Returns, week by week
Cash flow calculator.
What the property may cost you, or pay you, each week once the rent, the costs, the loan and an estimate of the tax are counted. The tool opens on an editable example, so replace each figure with your own.
After tax, a week
-$91
The yearly after-tax figure spread across the weeks of the year; a minus sign is what you top up.
Before tax, a year
-$9,340
Rent collected less every cost and loan repayment, principal included; a minus sign is money you put in.
Tax effect
$4,589
An estimate of how the property may change the tax on your other income; a minus sign is extra tax, and a figure without one is less tax.
After tax, a year
-$4,751
The before-tax figure with the tax effect applied: less tax adds to it, and extra tax comes off it.
Interest
$32,240
Interest on the loan for the year, the part of the repayments the tool counts for tax.
On these assumptions you would top up about $91 a week after tax, or $4,751 a year.
2026-27 / From 2027-28
| 2026-27 | From 2027-28 | |
|---|---|---|
| Before tax, a year | -$9,340 | -$9,340 |
| Profit or loss for tax | -$14,340 | -$14,340 |
| Tax effect | $4,589 | $0 |
| Loss carried forward | $0 | $14,340 |
| After tax, a week | -$91 | -$180 |
If rates rise
| Interest rate | After tax, a week | After tax, a year |
|---|---|---|
| 6.20% | -$91 | -$4,751 |
| 7.20% | -$159 | -$8,287 |
| 8.20% | -$227 | -$11,823 |
Sources · 2026-27
- Federal Register of Legislation: Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026, No. 49, 2026 (as made)
- ATO Legal Database: ITAA 1997 s 115-100 (discount percentage, as amended by No. 49, 2026)
- Federal Register of Legislation: Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 2) Act 2026, No. 71, 2026, Schedule 4 (negative gearing exceptions, from 2027-28)
- Parliament of Australia: Explanatory Memorandum, Tax Reform No. 1 Bill 2026 (Chapter 1 CGT, Chapter 2 negative gearing)
- ATO: Tax rates, Australian resident (2026-27 table)
- ATO: Personal income tax, new tax cuts (16% to 15% on 1 July 2026, then 14% on 1 July 2027)
- Treasury Laws Amendment (More Cost of Living Relief) Act 2025, Schedule 1 (rates for 2026-27 and 2027-28)
- ATO: Medicare levy reduction for low-income earners
Rates last checked 25 October 2026.
How it is worked out
- Rent collected is the weekly rent across the year, less the weeks you expect the property to sit empty.
- Yearly costs are your rates, insurance, maintenance, strata and land tax, plus property management as a share of the rent collected.
- For an interest-only loan, the tool charges a year of interest on the full balance. For principal and interest, it takes the first year of repayments over the term you enter and splits them into interest and principal.
- Before tax is the rent collected less yearly costs and every repayment, principal included.
- The result for tax is the rent collected less yearly costs, interest and depreciation. The tool does not count principal here, and it counts depreciation even though no cash leaves your pocket for it that year.
- The tax effect is worked out by calculating your tax twice, once on your income alone and once with the rental result added, and taking the difference. A loss that crosses a tax bracket is priced across both brackets, not at a single marginal rate.
- The 2027-28 column repeats the year on the tax rates legislated for it. For an established property contracted after the cut-off, a loss is not set against your other income: the tax effect is nil and the loss shows as carried forward.
- Rate stress repeats this year's figures at two higher interest rates, with the repayments and the tax effect worked out again.
What this tool leaves out
- Buying costs. Stamp duty, legal fees and LMI are not counted unless you have added them to the loan.
- Capital growth, the sale and any capital gains tax.
- Change over time. This is one year, with rent, costs and the interest rate held where you set them. The negative gearing calculator projects year by year.
- Tax beyond the basics: the Medicare levy low-income reduction and surcharge, tax offsets, study loan repayments and non-resident rates.
- Other owners and structures. The tool assumes one owner in their own name, not a couple sharing ownership, a company, a trust or an SMSF.
- Other residential rental income you may have. Under the rules from 1 July 2027, a loss on an established home acquired at or after the cut-off can be used in the same year against rental income from your other residential properties and against residential capital gains, before anything carries forward. The tool looks at this property alone, so it may overstate the after-tax cost if you have that income.
Questions investors ask
Why does the tool ask when and what I bought?
Because the tax treatment of a rental loss from 1 July 2027 depends on it. From that date, a net rental loss on an established home acquired at or after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 can no longer reduce tax on your salary or other income; it can be used only against residential property income and gains, and the rest carries forward to be used the same way in later years. For a purchase, the date that counts is the date you signed the contract, not settlement. Properties bought before the cut-off, and new builds, are not affected, and a home inherited from a spouse or transferred on a relationship breakdown can keep the earlier owner's treatment. What counts as a new build has not yet been defined in law, so confirm yours with your accountant.
Is the tax effect a refund I will get?
It is an estimate of how much your tax may change because of the property, not a promise of a refund. The tool works out your tax with and without the rental result and takes the difference, at resident rates with the Medicare levy. Your actual position depends on your whole return, so check it with your accountant.
Why is the before-tax figure different from the profit or loss for tax?
They count different things. Principal repayments come out of your pocket, but the tool leaves them out of the result for tax, so they reduce the before-tax figure only. Depreciation is the reverse: the tool counts it for tax although no cash is paid for it that year.
Interest only or principal and interest: what changes?
With interest only, the balance stays flat and the yearly cost is the interest. With principal and interest, you also repay part of the loan each year, which lowers the before-tax figure while the tool counts only the interest for tax. Which loan suits you is a question for your broker.
What should I enter for depreciation?
Depreciation is a yearly deduction for wear on the building and its fittings, usually set out in a quantity surveyor's schedule. It costs you nothing in cash that year, but it changes the result for tax. If you do not have a schedule, enter zero rather than guess.
What happens to a loss carried forward?
Under the rules from 1 July 2027, a carried-forward loss can be used against later income from residential property, and against a capital gain on a residential dwelling. This tool shows the loss for the year but does not apply it to anything else you own. Your accountant can tell you how it would apply to you.
What does the rate stress table show?
The same property at two higher interest rates, on this year's tax rates. It is a quick test of how much room you have if rates rise, not a forecast that they will.
Where to next
If you want the holding cost of a real property worked through, we can run the numbers with you and bring your accountant in on the tax side.
This calculator gives general information only. The results are estimates built from the inputs you enter, at resident tax rates with the Medicare levy, for one owner in their own name. It is not tax, credit or financial advice, and apart from the figures you enter, it does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. The rules from 1 July 2027 are law, but what counts as a new build has not yet been defined. CHAD Property coordinates with brokers, accountants and planners and does not give tax, credit or financial advice, so speak with your accountant and broker before you act.
The tools on this page give general information only. Each result is an estimate, worked out from the figures you enter and the assumptions shown, using rates and rules as at the date shown. It is not a quote, and it is not intended to be relied on to make a decision about a financial product, a loan or your tax. It is not personal financial, tax, credit or legal advice, and apart from the figures you enter, it does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Rates, thresholds and laws change, and some details of recent changes are not yet final. CHAD Property is a buyer's agency. It does not hold an Australian financial services licence or an Australian credit licence, and it is not a registered tax agent. We do not advise on tax, lending, financial products or how to structure ownership, including through a self-managed super fund, a company or a trust; we work alongside the brokers, accountants and financial planners who do. Before you make a financial decision, consider getting advice from a licensed financial adviser, and check any figure here with a licensed or registered professional who knows your situation.