Rentvesting Calculator Australia
Compare rentvesting vs buying a home to live in first (PPOR). Enter your prices, deposit, rates and rent to see projected equity, year-1 cash-flow difference and an “Advantage” estimate using simplified Australian assumptions. General information only.
Quick definition (for this calculator)
In Australia, rentvesting is renting the home you want to live in while owning an investment property elsewhere (often a cheaper suburb or city) that better fits your budget.
New to rentvesting? Start with the Rentvesting Guide. First home buyer? See First Home Buyer Rentvesting for schemes/eligibility and borrowing power checks.
Rate Challenge — Rentvesting Calculator Australia (vs Buy-to-Live)
State, buyer and scheme settings
Built-in estimates now use state duty / concession tables, legal-title-registration costs of $1,800 per purchase path, and other settlement items at 0.25% of price with a $1,500 floor and $3,000 cap. You can also choose whether stamp duty and LMI are paid upfront or added to the loan where that scenario makes sense.
—
—
Better for your long-term position
Better for a typical month in year 1
What could still change the answer
Step 1 — Follow the upfront setup numbers
These are the one-off purchase numbers for each path. Start with the purchase price, add the buying costs, then see the cash needed at settlement and the starting loan on day 1. If you choose to add stamp duty or LMI to the loan, the notes below will show that clearly.
This is the home you buy to live in yourself.
| Purchase priceThe price of the home you would live in. | — |
| DepositCash you contribute upfront toward the purchase. | — |
| Stamp duty— | — |
| Title / legal / transfer costs— | — |
| Other settlement costs— | — |
| LMI— | — |
| Less first-home-buyer cash grant— | — |
| Total cost to purchaseFull purchase cost: property price + buying costs − any cash grant. | — |
| Cash needed at settlement— | — |
| Starting loan after purchase— | — |
This is the investment property you buy while renting somewhere else.
| Purchase priceThe price of the investment property. | — |
| DepositCash you contribute upfront toward the investment purchase. | — |
| Stamp duty— | — |
| Title / legal / transfer costs— | — |
| Other settlement costs— | — |
| LMI— | — |
| Total cost to purchaseFull purchase cost: property price + buying costs. | — |
| Cash needed at settlement— | — |
| Starting loan after purchase— | — |
Tip: if you are a first-home buyer, the buy-to-live side is the only side where this calculator tries to show grants, concessions and 5% / 2% scheme notes.
Step 2 — Follow the monthly money flow (typical month in year 1)
Every number below is monthly. These are the typical monthly numbers in year 1. One-off setup items like grants, stamp duty and upfront LMI are already shown in Step 1.
Every row below is monthly. This shows the typical monthly cost of owning and living in the home in year 1.
| Monthly home loan repaymentYour estimated monthly repayment based on the rate, loan term and any extra repayment. | — |
| Monthly owner costsA monthly allowance for rates, insurance, maintenance and similar home costs. | — |
| Total monthly out-of-pocket in year 1— | — |
Every row below is monthly. Positive numbers are money out. Negative numbers reduce what you need to cover each month.
| Monthly rent where you liveWhat you pay each month to rent your own home while you own the investment property. | — |
| Monthly investment loan repayment— | — |
| Monthly gross rent receivedExpected monthly rent before vacancy and property expenses. It is shown as a negative because it reduces your out-of-pocket. | — |
| Monthly vacancy allowance— | — |
| Monthly management / variable costsMonthly allowance for management fees, reletting and other variable holding costs. | — |
| Monthly fixed property costsMonthly rates, insurance, strata if any, and other fixed holding costs. | — |
| Estimated monthly tax effect— | — |
| Total monthly out-of-pocket in year 1— | — |
Why the calculator landed there
—
Speak with a rentvesting expert
Submit this and we’ll do a quick sense-check of your scenario. No obligation.
Open the form or continue through the results below.
Step 3 — Final step: longer-term result after your chosen horizon
Final step: these are the headline numbers at the end of your chosen horizon, plus the typical monthly difference in year 1.
