Rent vs. Buy

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Import JSON

Income & shared assumptions

Apply to both Buy and Rent. Income is post-tax monthly. Investment return drives the opportunity-cost portfolio; inflation inflates ongoing costs; the time horizon is the year for break-even comparison and net-sale calculations.

Monthly income ($)

Investment return (%/yr)

Inflation (%/yr)

Time horizon (yrs)

Buyhome purchase

Purchase costs

Purchase price ($)

Home value ($)

Down payment (%)

Mortgage rate (%)

Loan term (years)

Appreciation (%/yr)

Closing costs (% of price)

Inspection / appraisal ($)

Initial setup ($)

Additional income ($/mo)

Ongoing ownership costs

Property tax (%/yr of value)

Homeowners insurance ($/mo)

HOA dues ($/mo)

PMI rate (%/yr of loan)

Maintenance (%/yr of value)

Owner-only utilities ($/mo)

Asset liquidation

Asset liquidation ($)

Liquidation tax (%)

Exit costs

Agent commission (% of sale)

Transfer tax ($)

Prep / staging ($)

Mortgage P&I$4,045

Property tax$667

Insurance$150

HOA$0

PMI$0

Maintenance$1,000

Utilities$0

Total monthly cost$5,862

Down payment$160,000

Closing costs$24,000

Initial equity$160,000

Equity after 5 yrs$328,309

Liquidation tax (one-time)$24,000

Monthly net cash flow$4,138

Rentrenting

Rental costs

Monthly rent ($)

Annual rent increase (%)

Renters insurance ($/mo)

Security deposit ($)

Misc monthly expenses ($)

Rent$3,000

Renters insurance$20

Misc$0

Total monthly cost$3,020

Rent in year 10$4,032

Security deposit (held)$3,000

Monthly net cash flow$6,980

Tax settingsMarried filing jointly · Auto deduction

Filing status

Deduction

Auto picks itemize when mortgage interest + property tax (capped at $10,000 SALT) exceeds the standard deduction ($30,000 for MFJ).

Federal marginal (%)

State marginal (%)

Federal LTCG (%)

State LTCG (%)

Break-even year

Never

Renting leads for the full 30 years.

Buy net worth · year 30

$4,495,638

After selling costs and capital gains tax.

Rent net worth · year 30

$5,276,517

Investment portfolio after LTCG.

Net worth over time

Renting leads the entire horizon. After 30 years renting leads by $2,080,871.

Buy net worthRent net worth

Year-by-year breakdown

Year	Owner cost	Rent cost	Principal	Interest	Equity	Rent invest	Buy net	Rent net
1	$71k	$36k	$7k	$41k	$191k	$316k	$19k	$86k
2	$71k	$37k	$8k	$41k	$224k	$423k	$96k	$177k
3	$72k	$38k	$8k	$40k	$257k	$537k	$177k	$274k
4	$73k	$40k	$9k	$40k	$292k	$658k	$261k	$376k
5	$73k	$41k	$9k	$39k	$328k	$785k	$349k	$483k
6	$74k	$42k	$10k	$39k	$366k	$921k	$442k	$597k
7	$75k	$43k	$11k	$38k	$405k	$1.1M	$539k	$718k
8	$76k	$45k	$11k	$37k	$446k	$1.2M	$640k	$846k
9	$77k	$46k	$12k	$37k	$488k	$1.4M	$747k	$982k
10	$77k	$47k	$13k	$36k	$533k	$1.5M	$858k	$1.1M
11	$78k	$49k	$14k	$35k	$578k	$1.7M	$975k	$1.3M
12	$79k	$50k	$15k	$34k	$626k	$1.9M	$1.1M	$1.4M
13	$80k	$52k	$16k	$33k	$676k	$2.1M	$1.2M	$1.6M
14	$81k	$53k	$17k	$32k	$728k	$2.3M	$1.4M	$1.8M
15	$82k	$55k	$18k	$31k	$782k	$2.6M	$1.5M	$2M
16	$83k	$56k	$19k	$30k	$838k	$2.8M	$1.6M	$2.2M
17	$84k	$58k	$20k	$28k	$897k	$3.1M	$1.8M	$2.4M
18	$85k	$60k	$22k	$27k	$958k	$3.4M	$2M	$2.6M
19	$86k	$62k	$23k	$26k	$1M	$3.7M	$2.1M	$2.9M
20	$87k	$64k	$25k	$24k	$1.1M	$4M	$2.3M	$3.1M
21	$88k	$65k	$26k	$22k	$1.2M	$4.3M	$2.5M	$3.4M
22	$89k	$67k	$28k	$21k	$1.2M	$4.7M	$2.7M	$3.7M
23	$91k	$69k	$30k	$19k	$1.3M	$5M	$2.9M	$4M
24	$92k	$71k	$32k	$17k	$1.4M	$5.4M	$3.1M	$4.3M
25	$93k	$74k	$34k	$15k	$1.5M	$5.9M	$3.4M	$4.7M
26	$94k	$76k	$36k	$12k	$1.6M	$6.3M	$3.6M	$5.1M
27	$96k	$78k	$39k	$10k	$1.6M	$6.8M	$3.9M	$5.5M
28	$97k	$80k	$41k	$7k	$1.7M	$7.3M	$4.2M	$5.9M
29	$99k	$83k	$44k	$5k	$1.8M	$7.9M	$4.4M	$6.3M
30	$100k	$85k	$47k	$2k	$1.9M	$8.5M	$4.7M	$6.8M

Sensitivity — break-even year vs. assumption shifts

Assumption	-2%	-1%	Base	+1%	+2%
Home appreciation(base 3%)	—	—	—	—	—
Investment return(base 7%)	—	—	—	—	—
Rent inflation(base 3%)	—	—	—	—	—

“—” means buying never overtakes renting within the time horizon under that assumption.