Security deposit refund calculator

This calculator only does arithmetic. It does not say which deductions are allowed, what interest your city requires, or when the statement is due. You decide, from the official sources.

• Returning a security deposit. Within 21 calendar days after the tenant moves out, the landlord returns the deposit or sends an itemized statement of deductions with the remainder. Receipts or invoices go with the statement unless repairs and cleaning together are $125 or less. A deposit paid electronically is returned electronically to an account the tenant names in writing, unless both agree otherwise. Photos: for tenancies that began on or after July 1, 2025, photos at move-in; since April 1, 2025, photos after move-out and after repairs or cleaning, when deductions are taken. Cal. Civ. Code 1950.5(g), (h) Summary checked Oct 17, 2026.
• Security deposit limit. For most California rentals, a security deposit (however it is labeled) can be no more than one month's rent. This applies to furnished and unfurnished units. A small landlord (a natural person, an LLC whose members are all natural persons, or a family trust, owning no more than two rental properties with no more than four units in total) can take up to two months' rent, except from a service member. Cal. Civ. Code 1950.5(c) Summary checked Oct 17, 2026.