Rent or sell your Las Vegas home: calculator
Moving but not sure whether to sell? Compare cashing out today with keeping the home as a rental, on the same end date, with the tax deadline that catches many owners flagged.
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How the comparison works
Both paths end at the same date, with everything converted to cash in hand before tax:
- Sell now: sale price × (1 − selling costs) − mortgage balance, then grown at your "return on cash" for the comparison period.
- Keep and rent: each year's cash flow (rent collected − management − other costs − mortgage payments actually due) is added up and grown at the same return. At the end, the home is sold at the grown value, minus selling costs and the remaining loan balance.
The loan is amortized month by month, so if it's paid off during the period, payments stop.
Worked example
The example loaded above is a $450,000 home with a $260,000 mortgage at 3.25%, renting for $2,300. Over 5 years it gives $202,291 for selling now and investing at 5%, against $274,100 for keeping and renting at 3% annual appreciation. That's a difference of $71,809 in favor of keeping, before taxes. Change appreciation to 0% and see how much the answer depends on it.
Taxes: the three-year window
The biggest thing this calculator can't model for you is tax. For many owners who move out of a Las Vegas home, the home-sale exclusion under Internal Revenue Code section 121 is worth more than several years of rent:
- You need to have owned and used the home as your main home for 2 of the 5 years before the sale.
- That gives you roughly three years after moving out to sell and still qualify.
- Depreciation from the rental years after May 6, 1997 is taxed when you sell, even if the rest of the gain is excluded.
Source: IRS Publication 523, Selling Your Home. This is general information, not tax advice.
Las Vegas context
The typical observed rent across the Las Vegas metro was $1,742 in August 2026, with a 12-month change of +0.1% (Zillow Observed Rent Index). The example's 2% rent growth is an assumption, not a forecast. Check your ZIP code in the rent benchmarks and set rent growth conservatively.
Once the home is a rental, its property-tax bill moves from the 3% owner-occupied abatement cap to the up-to-8% cap for other property (NRS 361.4722–.4723). Allow for that in "other monthly costs". The cash flow calculator explains the rental 3% cap exception.
Common questions
Should I rent out my Las Vegas house or sell it?
It comes down to four things: how much equity you'd free up by selling, what the home would clear as a rental after all costs, what you expect home values to do, and taxes. A low-rate mortgage often tips the math toward keeping, because the payment is small relative to rent. A home that barely breaks even as a rental only pays off if values rise, so you're betting on appreciation.
How long can I rent my former home and still avoid capital gains tax?
Under IRS rules you can generally exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 married filing jointly) if you owned and lived in the home as your main home for at least 2 of the 5 years before the sale. That means the clock runs out roughly 3 years after you move out. Depreciation you claimed (or could have claimed) as a landlord after May 6, 1997 can't be excluded. See IRS Publication 523 and confirm your situation with a tax professional.
Does Nevada tax the gain when I sell?
Nevada has no state personal income tax, so there's no state capital-gains tax on an individual's sale. Federal tax still applies. When a home sells in Clark County, the real property transfer tax is $2.55 per $500 of value (about 0.51%) under NRS Chapter 375. It's often paid by the seller, but who pays is negotiable.
What selling cost should I assume?
This tool defaults to 7% to cover agent commissions, title and escrow, the transfer tax and typical concessions. Commissions are negotiable. Get an actual net sheet from a listing agent and enter that percentage.
What return on cash should I use?
Use what you'd realistically do with the money if you sold: pay down other debt, keep it in savings, or invest it. The same rate is applied to rental cash flow, so the comparison is fair. Change it to see how sensitive the answer is. If a 1-point change flips the result, the two options are close.