Negative Gearing Calculator 2027: Rental Cashflow

What an investment property costs you each week, before and after tax, and whether you can still claim the loss against your salary once the negative gearing limit starts on 1 July 2027.

Income year

Rent

Weekly rent ($)

Weeks vacant a yearTime between tenants with no rent coming in.

Purchase and loan

Purchase price ($)

Date you signed the contract to buyEstablished homes bought before 7.30 pm (AEST) on 12 May 2026 keep negative gearing. The contract date counts, not settlement.

Signed before 7.30 pm (AEST) that day It's a new build Built on vacant land, or replacing demolished housing with more homes, and you're the first buyer (or the builder held it and it was lived in for 12 months or less). The final definition hasn't been published yet.

Loan amount ($)

Interest rate (% a year)

Repayments

Loan term (years)Shows the first year of the loan. Only the interest is tax deductible.

Yearly costs

Council and water rates ($ a year)

Strata or body corporate ($ a year)

Landlord and building insurance ($ a year)

Property management fee (% of rent)Charged on the rent collected, including GST. Use 0 if you manage it yourself.

Repairs and maintenance ($ a year)

Land tax ($ a year)From your state revenue office assessment. Thresholds and rates differ by state.

Depreciation ($ a year, optional)From a quantity surveyor's schedule. It's a tax deduction, not money you spend.

Your tax

Your other taxable income ($ a year)Salary and other income after deductions, without this property.

Rental losses carried forward ($, optional)Losses from earlier years that the limit stopped you claiming.

After-tax cashflow per week

–

After tax, per year–

Before tax, per week–

Before tax, per year–

Rent collected–

Loan interest–

Loan principal (not deductible)–

Rates, insurance, fees and upkeep–

Net rental loss for tax–

Tax saved on your other income–

Negative gearing limit

Does the limit apply?–

Loss carried forward to next year–

If you could negatively gear–

Gross rental yield–

Estimate for one property owned by one individual, for a full year. Uses section 26-155 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (inserted by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026) and ATO resident tax rates, checked on 15 Oct 2026. The definition of a new build is still to be set by the Minister, so that part is our best reading of the Budget papers. Not tax advice: confirm with a registered tax agent.

Rental Cashflow & Negative Gearing: how it works

Rates checked 15 Oct 2026 against the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 and the ATO tax rates.

Rental income is the rent you collect, less weeks the property sits empty. Your cash costs are the loan repayments plus rates, strata, insurance, property management, repairs and land tax. For tax, only the interest part of a loan is deductible, not principal, and depreciation is deductible even though you don't spend it each year.

If deductions are more than the rent, you have a net rental loss. Until 30 June 2027 that loss reduces the tax on your salary and other income: this is negative gearing.

From the 2027-28 income year, section 26-155 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (added by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026) limits it. Losses on residential property can only reduce residential rental income and capital gains on residential property. Anything left over is carried forward to later years. The limit is worked out across all your caught properties together.

Bought before 7.30 pm (AEST) on 12 May 2026: not caught. The contract date counts, even if you settled later.
New builds: not caught. The exact definition is still to be set. The Budget papers say it covers homes built on vacant land, or replacing demolished housing with more homes, bought from new.
Shares and commercial property: not affected.

General information only, not financial, tax or credit advice. Check your situation with the ATO, your state revenue office or a licensed adviser.

Rental Cashflow & Negative Gearing FAQs

Can I still negatively gear an investment property?

Yes, if you signed the contract before 7.30 pm (AEST) on 12 May 2026 or it's a new build. Otherwise, from 2027-28 a rental loss can't reduce tax on your salary. A $650 a week rental with a $600,000 interest-only loan at 6.2% and $120,000 of other income makes a $12,475 loss. If it was bought before Budget night, that saves $3,992 in tax and costs you about $163 a week. If it was bought after, it saves nothing and costs $240 a week.

What happens to a loss I can't claim?

It's carried forward with no time limit. It reduces rental profit from your caught properties in later years and capital gains on residential property. For example, a $12,475 loss carried into a year when the property makes a $3,800 profit wipes out tax on that profit and leaves $8,675 to carry on. It never reduces tax on your salary.

I'm buying in 2026-27. Am I affected this year?

No. The limit starts with the 2027-28 income year, so in 2026-27 the same $12,475 loss saves $3,992 even on a property bought after Budget night. It's caught from 1 July 2027.

Does interest-only or principal and interest change the tax?

Only the interest is deductible. On a $600,000 loan at 6.2% over 30 years, principal and interest repayments in the first year include $37,001 of interest and $7,097 of principal. Cashflow is $133 a week worse than interest-only, but the tax loss is slightly smaller ($12,276 against $12,475).

How much does a new build save?

With the same rent and loan plus $8,000 of depreciation, a new build's $20,475 tax loss saves $6,552 for someone earning $120,000 in 2027-28. That brings the cost down to about $114 a week after tax. Check the final definition of a new build before relying on it.