Security Deposit Interest Calculator
Does your landlord owe you interest on your security deposit? Pick your state or city, enter the deposit and the dates, and see the interest for each period, the rule in plain words, when it must be paid, and the official source. Where no official rate is published for a period, we say so instead of guessing.
Work out your deposit interest
Choose a state or city to see its interest rule.
The end date is in the future, so this assumes the landlord holds the deposit until then.
Interest by period
| Period | Rate | Interest |
|---|
When it must be paid
The rule in plain words
Good to know
Sources
Rates and rules checked October 2026. Laws change, so read the current text before you rely on it.
Deposit interest rules by state
Whether interest is owed, the rate, and when it is paid, for each place this calculator covers. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Burlington set their own city rules; the other rows are state law.
| Place | Interest required? | Rate | When it is paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, California | Yes, for rent-stabilized (RSO) units held at least one year | 3.03% for 2026 (4.32% in 2025) | Monthly or yearly, the landlord's choice |
| San Francisco, California | Yes, on deposits held at least one year | 4.2% from March 1, 2026 (5.0% the year before) | Every year on the deposit's anniversary |
| Connecticut | Yes, statewide | At least 0.49% for 2026; a new rate each calendar year | Each tenancy anniversary; the rest at move-out within 21 days |
| District of Columbia | Yes, for tenancies of 12 months or more | At least the bank's statement savings rate, reset each January 1 and July 1 | At move-out, within 45 days |
| Florida | No, unless the landlord uses an interest-bearing account or a surety bond | 75% of the account's rate or 5% simple; 5% simple with a bond | At least once a year, where owed |
| Chicago, Illinois | Yes, on deposits held more than six months | 0.01% for leases signed or renewed in 2015 to 2026 | Within 30 days after each 12-month rental period |
| Iowa | No | None set | Not applicable |
| Maryland | Yes, on deposits of $50 or more held at least 6 months | 3.47% for 2026: the 1-year Treasury rate on the year's first business day, at least 1.5% | At move-out, within 45 days |
| Massachusetts | Yes, after one year (no minimum on prepaid last month's rent) | 5% a year, or less if the bank paid less | Each year of the tenancy; within 30 days if it ends sooner |
| Minnesota | Yes | 1% a year, simple, fixed in the statute | At move-out, within three weeks |
| New Hampshire | Yes, on deposits held one year or longer | What the landlord's New Hampshire bank pays on regular savings | At move-out within 30 days, or every 3 years on request |
| New Jersey | Yes, with exemptions for some owner-occupied buildings | What the bank or money market fund pays | Every year; the rest within 30 days after move-out |
| New Mexico | Yes, on leases of a year or more with a deposit above one month's rent | A passbook rate tied to a federal board that no longer exists; no current figure | Every year |
| New York | Yes, in buildings with six or more units | What the bank pays, less a 1% a year landlord fee | Yearly, as a rent credit, or at the end of the lease, as the tenant chooses |
| Ohio | Yes, on the part above $50 or one month's rent, after 6 months | 5% a year (official text not confirmed) | Every year |
| Pennsylvania | Yes, on deposits over $100, after two years | What the escrow account pays, less a 1% a year landlord fee | Each lease anniversary |
| Burlington, Vermont | Yes, under a Burlington city ordinance | What the account pays, at least a passbook savings rate | At move-out, within 14 days |
| Washington | No, unless a written agreement says so | None set | Not applicable |
A figure is worked out only where an official source publishes the rate for that period. Ohio's statute sets 5%, but its official page could not be opened, so Ohio is shown as a rule without a figure. This is general information, not legal advice.
Deposit interest questions
Only where a state or city law says so. Of the 18 places this calculator covers, 15 require interest on at least some deposits and 3 do not: Iowa, Washington and Florida, where interest is owed only if the landlord chooses an interest-bearing account or a surety bond. Where it is required, the rule often has limits: New York requires it in buildings with six or more units, Los Angeles only for units under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Pennsylvania only on deposits over $100 after the second anniversary, and Chicago leaves out owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer. The table above lists each place.
Usually as simple interest: the deposit times the yearly rate times the time the landlord held it. What changes from place to place is the rate and the waiting period. Minnesota fixes 1% a year, simple and not compounded. Maryland, Connecticut, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco use a rate an official body sets each year, so a long stay can need several rates. Massachusetts pays 5% a year or the lower amount the bank paid. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, DC and Burlington, Vermont tie it to what the landlord's bank account pays, which no calculator can know. Many places owe nothing until the deposit has been held a while: at least 6 months in Maryland, more than six months in Chicago, one year in Los Angeles and San Francisco, two years in Pennsylvania. For example, the San Francisco Rent Board works $2,000 at 4.2% for one year out to $84.
4.2% a year for March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027, set by the San Francisco Rent Board. For March 1, 2025 through February 28, 2026 it was 5.0%. The Board sets a new rate each March 1 from the prior year's average of the Federal Reserve 90-day AA financial commercial paper rate. Interest is simple, is owed only on deposits held at least one year, and each yearly payment uses the rate in effect on its due date: the same month and day the landlord received the deposit. Units exempt from rent control are covered too; only a unit whose rent is assisted or subsidized by a government agency is exempt.
3.03% a year for 2026, set by the Los Angeles Rent Adjustment Commission. It was 4.32% in 2025 and 0.52% in 2024. The rule applies only to units under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, generally units in the City of Los Angeles with a certificate of occupancy first issued before October 1, 1978, and only to deposits held at least one year. The landlord pays it monthly or yearly, as a payment or a rent credit, and interest still unpaid at move-out comes with the deposit refund. A landlord may pay the interest the account actually earned instead, but only with bank statements given to the tenant.
It depends on the place. Every year: San Francisco on each anniversary of the deposit, Connecticut on each anniversary of the tenancy, Chicago within 30 days after each 12-month rental period, Massachusetts at the end of each year of the tenancy, and New Jersey and Pennsylvania yearly. Those six also settle interest still owed when the tenancy ends. At move-out only: Maryland and DC within 45 days, Minnesota within three weeks, New Hampshire within 30 days and Burlington, Vermont within 14 days. Los Angeles lets the landlord choose monthly or yearly in writing, New York lets the tenant choose yearly, a rent credit or the end of the lease, and in Florida, where interest is owed, it is paid at least once a year.