Long-term position after your chosen horizon — Rentvesting
Long-term position after your chosen horizon — Buy-to-Live
Estimated gap after your chosen horizon
Property equity after your chosen horizon — Rentvesting
Property equity after your chosen horizon — Buy-to-Live
Typical monthly difference in year 1
Upfront cash needed at settlement — Buy-to-Live
Upfront cash needed at settlement — Rentvesting
Starting loan on day 1 — Buy-to-Live
Starting loan on day 1 — Rentvesting
Auto-cost breakdown used
Next steps (recommended)
Want to keep digging? These pages help, but the fastest path is still sending the scenario above so the numbers can be cleaned up properly.
- Read the Rentvesting Guide (strategy, risks, buffers and steps)
- First home buyer? (schemes, eligibility and borrowing power trade-offs)
- Run the First-home Buyer Scheme Calculator (grants, caps and 5% / 2% scheme sense-check)
- Use the Property Investment Calculator (more detailed duty/LMI investment view)
Input guides
Capital growth — what it is and how to choose a number
Capital growth is the average annual change in the property’s value. It’s highly cyclical and differs by suburb and dwelling type. Over long stretches, many Australian capitals have shown mid-single-digit nominal growth on average, but individual periods can be far higher or lower. For planning, we suggest testing a conservative range (e.g., 3–5%) and a stretch case (e.g., 6–7%) to see sensitivity. Lower growth will favour cash-flow discipline; higher growth magnifies equity differences between strategies.
Marginal tax rate — why it matters
Your marginal rate is used to estimate the tax on rental profit or the refund from a rental loss (negative gearing). The model simply applies your chosen percentage to the rental profit/loss after expenses and interest. It doesn’t include depreciation schedules or other add-backs; for personalised numbers we’ll run a proper cash-flow with your accountant’s inputs.
Duty, grants, LMI and support — what’s included
The calculator now expects a state or territory and then estimates stamp duty, title / registration, other settlement costs, LMI and eligible first-home-buyer support automatically. It is still indicative, but it is designed to be followed line by line in the side-by-side funding tables.
PPOR inputs — what they do
Price & deposit set your starting loan. Rate drives interest and repayments. Term spreads the loan: longer terms lower repayments but reduce principal faster only when you make extra repayments. Owner costs are non-loan costs like rates and insurance. Extra repayments directly reduce principal and can tilt results towards buying to live.
Investment inputs — what they do
Price & deposit determine your investor loan size. Investor rate is usually higher than owner-occupied. Term sets the amortisation once you switch to principal & interest. Interest-only years can ease early cash flow but keep the balance higher for longer, which may affect equity if growth is modest.
Rent & expenses — assumptions
Market rent is your expected weekly rent for the investment today. We apply a vacancy allowance, deduct a management / leasing / sundries percentage from collected rent, and add a fixed annual amount for rates, insurance and similar holding costs. Your personal rent is what you pay to live where you choose while rentvesting; it is added to the rentvesting path only.
Interest-only — pros and cons
IO reduces required repayments early and, when negatively geared, can increase the tax offset. But principal doesn’t fall during IO, so you rely more on capital growth for equity. After IO ends, repayments step up. Test different IO durations to see the trade-off.
How we compare the strategies
Each path’s net position equals property equity at your horizon minus the non-recoverable costs paid along the way. For buy-to-live, that means loan interest, owner costs and buying costs. For rentvesting, that means your personal rent, buying costs and the investment’s after-tax rental cash flow (profit or loss). If LMI is added to the loan, the calculator still treats the LMI itself as a sunk cost over time rather than pretending it creates equity.
How to use this calculator
This tool compares two paths: (A) buying a home to live in (PPOR) and (B) rentvesting (you keep renting and buy an investment property). It projects equity at your chosen horizon and subtracts the non-recoverable costs to show which path leaves you ahead.
- Choose your state, buyer status and any government support, then enter your general assumptions (horizon, capital growth and marginal tax rate).
- Fill out the PPOR section (home price, deposit, rate, term, annual owner costs).
- Fill out the Investment section (purchase, loan settings, rent & expense assumptions). Choose IO years if relevant.
- Press Show my results. Review tiles and try different growth/rate/IO settings to test sensitivity.
- If the result is close, or you are relying on grants, LMI waivers or a low-deposit strategy, use the results form so a broker can confirm the real numbers.
Indicative only; not financial or tax advice. Final pricing and credit approval depend on lender assessment and full application.