Prorated rent calculator
Rent for the days you actually live there, with the total due at move-in.
The rent, date and deposit are example values. The days of occupancy include both the first and the last day. Only the three states listed have a verified limit here.
What the number means
Rent is normally due for a whole month, but a tenancy rarely starts or ends on the 1st. Proration charges only for the days in between. The result is the rent for those days, and it is the first payment the tenant makes together with the deposit, which is why the calculator also totals everything due at move-in.
The formula
Prorated rent = daily rate × days of occupancy. The daily rate depends on the convention: rent ÷ the number of days in that month (28 to 31), rent ÷ 30, or rent × 12 ÷ 365. Days of occupancy are the days from the move-in date to the end of the month, or from the 1st to the move-out date, counting both end days. The amount is never more than one month's rent.
Worked example
Rent is $1,500.00 and the tenant moves in on November 15. November has 30 days, and the tenant lives there for 16 of them. By actual days, the daily rate is $50.00 and the rent is $800.00. With a $1,500.00 security deposit the first payment is $2,300.00, and the next payment of $1,500.00 is due on December 1. In a 31-day month the methods diverge: with $2,000.00 rent and a move-in on January 10 (22 days), actual days give $1,419.35, a 30-day month gives $1,466.67 and the yearly ÷ 365 method gives $1,446.58. The spread is $47.31 between the first two, small but worth agreeing on in writing.
Common mistakes
One mistake is to count nights instead of days, or the reverse, and to be off by one day, which at $50 a day is a visible error. Another is to mix methods: dividing by 30 in a 31-day month charges more than actual days do, and for a move-in on the 1st it would exceed the rent, which a proration should never do. A third is to treat the deposit as part of the rent: a deposit is returned (in New York within 14 days of the tenant leaving, with an itemized list of deductions, under General Obligations Law § 7-108(1-a)(e)) and is not a payment for any days.
Limits of this method
The calculator does not know your lease. A lease may start on the 1st and give the keys earlier for a fee, require rent for the whole month regardless of the date, or set its own proration rule. It also does not know about discounts, utilities, parking or pet rent that may be prorated differently. Deposit limits are a matter of state law, and exceptions exist: for example, California's one-month cap after July 1, 2024 (Civil Code § 1950.5, AB 12) lets small landlords take two months. Only New York, California and Massachusetts are included because those were the limits confirmed against legal texts or the state's own explanation; for other states, read the statute.
How do I calculate prorated rent?
Divide the monthly rent by a number of days to get a daily rate, then multiply by the days you will live there. Moving in on November 15 with rent of $1,500.00 leaves 16 days (the 15th through the 30th, counting the move-in day) of 30: $50.00 a day × 16 = $800.00. In a 31-day month the choice of method matters. Rent of $2,000.00 and a move-in on January 10 leaves 22 days: $1,419.35 by actual days, $1,466.67 on a 30-day month and $1,446.58 on the yearly ÷ 365 method.
Which method should I use: actual days, 30 days or 365?
None of them is a law. The lease or the property manager's policy decides. Actual days (rent ÷ days in that month) is the most common, because the tenant pays exactly for the days they occupy. A 30-day month gives the same daily rate in every month, which is easy to read but charges a little less per day in a 28-day month and a little more in a 31-day month. Annual rent ÷ 365 (rent × 12 ÷ 365) spreads the rent evenly over the year and is used in some commercial leases. If your lease is silent, ask for the method in writing before you sign.
Is the move-in day counted?
Usually yes: if you get the keys on the 15th and sleep there that night, the 15th is a day of occupancy. Some landlords start counting the next day, or the day the lease begins even if you arrive later. For a move-out, the day you hand back the keys is normally the last chargeable day. The calculator counts both the first and last day of occupancy; adjust the date by one if your lease counts differently.
Can the prorated rent be more than a full month?
It should not be. With a 30-day divisor in a 31-day month, a move-in on the 1st gives 31 days × rent ÷ 30, which is more than the rent. The calculator caps every method at one month's rent. With $3,100 rent and a move-in on January 1, the yearly ÷ 365 method would give $3,159.45 but is capped at $3,100.00.
How much can a landlord ask for as a security deposit?
Security deposit limits are set by state law, and they differ. In New York, General Obligations Law § 7-108(1-a)(a) says no deposit or advance may exceed one month's rent, and the landlord must return the deposit, with an itemized list of deductions, within 14 days after the tenant leaves. California's Civil Code § 1950.5, as changed by AB 12, caps a deposit at one month's rent for deposits collected on or after July 1, 2024, for furnished and unfurnished units; a small landlord (a natural person, or an LLC owned only by natural persons, with no more than two rental properties and no more than four units in all) may still take up to two months, but not from a service member. In Massachusetts, G.L. c. 186, § 15B(1)(b) lets the landlord ask before the tenancy begins for only the first month's rent, the last month's rent, a security deposit equal to the first month's rent, and the cost of a new lock and key. The calculator checks the deposit against these three states only. Other states are not listed because the figures were not confirmed from primary sources; check your state's statute.
Is the last month's rent part of the deposit?
That depends on the state. Massachusetts allows it as a separate item next to the deposit; New York's cap applies to a 'deposit or advance', so a prepayment of rent beyond the first month falls under the same limit. The calculator adds a last-month payment to the total due at move-in and checks only the deposit field against the limit. Read your state's rule before collecting both.
What if I move out on the 20th of a month?
You owe rent from the 1st through the 20th. With $1,800 rent in February 2026, which has 28 days, that is 20 days: $1,285.71 by actual days. Whether you owe a full month depends on your notice period and lease end date, not on proration alone; ending a lease early may also bring a break fee or continued liability for rent.
An estimate for planning only — not legal or financial advice; your lease and your state's landlord-tenant law decide. Sources, checked October 27, 2026: N.Y. General Obligations Law § 7-108; California Civil Code § 1950.5 and the San Francisco Rent Board's notice on the July 1, 2024 change; Massachusetts G.L. c. 186, § 15B. Related: the rent affordability calculator, rent vs. buy calculator, rental property calculator and date calculator. How we check our calculators.