Cash-on-Cash Return Calculator
Cash-on-cash return estimates annual pre-tax cash flow as a percentage of the cash you invested. It helps compare leveraged scenarios, but it depends heavily on rent, expenses, financing, reserves, and cash invested.
Estimates are based on your inputs and assumptions. DealSharp does not provide financial, investment, legal, tax, or lending advice.
Run the number, then pressure-test the assumptions.
Cash-on-cash return estimates annual pre-tax cash flow as a percentage of the cash you invested. It helps compare leveraged scenarios, but it depends heavily on rent, expenses, financing, reserves, and cash invested.
Use this page to understand the metric directionally, then compare it against financing, reserves, repair risk, cash flow, and your own constraints.
Use this working calculator as a starting point, then run the full deal in DealSharp when you need more inputs, side-by-side scenarios, and risk context.
Cash-on-cash return = annual pre-tax cash flow / total cash invested
If annual cash flow is $6,000 and total cash invested is $60,000, cash-on-cash return is 10%.
Assumptions
Cash-on-cash return
Estimated outputs
Scenario snapshot
Scenario estimate based on the inputs shown here. Use the full DealSharp app to compare financing, repairs, vacancy, cash flow, and risk assumptions before deciding.
How to read this number
The useful move is not treating one number as a final answer. Use it to decide which assumptions deserve more review, then compare the result against cash flow, financing, reserves, repair risk, and your own constraints.
Inputs required
- Metric inputs shown in the formula or calculator.
- Income, expense, debt, value, and cash assumptions where relevant.
- Investor-provided numbers that should be checked against source documents.
Outputs explained
- Scenario estimate based on the inputs.
- Plain-English context for comparing the metric.
- Limitations and assumptions to review before relying on the result.
Assumptions to review
- Inputs are estimates supplied by the user.
- Market rent, lender terms, taxes, insurance, repairs, and legal details can change the result.
- DealSharp does not provide financial, investment, legal, lending, tax, or accounting advice.
What this tells you
- The result shows how much annual cash flow the scenario produces relative to cash invested.
- It can help compare down payment, rehab, closing cost, and financing scenarios.
- It is especially useful when two deals have similar purchase prices but different cash requirements.
What this does not tell you
- Cash-on-cash return does not prove a deal is safe or profitable.
- It usually excludes appreciation, tax effects, refinance outcomes, and sale proceeds unless specifically modeled.
Common mistakes
- Leaving rehab, closing costs, and reserves out of cash invested.
- Using annual rent instead of annual cash flow.
- Ignoring vacancy, repairs, and property management.
FAQ
Is cash-on-cash return the same as ROI?
No. Cash-on-cash usually focuses on annual cash flow divided by cash invested, while ROI can be calculated many ways.
Should I use pre-tax or after-tax cash flow?
Use one method consistently and label it. Tax impact depends on your situation and should be reviewed with a qualified professional.
Run the full deal before deciding
This page helps with one metric or workflow. DealSharp is built for full real estate deal analysis: assumptions, financing, cash flow, repair scenarios, DSCR, cap rate, and risk flags based on your inputs.
Open DealSharpDisclaimer
DealSharp provides calculation and scenario-modeling tools for informational purposes only. Outputs are estimates based on your inputs and assumptions. DealSharp does not provide financial, investment, legal, lending, tax, or accounting advice. Verify important decisions with qualified professionals.