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DealCalc calculator guide

DSCR Calculator

DSCR measures whether property income covers debt service. DealCalc keeps DSCR connected to NOI, Annual Debt Service, and Monthly Cash Flow.

Primary outputDSCR
Primary outputNOI

Calculator

Measure the income cushion before trusting the loan.

DSCR appears inside DealCalc rental, BRRRR, Subject-To, and Multifamily 5+ workflows so you can judge debt coverage in context.

Example inputs

  • NOI$30,000
  • Annual Debt Service$24,000
  • Monthly Rent$2,850
  • Vacancy Rate5%
  • Operating Expenses$9,480
  • Loan Amount$240,000

In-app workflow

  • Pick the calculator in Analyze.
  • Enter assumptions and review Deal Score.
  • Save the deal when the numbers deserve a second look.
  • Upgrade for AI Insights, Project Tracker, portfolio, and investor-ready reports.

Results

Read the result like an investor, not a spreadsheet.

DSCR1.25
NOI$30,000
Annual Debt Service$24,000
Monthly Cash Flow$500/mo
Cash Flow$6,000/yr
Cap Rate7.1%
Cash Required$80,000
Deal Score6.8 / 10

Metric explanations

DealCalc metric names used on this page

  • DSCRNOI divided by Annual Debt Service. A 1.25 DSCR means NOI is 1.25 times annual debt payments.
  • NOINet operating income after operating expenses and before debt.
  • Annual Debt ServiceTotal yearly principal and interest payments used in the DSCR denominator.
  • Monthly Cash FlowCash left after debt service; DSCR can pass while cash flow still feels thin.
  • Cap RateNOI divided by value. Useful for checking whether coverage is supported by real yield.
  • Cash RequiredCash in the deal, needed to compare coverage against actual investor capital.

AI Insights

Use the guide to learn. Use the app to decide faster.

Lender lens

DealCalc AI Insights flags whether DSCR looks lender-friendly or if income is too close to debt service.

Cash flow lens

The app keeps Monthly Cash Flow next to DSCR so coverage does not hide a weak monthly outcome.

Scenario testing

Use DealCalc to test rate, down payment, rent, and expense changes without rebuilding the worksheet.

Step-by-step guide

How to use this calculator workflow

  1. 01

    Calculate NOI from income minus operating expenses.

  2. 02

    Calculate Annual Debt Service from the loan payment.

  3. 03

    Divide NOI by Annual Debt Service to get DSCR.

  4. 04

    Review Monthly Cash Flow to see the investor impact after debt.

  5. 05

    Adjust rent, expense, rate, or leverage in DealCalc to improve coverage.

Common mistakes

Where investors usually distort the answer

  • Using gross income instead of NOI.
  • Forgetting that DSCR is annual, not monthly rent divided by payment.
  • Assuming lender-acceptable DSCR means the deal has enough cash flow.
  • Ignoring vacancy and management fees when calculating NOI.

FAQs

What is DSCR?

DSCR means debt service coverage ratio. It is NOI divided by Annual Debt Service.

What DSCR does DealCalc consider healthier?

DealCalc commonly treats 1.25 or better as a stronger quick-screen threshold, while lower coverage needs more caution.

Which deals need DSCR?

Rental, BRRRR, Subject-To, Multifamily 5+, and commercial-style deals all benefit from DSCR analysis.

Run it in DealCalc

Run DSCR inside a complete DealCalc rental analysis.

This page is built to teach the workflow and drive search traffic. The full DealCalc experience adds saved deals, AI Insights, Project Tracker, portfolio dashboards, and investor-ready reports.

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