House Flip Calculator

Estimated profit —

Cash invested before sale: —
Selling costs: —
All-in cost: —
Return on cash invested: —
Profit as share of sale price: —
70% rule maximum offer: —

Where the all-in cost goes

The chart appears with your result

A flip's profit is the after-repair value minus everything spent: purchase, buying closing costs, rehab, holding and selling costs. Buying at $100,000, spending $30,000 on rehab, $6,000 holding and selling for $200,000 with 2% buying and 8% selling costs leaves $46,000, a 33.3% return on the $138,000 invested.

About this tool

Flippers, wholesalers and first-time renovators use this to test a deal before making an offer. Enter what you would pay, the rehab budget, how many months you expect to hold the house and what it costs each month to carry, then the price you expect after repairs and the share lost to commission and seller closing costs. The results show estimated profit, cash invested before the sale, return on that cash, profit as a share of the sale price and the 70% rule maximum offer, with a donut chart of where the all-in cost goes. It does not model capital gains or income tax on the profit, and it assumes the purchase is paid in cash, so any financing charges belong in the monthly holding figure.

How to use it

Enter the buy side
Type the purchase price and rehab budget, and set the buying closing cost slider to your title, escrow and inspection fees.
Set the holding period
Use the stepper for months held and enter the monthly carrying cost: tax, insurance, utilities and dues.
Enter the sale
Type the after-repair value and set the selling cost slider; 6–10% covers commission and seller closing costs in most US markets.
Read the profit and checks
Compare your price with the 70% rule maximum offer and see the working line by line; the donut chart can be downloaded as PNG, SVG or CSV.

Examples

$100k buy, $30k rehab, $200k sale

Purchase price: 100000
Buying closing costs: 2
Rehab budget: 30000
Months held: 6
Holding costs per month: 1000
After-repair value (sale price): 200000
Selling costs: 8

Result Estimated profit: $46,000
Cash invested before sale: $138,000
Selling costs: $16,000
All-in cost: $154,000
Return on cash invested: 33.3%
Profit as share of sale price: 23%
70% rule maximum offer: $110,000

Buying closing costs = $100,000 × 2% = $2,000
Holding costs = 6 months × $1,000 = $6,000
Cash invested = $100,000 + $2,000 + $30,000 + $6,000 = $138,000
Selling costs = $200,000 × 8% = $16,000
Profit = $200,000 − $138,000 − $16,000 = $46,000
ROI = $46,000 ÷ $138,000 = 33.33%

Six months of $1,000 holding costs and 8% to sell leave $46,000, a 33.3% return on the $138,000 put in before the sale.

Same house, $140k sale

Purchase price: 100000
Buying closing costs: 2
Rehab budget: 30000
Months held: 6
Holding costs per month: 1000
After-repair value (sale price): 140000
Selling costs: 8

Result Estimated profit: -$9,200
Cash invested before sale: $138,000
Selling costs: $11,200
All-in cost: $149,200
Return on cash invested: -6.7%
Profit as share of sale price: -6.6%
70% rule maximum offer: $68,000

Buying closing costs = $100,000 × 2% = $2,000
Holding costs = 6 months × $1,000 = $6,000
Cash invested = $100,000 + $2,000 + $30,000 + $6,000 = $138,000
Selling costs = $140,000 × 8% = $11,200
Profit = $140,000 − $138,000 − $11,200 = -$9,200
ROI = -$9,200 ÷ $138,000 = -6.67%

If the market only pays $140,000, selling costs of $11,200 push the deal to a $9,200 loss, and the price paid was above the $68,000 the 70% rule allowed.

How it is calculated

Profit = ARV − P − P×b − R − m×H − ARV×s; ROI = Profit ÷ (P + P×b + R + m×H); Max offer = 0.70×ARV − R

ARV: after-repair value, the expected sale price
P: purchase price
b: buying closing costs as a fraction of P
R: rehab budget
m, H: months held and holding cost per month
s: selling costs as a fraction of ARV

Every dollar that leaves your pocket before closing the sale counts as cash invested; selling costs come out of the sale proceeds, so they reduce profit but not the cash invested. Return on cash divides profit by that invested amount. The 70% rule is a screening heuristic used by flippers: pay no more than 70% of ARV minus repairs, leaving roughly 30% of the sale price to cover holding, selling and profit.

Sources

Publication 523, Selling Your Home — Internal Revenue Service
Topic no. 409, Capital gains and losses — Internal Revenue Service

When not to use it

Not for a buy-and-hold rental, where rent and long-run value matter more than one sale.
Not a tax estimate; flip profit held under a year is usually taxed as ordinary income.
Not a substitute for comparable sales when setting the after-repair value.

Common mistakes

Using the list price of renovated neighbours as ARV instead of recent closed sales.
Leaving out a contingency of 10–20% on the rehab budget.
Counting only commission and forgetting seller closing costs and transfer tax.
Assuming a three-month hold when permits and a slow market often stretch it to six or more.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 70% rule in house flipping?

It caps your offer at 70% of the after-repair value minus the rehab budget. For a $200,000 ARV and $30,000 of work, the ceiling is $110,000. The remaining 30% of the sale price is meant to absorb closing, holding and selling costs and still leave a profit. In expensive markets with low selling costs some investors use 75% or more.

Which holding costs should go in the monthly figure?

Anything you pay while you own the house and it is not yet sold: property tax, insurance (often a vacant-dwelling policy), utilities, HOA dues, lawn care and security. If you use borrowed money, add the monthly financing charge here too, because this tool treats the purchase as cash.

How much should I allow for selling costs?

In most US markets 6–10% of the sale price is a fair range. Agent commission is the largest share, with seller closing costs, transfer tax, staging and any concessions to the buyer making up the rest. Selling yourself can lower it, but the buyer's agent is often still paid.

Why is return on cash different from profit margin?

Margin divides profit by the sale price, while return on cash divides it by what you spent before the sale. In the $46,000 example, margin is 23% of $200,000 but the return on the $138,000 put in is 33.3%. Return on cash is the figure to compare with other uses of the same money.

What profit is considered a good flip?

Many investors look for at least 10–20% of the sale price, or a fixed dollar floor such as $25,000, so that a rehab overrun or a price cut does not erase the gain. The tool warns when profit falls under 10% of the sale price or below zero.

Is flip profit taxed as a capital gain?

A house held for one year or less produces a short-term gain taxed at ordinary rates, and frequent flippers may be treated as dealers, making the profit business income. The IRS guidance on capital gains explains the holding-period rule. The figure here is before any tax.