll receive from your property, use 4% of the value for a house or 5% for a unit or townhouse.
This will give you your annual rent income, which you can then divide by 52 to find out the weekly rent income.
Calculating property expenses
Our investment property cashflow calculator will automatically estimate many of the expenses associated with your property.
Expenses that the investment property calculator will consider
- Council rates
- Water rates
- Building insurance
- Property management fees
- Maintenance
- Home loan repayments
Expenses that the investment property calculator won’t consider
- Gardening
- Landlords insurance
- Contents insurance
- Renovations
- Bank fees such as an annual package fee
- Changes in interest rates
- Purchasing costs such as legal fees, Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) and stamp duty
You may qualify for an LMI discount so complete our free assessment form to find out more.
Calculating negative gearing benefits
Negative gearing is where you make a loss on the cashflow of your investment property and then claim that loss as a deduction when you lodge your tax return.
You’ll receive a tax refund for part of this loss so the government is effectively subsidising your investment property.
For example, let’s say that your income was $100,000 and your property made a loss of $10,000 per annum.
Your taxable income would be $90,000 and if the tax rate at the time was 30%, you’d receive $3,000 as an additional tax refund.
That’s an oversimplification: our calculator can work it out exactly using up to date tax rates.
Investors also need to consider between a P&I vs interest-only loans when optimising for tax deductions.
How does depreciation work?
When a property is built, the building itself will degrade over time until, eventually, the house needs to be rebuilt.
This decline in value of the building can be deducted for tax purposes.
Depreciation isn’t an actual expense that you need to pay but an accounting entry.
Effectively, you save tax without actually having any cost affecting your weekly cashflow.
Depreciation is a complicated subject so please talk to your accountant for more information.
Apply for an investment loan
Once you’ve played out with the investment property calculator, we can help you qualify for an investment loan to buy a new property.
Speak to our mortgage brokers by calling 1300 889 743 or fill in our free assessment form to find out if you can qualify for a professional discount on your interest rate.
