Finance

Cash-on-Cash Return Calculator

The real estate investor's favorite metric — what percentage return are you earning on your actual cash invested?

Investment

Purchase Price ($)

Down Payment (%)

Closing Costs ($)

Rehab / Repairs ($)

Annual Income & Expenses

Monthly Rent ($)

Vacancy Rate (%)

Annual Operating Expenses ($)

Tax, insurance, maintenance, mgmt

Annual Mortgage Payment ($)

Formulas:
Total Cash Invested = Down Payment + Closing + Rehab
Gross Rent = Monthly Rent × 12 × (1 − Vacancy%)
NOI = Gross Rent − Operating Expenses
Cash Flow = NOI − Mortgage Payments
CoC Return = Cash Flow / Total Cash Invested × 100

Cash-on-Cash Return Explained

Cash-on-cash (CoC) return measures the annual return on your actual out-of-pocket cash. Unlike cap rate, it accounts for leverage (mortgage). A property with a 6% cap rate can yield 10%+ CoC return with favorable financing.

CoC Benchmarks

CoC Return	Assessment
8-12%	Excellent
5-8%	Good
3-5%	Acceptable
<3%	Poor — consider alternatives