Finance category
Mortgage, loan, investing, tax, and money calculators.
Free Rent Stepdown Calculator
Rather than flat free rent, deals often use a front-end heavy stepdown. This calculator models the schedule and effective rent.
Effective monthly rent
$16,650
Total paid over term
$999,000
Concession value
$81,000
How the math works
Effective rent = total paid ÷ lease months. Concession value = what would have been paid − what was paid.
Stepdowns look gentler but sum to larger concessions than simple free-rent blocks. Always compare NPV of stepdown vs flat concession when negotiating — pick what's cheapest to LL.
How to Use
- Enter base monthly rent.
- Enter free months period 1.
- Enter half-rent months period 2.
- Enter lease months total.
- Read effective rent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why stepdown?
Gives tenant heavy front-end help (for move-in and fit-out), less help as business stabilizes. Common on retail and restaurant. Balances tenant ramp against lease economics.
Effective rent?
Total rent paid over term ÷ total term. Front-end stepdown reduces effective rent but preserves headline. Important to calculate for LP reporting.
Accounting?
GAAP straight-lines rent over lease. Cash timing differs. Be clear on cash vs GAAP numbers when reporting to lenders and investors.
What documentation matters here?
Written leases, move-in/move-out inspections with photographs, ledger entries showing every payment and charge, served notices with proof of service, and contemporaneous emails or texts. Courts weigh written evidence heavily; informal understandings rarely stand. Institutional operators run a monthly file audit to catch gaps before they matter. Good paper trails recover most of what's owed.
Related Calculators
More Finance Calculators
Browse all finance →AI Cost Calculator
Compare token costs across OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google AI models. Calculate monthly API spending for GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini, and more.
Tip Calculator
Calculate the perfect tip and split the bill between friends. Choose preset percentages or enter a custom tip amount.
Bill Splitter Calculator
Split an uneven restaurant bill by item, divide tax and tip proportionally, and see exactly who owes whom.
Discount Calculator
Calculate sale price, discount amount, stacked discounts, sales tax, and total savings for any markdown.
Gas Mileage Calculator
Calculate MPG or km/L, estimate trip fuel cost, and compare annual fuel expenses between two vehicles.
Sales Tax Calculator
Add sales tax to a price, reverse-calculate the pre-tax amount from a total, and estimate tax for multiple items on one receipt.
Keep exploring
Next steps in Finance
Previous calculator
Free Rent Equivalent Calculator
Translate free rent months into effective $/SF rate reduction — total concession value and per-SF impact.
Next calculator
Furnace Replacement Budget Calculator
Furnace replacement cost — gas vs electric, AFUE rating, BTU sizing — with vent and gas line considerations.