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Buy-to-Let Investment Calculator

Nathan CrallanBy Nathan Crallan, Co-founder and Director, Akoya Group · Last updated 6 October 2026 · 4 min read

The calculator

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Start here
How are you buying?

Stamp duty for an additional home: £3,100

Everything below is already filled in with typical figures. Change any you know.

Buying costslegal fees, works, market value
Mortgage detailtype, term, fixed period, fees
Type
Running costsmanagement, maintenance, empty months
Tax, growth and your exitownership, price growth, refinance or sell
Who owns it?
Price growth

Cautious assumes no growth, so the deal has to work on rent alone. The five-year average is the region’s yearly price growth from July 2021 to July 2026 (GOV.UK UK House Price Index, before inflation). The forecast is Savills’ five-year forecast for the region (June 2026) as a yearly rate, not a promise.

At the end
Your bad casewhat you’re worried about
Start from

Your answer · rates last checked October 2026

Net yield on total investment

7.4%

Monthly cash flow, after tax

£331

On these numbers you keep about £331 a month after tax in the first year, and the deal stops paying for itself if rent falls below £65 a month.

Does it work with everything going against you? Yes. Even with everything in your bad case happening at once, these numbers still work.

Free full report

See whether these numbers really hold up.

The answer above is the headline. The full report is what we'd check before putting our own money in:

  • Your stress test, line by line. Your normal year against your bad case, with a clear pass or fail on cash flow, the lender’s rent test and your money back on a sale.
  • What would break it. The lowest rent, highest mortgage rate, most empty months and biggest price fall this deal can take.
  • Your exit. Cash released on a refinance and the money left in, or your profit and annual return on a sale.
  • Five years, year by year. Cash flow, tax, value, loan and equity, with a chart and the growth rate behind it.
  • Every cost and tax line, plus the cash reserve to keep aside.
  • Compare up to three properties, share a link to your numbers, and print a summary.

It opens straight away, here on this page. One of our consultants may call once to talk through your numbers; there’s no obligation and we won’t pass your details on. Akoya Group Ltd (ICO registration C1740336). See our privacy notice.

What could your cash buy?

Have you looked at the North East? Our guides to property investment in the North East and the best places to invest in UK property compare prices and deposits by region.

Talk to us about these numbers See current buy-to-let stock

How it works

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How to use the calculator

  1. Enter the purchase price and what it costs to buy. Add stamp duty (worked out for you by nation), legal and mortgage fees, and any works.
  2. Say how you're funding it. Choose cash or a mortgage, then the rate, type and term. If it's a fixed rate, add the rate it moves to afterwards.
  3. Enter the rent and running costs. Include management, maintenance, insurance, compliance, any service charge or ground rent, and how many months a year it might be empty. If the property needs work or has no tenant, switch on "needs works" to add the empty period and letting costs.
  4. Pick the area and a growth case. Cautious (no growth), Recent history or Forecast. It starts on Cautious. Best Places to Invest in UK Property (2026) shows how regions compare.
  5. Choose your exit. Revaluation means you refinance and keep the property. Resale means you sell it.
  6. Read the results, then stress-test them. Change anything you're worried about, or use the reverse stress test to see what would break the deal.
  7. Save or share. From the full report, copy a link, print a summary, or compare up to three properties side by side.

Use rents and costs you've been quoted or can evidence, not best-case figures. If you leave a cost out, the yield looks better than it is.

What is the difference between gross yield and net yield?

  • Gross yield is annual rent divided by the purchase price (annual rent ÷ purchase price × 100). It ignores every cost.
  • Net yield on price takes the running costs off the rent first, then divides by the purchase price ((annual rent − annual running costs) ÷ purchase price × 100). This is often the figure agents quote.
  • Net yield on total investment divides the same net income by everything you actually put in: the price, stamp duty, legal fees, works, an expected empty period and letting costs ((annual rent − annual running costs) ÷ total investment × 100). It reflects what you've invested, so it's the one we use.

Here are all three on the two-bedroom terrace from our guide Is Buy-to-Let Still a Good Investment in 2026?: a £62,000 purchase, £3,100 stamp duty and £1,965 legal costs (£67,065 total investment), rent of £525 a month and £4,966 net income before tax.

BasisYield
Gross, on purchase price10.2%
Net, on price only8.0%
Net, on total investment7.4%

What does a stress test show that a yield doesn't?

A yield is a snapshot of a good year. A stress test asks what happens in a bad one. On the example above, a three-week void cuts the net yield on total investment from 7.4% to 6.9%. Every percentage point on a loan costs £100 a year for every £10,000 borrowed, so on £46,500 (75% of £62,000, an illustration only) one point is £465, about 9% of the £4,966 net income before the mortgage.

The reverse stress test goes further. It shows the lowest rent, the highest rate, the most empty months and the biggest price fall before your deal stops working.

How does the exit work?

Revaluation keeps the property: you refinance against its new value and the calculator shows the cash released, the money still in the deal and the new monthly cash flow. Resale takes off selling costs and repays the loan to show your net proceeds, total profit and IRR. Lenders set their own valuations and terms, and extra value is equity on paper until you refinance or sell.

Common questions

What is a good net yield for a buy-to-let? There's no single answer. It depends on your costs, your borrowing and how much risk you can carry. Compare the net yield on total investment with your cost of borrowing, then stress-test it. The Bank of England's Bank Rate is 3.75% (17 September 2026), a benchmark for borrowing costs, not what your mortgage will cost.

Should I use gross or net yield? Use gross yield to spot where to look, and net yield on total investment to decide. Gross yield ignores costs, so it flatters every deal.

Does the calculator include tax? It shows a rough illustration for personal ownership and a limited company, not tax advice. Your rate, income and ownership structure decide the real figure, so check with an accountant.

Does it save my numbers? Your figures stay in your browser. They're only sent to us if you ask for the full report, so a consultant can see the numbers you ran.

How we approach it at Akoya

The calculator runs on your inputs, not ours. If you enter the cash you have, it also shows the buy-to-let homes in our current stock that fit, clearly labelled, and how far that cash goes in each region. We sell fully refurbished terraced homes in County Durham to investors who live elsewhere, so weigh our view accordingly; our reasoning is in Property Investment in the North East. If you'd like us to run your own numbers, talk to us about investing or see the current buy-to-let stock.

This calculator and article are general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Akoya is not regulated by the FCA. Results depend on the figures you enter.

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