Yield Calculator
Real Estate Calculator
Investment and yield calculator for property investors in Germany: purchase costs (Kaufnebenkosten), financing, depreciation (AfA), tax, rent increase cap (Kappungsgrenze), cash flow and a 10-year projection. All results update live as you change the values. The defaults describe an example flat in Berlin. It follows German real estate and tax rules.
Important notice: This calculator is for non-binding information and planning only. It covers German real estate and tax rules and is not tax, legal or financial advice. No liability for errors or decisions. As of October 2026.
Privacy: No inputs are transmitted or stored. All calculation runs locally in your browser, nothing is sent to a server and nothing is kept in cookies or browser storage.
10-year projection
Amounts in euros, nominal. Negative cash flows and taxes are red, positive ones teal. Base rent follows the rent increase cap and the comparable rent from your inputs.
Gaining or funding? Your 10 years at a glance
Teal: positive cash flow, the property is paying you. Red: cash outflow, you are funding the property. Grey: break-even, annual cash flow after tax within ±€100.
Gain / Loss overview
Full 10-year table (all columns)
| Year | Investor position this year | Base rent/month | Net income | Interest | Repayment | Depreciation incl. special | Taxable result | Tax (+) / saving (−) | Cash flow before tax | Cash flow after tax | Remaining debt | Property value |
|---|
How to read the table
- Investor position: based on the year's cash flow after tax. Funding required = below −€100, you pay money in. Break-even = between −€100 and +€100. Cash positive = above +€100, the property pays you. The first year with positive cash flow is highlighted.
- Taxable result: income minus interest, running costs, upkeep and depreciation (AfA). A negative result is a tax loss that lowers your other taxes.
- Tax (+) / saving (−): taxable result times your marginal tax rate. A minus is a tax saving and improves cash flow after tax.
- Cash flow before / after tax: rent in, minus running costs, upkeep, interest and repayment, then plus the saving or minus the tax. This is what actually arrives in or leaves your account.
- Remaining debt and property value: value minus remaining debt is your equity. Repayment is not lost money, it builds equity.
In the cash flow chart, a teal bar means the property pays you. A red bar means you fund it.
Assumptions, rules and sources (as of October 2026)
Comparable rents (postcode)
The stored values are rough approximations per city, not per postcode, and do not replace a rent index (Mietspiegel). Berlin and Munich are default values, the other cities come from asking-rent analyses (including empirica/DGB Q1 2026, immowelt Mietkompass 10/2026). Median and average partly come from different sources, so the median can be above the average. For all other postcodes, about €9.80/m² applies nationwide. Approximations from public sources, no guarantee.
Property transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) by state
Bavaria 3.5%. Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia 5.0%. Bremen, Hamburg, Saxony 5.5%. Berlin, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 6.0%. Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, Schleswig-Holstein 6.5%. Most recent changes: Thuringia from 6.5% to 5.0% (1 Jan 2024), Bremen from 5.0% to 5.5% (1 Jul 2025).
Depreciation (AfA)
Straight-line under § 7 (4) EStG: 3% for buildings completed after 31 Dec 2022, 2% for years built 1925 to 2022, 2.5% before that. A shorter, proven useful life can lead to higher depreciation, this is not modelled here. Declining-balance depreciation (5% of the residual value, § 7 (5a) EStG) applies only to newly built residential buildings with a building application or purchase contract after 30 Sep 2023 and before 1 Oct 2029, acquired by the end of the year of completion; switching to straight-line is possible, switching back is not. It does not exist for existing buildings. Special depreciation under § 7b EStG (an additional 5% in the first 4 years) is included only as an option for new builds, the requirements are not checked. The assessment base is the building share of the purchase price plus purchase costs.
Rent increase cap and rent brake (Kappungsgrenze and Mietpreisbremse)
Under § 558 BGB, existing rents may rise by at most 20% within 3 years, or 15% in areas with a tight housing market, and at most up to the local comparable rent; the rent must have been unchanged for 15 months beforehand. The model applies increases on a yearly grid with at least 2 years between them. For a vacant flat, the first rent is not limited by the cap. In areas with a rent brake (§ 556d BGB), the rent on a new letting may be at most 10% above the local comparable rent, subject to exceptions (including new builds, comprehensive modernisation, higher previous rent). The calculator warns but does not check exceptions.
Broker commission
Since 23 Dec 2020, for flats and single-family homes bought by consumers: if the broker is paid by both sides, both bear the same amount (§ 656c BGB); if only one side commissions the broker, the other may bear at most half (§ 656d BGB). The default matches the usual buyer share per state.
Simplifications
- Yearly grid without a pro-rata year of acquisition, interest and repayment calculated monthly, fixed interest rate (Zinsbindung) constant over 10 years.
- Constant marginal tax rate, losses fully offsettable. Solidarity surcharge and church tax are not included.
- Maintenance is treated as a deductible expense; a mere reserve would not be tax deductible.
- Renovation is paid in year 1 and treated without the option to spread the deduction.
- Equity IRR with a notional sale after 10 years without selling costs. Speculation period (Spekulationsfrist, § 23 EStG): a private sale after a holding period of more than 10 years is generally tax free, this is not modelled.
- The 15% limit for acquisition-related construction costs (§ 6 (1) no. 1a EStG) is applied to the building acquisition cost.
- All values are planning assumptions, not forecasts and not promises.
Rules and values as of October 2026. Questions or found an error? [email protected]