Calculator · Pre-tax operating income
Host income estimate
A planning model for annual pre-tax operating income from a short-term rental — after the line items everyone forgets. Adjust the inputs to match your property; the conservative / planning / optimistic bands account for the occupancy variance most pricing tools understate. The output is a model on your inputs, not a forecast.
Last checked: May 18, 2026
Pre-tax operating income
$28,208per year (before income tax + mortgage)
$2,351/month before income tax and any mortgage debt service. With these inputs — not a forecast. Conservative band haircuts the planning number 15% for occupancy variance and unexpected expenses; most hosts should plan to the conservative band, not the headline.
Nights/year booked
219
Turnovers/year
73
Gross booking revenue
$50,005
Pre-tax operating income / gross
56%
Conservative
$23,977
Planning
$28,208
Optimistic
$31,029
What changes it most: Occupancy moves operating income more than any other single input — a 10-point swing in occupancy typically changes the result by 15-20%. Nightly rate and platform fee structure are the next-biggest levers.
Annual P&L breakdown
- Nightly revenue219 nights × $200/night$43,800
- Cleaning fees collected73 turnovers × $85 fee$6,205
- Platform fees15.5% applied to gross booking revenue ($50005)($7,751)
- Cleaner cost73 turnovers × $60 paid to cleaner($4,380)
- Utilities (annual)($3,600)
- Furnishings depreciation15% of $12000 furnishings basis($1,800)
- Insurance (annual)($1,200)
- Maintenance reserve7.0% of nightly revenue($3,066)
- Pre-tax operating income (annual)$28,208
What this calculator owns (and doesn't)
This page owns one job: plug in your inputs for one property and see the annual pre-tax operating income that falls out. It does not explain why those line items matter, walk worked-example properties, or argue gross vs net. That education lives on the real host income article — read it first if you're new to the line-item shape, then come back to the calculator to put your own numbers through the same engine.
What this number is — and is not
| Metric | Value | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| What it IS | Pre-tax operating income (annual). Gross booking revenue (nightly + cleaning fees charged) minus platform fees, cleaner cost, utilities, furnishings depreciation reserve, insurance, and maintenance reserve. | Same line-item shape as the worked examples in the real host income article. The calculator runs the engine; the article walks the engine through Denver, Tahoe, and Nashville scenarios. |
| What it is BEFORE | Before income tax and before any mortgage / debt service. Net the calculator returns has to cover both of those before you treat it as take-home. | Divide the annual figure by 12 to get a monthly pre-tax operating income; compare against your monthly mortgage payment + tax accrual to see what's actually left. |
| Where the numbers come from | Entirely from your inputs. Nightly rate, occupancy, cleaning fee charged, cleaner cost paid, platform fee rate, and the recurring operating costs are values you set on the sliders. | No market projection, no comp-tool data, no industry averages baked in. If the inputs are off, the result is off — that's the trade-off for transparency. |
| What it is NOT | Not a forecast. Not a market average for your city. Not a guarantee. Not tax, legal, or insurance advice. | A planning model on the inputs you entered. Use the conservative band as your floor; treat the planning and optimistic bands as scenarios, not outcomes. |
| Which inputs drive the result most | Occupancy and nightly rate move the result more than any other inputs. Platform fee structure (host-only vs split-fee) is the next-biggest single lever; the operating-cost lines move it incrementally. | If the headline number looks too rosy, sanity-check occupancy and nightly rate against comparable listings in your immediate area. Optimistic occupancy is a frequent reason a calculator output overstates real take-home — projected annualized occupancy is usually lower than first-year hosts assume. |
| What to adjust first if the result looks too optimistic | In order: (1) drop occupancy to a conservative annualized figure you'd be okay with as a floor; (2) verify your nightly rate against actual comparable listings, not a comp-tool projection; (3) raise the maintenance reserve % a couple of points; (4) confirm the platform fee rate matches what Airbnb / Vrbo actually charges your account. | When calculator outputs feel rosy, the two inputs most worth re-checking are occupancy and nightly rate — both are easy to enter optimistically. Verify them against your own actuals or comparable listings before suspecting the engine math. |
What the defaults represent
The default values are an illustrative planning scenario, not a market forecast: a moderately priced property with a separate cleaning charge, recurring operating costs, furnishings depreciation reserve, insurance, and maintenance reserve. Adjust to your actual property and local costs; the engine recomputes live.
Things this calculator deliberately leaves out
- Income tax. Pre-tax operating income is before federal and state income tax. STR income is generally taxable; see the STR tax basics article and talk to a CPA in year 1 or 2 to settle Schedule E vs C.
- Lodging / occupancy tax. Platform collection and host filing obligations vary by jurisdiction. The calculator doesn't line-item lodging tax because it's usually a pass-through rather than operating income. Check your city and state rules before relying on platform remittance.
- Property-management company fees. If you use a full-service or limited-scope manager, add that contract cost as its own operating expense before treating the result as spendable cashflow.
- Mortgage / debt service. The calculator returns pre-tax operating income; mortgage is a separate financial decision. Compare the annual result against your annual mortgage payment to see what's left after debt service.
Related guides
- Real host income: gross, net, and the line items everyone forgets — worked examples across Denver studio / Tahoe cabin / Nashville duplex.
- Host fees, guest fees, and the cleaning math — the fee structure side of the calculator's platform-fee input.
- Insurance gaps: what AirCover and Vrbo protection don't cover — the insurance line item in detail.