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RupeeFrame

Renting today?

Buy a home, or rent and invest?

  • What you'd own both ways, year by year
  • Stamp duty, interest and upkeep counted
  • What it takes for buying to win
Renting wins by
₹2.17 Cr
in what you'd own in 2046, after 20 years · buy ₹2.6 Cr vs rent ₹4.77 Cr

What you own, both ways

Buy: the home after selling costs, minus the loan. Rent: the down payment and every month's saving, invested. Both after tax, if sold.

Your inputs

The home
₹
₹10 L₹10 Cr
%
10%100%
%
6%14%
yrs
5y30y
Renting it instead
₹
₹5K₹5 L
%
0%12%
Your outlook
yrs
1y30y
%
0%12%
%
4%18%
Costs of owning
%
0%12%
%
0%3%
%
0%5%
Your taxOptional: old regime counts 24(b) and 80C on the home loan
Tax regime
Your tax slab
₹
₹0₹1.5 L

Up to ₹2L of interest a year (Section 24(b)) and the principal you repay, within what is left of ₹1.5L (80C), come off your tax.

Switch on to see what future amounts will buy at today's prices.

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What this means

  • Renting stays ahead for all 20 years, and for 30 years too.
    Why?

    Buying costs a lot on day one: ₹7 L in stamp duty and registration that you never get back. It takes years of price growth and rising rent to make that up.

  • Rent is 3.6% of the price a year. The loan charges 8.5%.
    Why?

    The wider that gap, the more the renter has left to invest each month. Buying wins it back only if the home's price and the rent you avoid grow fast enough.

  • Owning costs ₹73,593 a month at first; rent is ₹30,000. The renter invests the ₹43.6K difference.
    Why?

    Owning here is the EMI plus 0.5% of the home's value a year for maintenance, property tax and repairs.

  • At 11% returns, buying needs prices to rise faster than 8.4% a year.
    Why?

    Or, at 5% price growth, renting wins only if your investments earn more than 7.3% a year.

  • New regime: no tax break on the loan.
    Why?

    Interest on a self-occupied home and principal repaid can't be deducted. Switch to Old to see the old-regime refunds.

  • Owning buys stability; renting buys flexibility.
    Why?

    No landlord can ask you to move, and you can change the home as you like. Renting makes a job move easier and keeps your savings in something you can sell in a day. Neither shows up in net worth.

More details

What would change the answer?

Try different
● your assumption: 5%

Move along the line to see who wins at each rate. Everything else stays as you set it.

Where the money goes

Spent and gone
Buying₹1.16 Cr
  • Interest₹86.62 L
  • Stamp duty & registration₹7 L
  • Upkeep & tax₹16.91 L
  • Selling costs₹5.31 L
Renting₹1.19 Cr
  • Rent₹1.19 Cr
What you own in 2046
Buying₹2.6 Cr
  • Home, less loan and selling costs₹2.6 Cr
Renting₹4.77 Cr
  • Investments₹4.77 Cr

The principal you repay isn't spent: it becomes the part of the home you own. Rent and interest both pay for a roof over your head.

Tax breaks on your loan, year 1

  • Section 24(b) interest, ₹2L a year cap₹0 deducted · saves ₹0
  • Section 80C principal, ₹1.5L cap with your other 80C₹0 deducted · saves ₹0

New regime: no deduction, so the loan costs its full 8.5%. Switch to Old to see the saving.

Next stepInvest the ₹27 L you'd put downWhat the down payment and stamp duty could grow to while you rent.Next stepBreak down the EMI on a ₹80 L home loanHow much goes to interest each year, and when principal takes over.

How it's calculated

Both paths spend exactly the same money. They are compared on what you'd own when you move out.

  • Buy: you pay the down payment and stamp duty on day one, then the EMI and upkeep every month. Your net worth is the home's value after selling costs, minus the loan still owed.
  • Rent: you invest the down payment and stamp duty on day one, and pay rent every month. Rent rises once a year.
  • The difference is invested: each month, whoever pays less invests what the other pays more. Once the loan is paid off, that is usually the buyer. Investments are valued after long-term capital gains tax (12.5% on gains above ₹1.25 lakh).

Tax on the gain when you sell the home is not counted, as it is usually exempt when you buy another one (Section 54). The break-even is the price growth, or investment return, at which both paths end level.

Buying also earns the loan's tax refunds in the old regime, invested each year until you leave.

Home-loan tax breaks (old regime only). The refund is the deduction times your slab rate. The new regime allows no deduction on a self-occupied home.

24(b) saving = min(interest, ₹2,00,000) × slab
80C saving = min(principal, ₹1,50,000 − other 80C) × slab
Cost of the loan = rate × (1 − 24(b) saved ÷ interest paid)

Tax figures follow Budget 2025 rules, for FY 2025-26 onward.

Common questions

Is it better to rent or buy a house in India?
It depends on how long you stay, how fast prices and rents rise, and what your savings would earn instead. Rent in Indian cities is often 2–4% of the home's price a year, well below a home-loan rate, so renting and investing the difference often wins on paper over shorter stays. Buying catches up over long stays as the loan shrinks and rent keeps rising.
What costs of buying do people forget?
Stamp duty and registration (usually 5–8% of the price), the interest on the loan, maintenance and property tax every year, and brokerage when you sell. None of these build equity. Only the principal you repay does.
Isn't rent just money down the drain?
Rent is gone, but so is the interest on a home loan, the stamp duty and the upkeep. The fair comparison is rent against those unrecoverable costs of owning, not against the whole EMI. The part of the EMI that repays principal is savings.
What if I can't invest the difference every month?
Then renting loses much of its edge. The comparison assumes the renter invests the down payment and every month's saving. If that money would be spent instead, buying works as forced saving.
Does the tax regime change the answer?
Under the old regime, up to ₹2 lakh of interest a year on a self-occupied home is deductible, which makes buying a little cheaper. Under the new regime there is no deduction.
How much home-loan tax can I save?
Under the old regime, up to ₹2 lakh of interest a year (Section 24(b)) plus the principal you repay within what is left of ₹1.5 lakh (Section 80C). At the 30% slab that is up to ₹60,000 plus ₹45,000 a year. The new regime allows neither on a self-occupied home.
Why does the calculator ask what I already use under 80C?
The ₹1.5 lakh limit is shared with EPF, PPF, ELSS, life-insurance premiums and tuition fees. Your loan principal only gets what is left, and for many salaried people EPF alone uses most of it.
Does the ₹2 lakh limit apply to joint loans?
It applies to each person. Co-owners who are also co-borrowers each claim up to ₹2 lakh of interest and ₹1.5 lakh under 80C, in proportion to their share of the loan. Enter only your own share here.
What if the home is let out or still being built?
For a let-out home the interest has no cap, but setting a loss against your other income stops at ₹2 lakh a year. Interest paid before you get possession is claimed in 5 equal parts from the year the home is finished, inside the same cap. If a self-occupied home isn't finished within 5 years of the loan, the cap falls to ₹30,000. This calculator models a finished, self-occupied home.
Can I claim stamp duty, and what if I sell early?
Stamp duty and registration count under 80C in the year you pay them, which this calculator does not add. Selling the home within 5 years of getting possession adds the 80C you claimed back to your income.
What about the extra 80EE and 80EEA deductions?
They ended for loans sanctioned after 31 March 2022, so they are not modelled.
How exact is the tax saving?
It is a close estimate: the deduction times your slab rate. Cess (4%) would add a little, and a large deduction can pull you into a lower slab. The Income-tax Act 2025 (from 1 April 2026) renumbers these sections, but the limits stay as above.

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