Tax & Business
ROI Calculator
Calculate return on investment in seconds. Enter your cost and gain, and see the ROI as a percentage and a dollar multiple.
Guide
How to use the ROI Calculator
The ROI Calculator helps you make a quick estimate, compare scenarios, and understand the numbers behind the result. It is designed for fast planning, with enough context to make the answer useful instead of just a number.
- Enter the amount, jurisdiction, filing details, or business figures that match your situation.
- Review the estimated tax, net amount, rate, or return shown in the result panel.
- Compare scenarios before making a purchase, payroll, investment, or tax planning decision.
Method
How this calculator works
It compares profit against the initial investment and can annualize the return when years are provided.
This calculator is useful for measuring investment, project, or campaign performance.
Because assumptions matter, try a few values that represent optimistic, typical, and conservative cases.
Tax and business results are estimates. Rules vary by jurisdiction and can change, so verify important decisions with official guidance or a qualified professional.
Example
Worked example
You invest $50,000 in a project and exit with $71,000 three years later. Total ROI is 42% — a $21,000 gain. Annualized, that is about 12.4% per year, which you can now compare directly against what an index fund or any other use of the money would have returned over the same three years.
FAQ
Common questions
How do I calculate ROI?
Subtract the cost from the final value, then divide by the cost: ($71,000 − $50,000) ÷ $50,000 = 42%. It is simple by design — which also means it ignores time, so a 42% return over one year and over ten years score identically unless you annualize.
What is a good ROI?
Context decides. The S&P 500 has returned roughly 10% a year on average over the long run, so an investment promising less than that with more risk is a hard sell, while a marketing campaign returning 42% in three months is excellent. Always compare against the alternative use of the same money.
What is the difference between ROI and annualized ROI?
Annualized ROI spreads the total return over the holding period with compounding: 50% over five years is about 8.4% per year, not 10%. It is the number to use when comparing investments held for different lengths of time.
What information do I need for the ROI?
You usually need initial cost, final value or gain, and optional time period. You can change the inputs and recalculate as many times as needed.
How does the ROI calculate the result?
It compares profit against the initial investment and can annualize the return when years are provided.
Are the results exact?
Tax and business results are estimates. Rules vary by jurisdiction and can change, so verify important decisions with official guidance or a qualified professional.
Related
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Sources