Every investment property has three payers: the tenant pays the rent, the tax system shares part of the cost through deductions, and you pay what is left. So how much does an investment property cost per week? That depends on how those three shares fall, and it has to be clear before you commit.
What an investment property costs per week
Set against the rent is everything the property costs to hold: the loan interest, council and water rates, insurance, property management, repairs, and body corporate fees if there are any. Then come the deductions, including depreciation on the building, which lower the tax you pay on your wages. The result, after tax, is your weekly shortfall or your weekly surplus.
My four cash flow questions
- What share of the outgoings does the rent pay?
- What share do the tax savings pay?
- Is there a shortfall or a surplus?
- How much is it, each week, after tax?
Which rules your property falls under
Since the 2026 changes, the tax share depends on when and what you bought. A home held, or under contract, before 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 keeps the old rules, and so does a new build. For an established home bought since, the loss cannot come off your wages from the 2027-28 income year. The loss is carried forward instead, so you carry more of the cost each week until it can be used. The detail is in Negative gearing after 2026.
Is $50 a week fine for you?
In 2019, in my Essential Guide to Smart Property Investment, I wrote about an investor paying about $50 a week to hold a property, after the tenant and the tax system had paid their share. The figure is history now. The question behind it is not. An investment with a shortfall has to be affordable, so what is a wise investment for one person can be unwise for another.
Rents and costs both move. A shortfall that feels tight in the first year often eases as rents rise, and grows if rates rise. With the cash rate at 4.60 per cent after September’s rise, holding costs are higher than they were a year ago. That is why I look at what you could carry through a rate rise or a vacancy, not only today’s figure.
Two friends each invest in a similar home. One works it out first: the rent pays most of the costs, the tax savings pay some more, and the gap is a figure she can find every week without thinking about it. The other signs first and adds it up afterwards. A rate rise and a month without a tenant later, he is selling at a time he did not choose.
When the weekly figure is too much
A property with a weekly shortfall does not suit someone whose budget has no room in it, or whose income could stop at short notice. If carrying it would cost you sleep, it is too much, whatever the spreadsheet says. The right weekly figure is not the lowest one. It is the one you can carry calmly for as long as it takes.
Know your weekly figure before you sign: for the property in front of you, under its own rules, against your own tax and budget. To work it out, book a first conversation. It costs nothing.
Nicholas Lockhart
This article reflects the law and rates as at 10 October 2026. An accountant can work out the figures for a particular property.
Source: Australian Taxation Office, Tax reform - Boosting home ownership - Reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax; RBA, Monetary Policy Decision, 29 September 2026.