DSCR Calculator
Enter rent, vacancy, operating expenses and the loan terms to get NOI, the monthly P&I payment and the debt service coverage ratio instantly. No signup — the numbers update as you type.
Same conventions as the full DealQuanta engine — computed from the numbers you enter, not market data. Not financial advice.
Run the full free analysis — Score, cash flow, all metrics →The DSCR formula
Net operating income is the annual income after vacancy and operating expenses (but before the mortgage); annual debt service is twelve months of principal & interest. The ratio reads as a safety margin: 1.41× means the property earns $1.41 of operating income for every $1.00 of loan payment. This calculator amortizes the payment from the loan amount, rate and term — the same P&I math as the full DealQuanta engine.
Worked example
A property rents for $2,300/month with a 5% vacancy allowance and $8,220/year of operating expenses, financed with a $160,000 loan at 7% over 30 years:
- Gross scheduled rent: $2,300 × 12 = $27,600
- NOI: $27,600 − $1,380 vacancy − $8,220 expenses = $18,000
- Monthly P&I: $1,064.48 → annual debt service $12,773.81
- DSCR: $18,000 ÷ $12,773.81 = 1.41×
These are the calculator's default inputs — a deal most coverage screens would pass comfortably.
Why lenders — and careful buyers — screen on DSCR
DSCR is the risk metric in the trio: cap rate prices the property, cash-on-cash measures your return, DSCR asks whether the income actually carries the debt when something goes wrong. A deal can show a strong cash-on-cash return and still sit at 1.05× coverage — one vacant month from negative. For how the benchmark is used in practice and what moves it, see what is a good DSCR.
FAQ
- What is a good DSCR for a rental property?
- DSCR lenders commonly screen at a minimum of 1.20–1.25×, and many investors treat 1.25× as the comfort line: income covers the debt with a 25% cushion. A DSCR of 1.0× means the property exactly covers its payment with zero margin; below 1.0× the property does not pay for its own debt. These are commonly published lender screening levels, not loan advice — programs vary.
- Does DSCR include property taxes and insurance?
- Taxes and insurance sit inside operating expenses, so they reduce NOI — the numerator. The denominator in this calculator is principal + interest on the loan. Some lenders instead underwrite against PITIA (payment including taxes, insurance and association dues); if yours does, their computed ratio will differ from a P&I-based one on the same deal.
- Why does my DSCR show “—”?
- With a $0 loan amount there is no debt service, so the ratio is undefined — an all-cash purchase doesn't have a coverage ratio. The full DealQuanta engine uses the same convention.
- How can I improve a thin DSCR?
- The levers are the ones in the formula: raise NOI (higher rent, lower controllable expenses) or shrink the payment (larger down payment, lower rate, longer amortization). A larger down payment is the most reliable lever because it's the one you fully control at purchase.
One metric never decides a deal
The full free calculator runs this metric alongside cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR and an A–F score — no signup. DealQuanta Pro adds the 10-year pro forma with IRR, side-by-side comparison and client-ready PDF reports.