What's the difference between a positive cashflow and a negatively-geared property?

Positive cashflow: rent > interest + costs. Net cashflow goes into your pocket (after tax). Common in higher-yield regional + non-capital-city suburbs (5-7% gross yield), older lower-debt-leverage portfolios, or post-rate-cut periods. Tax shape: rent fully taxable at marginal rate; depreciation deductions reduce taxable rental income (but can't push it negative).

Negative gearing: rent < interest + costs. Net rental loss offsets your wage / business income, reducing your overall tax bill (s8-1 + s51AAA). Common in capital-city properties (3-4% gross yield), high-LVR purchases, or during rate-rise periods. Tax shape: rental loss is deductible; eventual capital growth is the upside.

Trade-off: cashflow-positive scales horizontally (more properties = more positive cashflow → can fund next deposit) but each property's growth is typically lower. Negatively-geared scales vertically (one or two big-growth properties absorb your serviceability + tax-deductible cash drag). Most successful multi-property portfolios mix the two.

Decision lens: if your goal is to hold 5+ properties + retire on rental income → cashflow-positive priority. If your goal is 1-3 high-growth metro properties → negative-gearing accepted as a tax-effective way to get exposure. The cashflow projector at /tools/cashflow-projector models both over a 10-year hold so you can see post-tax outcomes against your specific marginal rate.