Your properties can be compared with each other
It is the direct consequence of the single definition. Two homes bought ten years apart, with different costs, are ranked on the same basis — and that ranking means something.
Performance
One definition of yield, everywhere.
The word “yield” covers at least four different calculations depending on who uses it, and the gap between the most flattering and the most honest commonly exceeds two points. Pilot keeps just one, applies it everywhere, and tells you which.
- 24income and expense categories trackedpilot/models.py::CategorieTransaction
Two definitions of yield in the same tool, and no figure is credible any more.
Gross yield divides the annual rent by the purchase price. Net yield deducts costs. Net-net yield deducts tax as well. And depending on whether the price paid or the real total cost goes in the denominator, the gap widens further. None of these calculations is wrong — but showing one on a property page and the other on a dashboard, without saying so, makes the whole thing unusable: the user sees two figures, does not know which to believe, and ends up believing neither. The added value is therefore not in having the best calculation, but in having just one and standing by it.
- Rent actually collected in the numerator, not theoretical rent
- Costs deducted, with the list of what is counted
- Total cost in the denominator: price, fees and works
- Cash flow kept separate from yield: they are two different questions
In practice.
The numerator starts from what came in
Rent actually collected over the period, not rent due. A property with two months of arrears does not have the yield of its tenancy agreement: it has the yield of its reality, and that is the one that must appear.
Costs are deducted, and named
Property tax, non-recoverable building service charges, landlord’s insurance, management fees, maintenance. Each category of expense is identified, so you can check what goes into the calculation rather than trusting a total.
The denominator is the total cost
Purchase price, notary fees, agency fees, works. Dividing by the purchase price alone mechanically inflates the yield by nearly a point on an older property — it is the most common way of telling yourself a story.
Cash flow is calculated separately
Rent collected, minus costs, minus loan repayments. It is a different question from yield: a property can be profitable and cost money each month, or the reverse. Confusing the two leads to selling the wrong property.
The same calculation is used everywhere
Property file, portfolio, comparison between properties, arbitration verdict. A single figure circulates, so two screens cannot contradict each other.
What it changes
Seasonality no longer looks like a drift
Property tax falls in October. Over one month, it crushes the yield; over a rolling average, it takes its true place. Both views are available, and one is not presented as the other.
Cash flow says what yield does not
A property with a good yield but heavily financed can weigh on your cash flow for years. The distinction is what lets you decide with full knowledge, rather than on a single flattering indicator.
The law, and the pitfalls
Taxable rental income consists of rent actually collected during the year, less the exhaustively listed costs.
art. 14, art. 28 and art. 31 of the French General Tax Code
Not all of a landlord’s costs are tax-deductible, and not all deductible costs are recoverable from the tenant: they are three different lists. A yield calculated on the tax list is not an economic yield, and vice versa.
Improvement expenses are deductible for a residential home, but construction, reconstruction and extension expenses are not.
art. 31 I 1° b) of the French General Tax Codedisputed point
The boundary between improvement and reconstruction is a classic source of tax reassessment, and it depends not on the amount but on the nature of the works. A yield that had deducted non-deductible works would be contradicted by the tax authority, not by a spreadsheet.
Net rental income is subject to income tax at the progressive scale, plus social charges.
art. 197 of the French General Tax Code; art. L. 136-6 of the French Social Security Code
That is why the net yield of a landlord taxed in a high bracket has almost nothing to do with that of a lightly taxed landlord, on the same property. A universal “net-net” yield does not exist: it depends on your personal situation.
What Pilot refuses to do
Pilot does not display a gross yield
It flatters by two to three points and helps no decision. The only use of gross yield is a quick comparison between listings — not managing a property you own.
Pilot does not calculate an after-tax yield
It would depend on your marginal tax band, your other income and your tax household. The regime comparison handles this question separately, with your data — and not in an indicator displayed next to the rent.
art. 197 of the French General Tax Code
Pilot does not divide by the purchase price alone
Even if it is more favourable, and even if it is common practice. The total cost is what you actually committed, so it is the only denominator that gives a rate comparable over time.
Availability
Included from the Essentiel tier.
- 7-day trial at launch, card required
- No commitment
Frequently asked questions
Which yield exactly does Pilot display?
Net yield: rent actually collected, costs deducted, divided by total cost — purchase price plus fees and works. The same calculation is used everywhere in the product, so that two screens cannot contradict each other.
Why no gross yield?
Because it flatters by two to three points and serves no decision on a property you already own. Its real use is quick comparison between listings.
And the after-tax net yield?
It depends on your marginal tax band and your other income: there is no universal value. The tax regime comparison handles this question separately, with your data.
How is it different from cash flow?
Yield measures the return on the capital committed; cash flow measures what comes in and goes out each month, loan repayments included. A property can be profitable and cost you money every month. Confusing the two leads to selling the wrong property.
Does property tax distort the month of October?
On a monthly view, yes, mechanically. That is why a twenty-four-month rolling average is available alongside — and why one is never presented as the other.
Right next to it.
Performance
Twenty-four months, otherwise October looks like a disaster.
Costs-to-rent ratio on rents actually received, a 24-month series and a rolling average — without which October’s property tax looks like a drift.
Value and debt
Generated from the repayment schedule, so it ages on its own.
Generated from your repayment schedule, so it ages on its own. The net value follows from it, estimated selling costs deducted.
Performance
Keep, sell, watch — or say nothing.
Ranked on net yield, IRR, and a keep / sell / watch verdict — suspended when the value is not certain enough.
Performance
Five regimes side by side, then the return box by box.
Micro-foncier, réel foncier, LMNP micro-BIC, LMNP réel and SCI subject to corporate tax compared side by side, then help with the 2044 return — and with the 2072-S for an SCI subject to income tax.
Value and debt
Compared with total cost, not with the purchase price.
Compared with total cost — purchase price, fees and works — and not with the purchase price alone.
Content reviewed on 2026-08-06.
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