01 / Rate Basis
How to calculate monthly commercial rent.
Monthly base rent = rentable square feet × annual base rent per square foot ÷ 12. For example, an illustrative 2,000 SF space at $24/SF/year has $48,000 annual base rent, or $4,000 per month before additional rent, other costs and tax. This is arithmetic—not a quote for available space.
Commercial proposals can instead use monthly lump sums, gross rent or different area definitions. Confirm the billable area and time period. To convert a monthly base-rent quote to an annual $/SF input, multiply the monthly amount by 12 and divide by rentable area.
For a gross quote, avoid adding costs already included: enter the all-in quoted rent in the rent field and set additional rent to zero, then add only verified exclusions. The lease—not the label—determines inclusions.
Use the commercial lease proposal comparison tool when three premises need to be modelled across their complete proposed terms.
02 / Recoveries
Read what additional rent includes.
Additional rent can include property taxes, insurance, common-area maintenance, management, utilities and other lease-defined costs. Use the current estimate, then review prior reconciliations, exclusions, administration charges and the tenant's proportionate share.
When an annual statement is available, use the operating cost reconciliation workpaper to rebuild actual costs, entered exclusions, the tenant allocation, estimates and credits.
03 / Inducements
Separate first-year relief from stabilized cost.
A rent-free period changes early cash flow but does not necessarily reduce future occupancy cost. This calculator applies the selected free period to the entered base-rent amount only and shows stabilized annual cost separately. Tenant improvement allowances and other incentives should be analyzed under their actual conditions.
If you enter an all-in gross quote as the rent amount, only enter free months when that entire quoted amount is abated. If only its base component is free, obtain the base/recovery split before modelling the incentive. Additional rent, utilities and other costs remain payable in this model.
04 / Tax & Limits
A comparison model, not a lease abstract.
The Canada Revenue Agency generally treats rentals of commercial real property as taxable supplies, subject to the facts and statutory exceptions. Enter the applicable rate for the transaction or use zero to exclude tax from the comparison.
This simplified model applies your selected rate to all entered first-year costs; actual invoices may contain differently treated items. It does not determine registration, exemptions, input tax credits or tax recovery. A zero-rate input means tax was excluded from this comparison—not that the lease is tax-exempt.
This tool does not interpret a lease, calculate percentage rent, escalation schedules, present value, restoration cost, one-time fit-up and moving costs or accounting treatment. Obtain legal, tax and commercial advice before committing to premises.