Key Moments
Deductible Charges
Landlords can only withhold from deposits for unpaid rent, damage beyond wear, excessive cleaning, and unpaid utilities.Importance of Itemized Statements
States require landlords to provide detailed, timely deduction lists to protect tenants' rights.Using the Calculator
Enter deposit and deductions to see your expected refund or balance owed beyond deposit.Disputing Deductions
If you disagree with charges, respond in writing with move-in evidence and consider small claims court.Landlords can only deduct from a security deposit for specific things — unpaid rent, real damage, and excessive cleaning, not the ordinary wear of someone living in a home. The math on an itemized statement should be simple to check. Plug your numbers into the calculator below to see it laid out.
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Security Deposit Deduction Calculator
Itemize what’s being withheld from your deposit to see what you should actually get back — and whether the math looks right.
- Unpaid rent
- $0
- Damage repairs
- $0
- Cleaning
- $0
- Other lawful charges
- $0
- Total deductions
- $0
- Refund due to you
- $1,500
Typically deductible
- Unpaid rent or late fees named in the lease
- Damage beyond normal wear — holes, stains, broken fixtures
- Cleaning to fix excessive dirt, not routine turnover cleaning
- Unpaid utility bills you were responsible for
Normal wear & tear — not deductible
- Faded paint or minor scuffs on walls
- Carpet wear in high-traffic areas
- Small nail holes from hanging pictures
- Worn fixtures from age, not misuse
Deduction rules, return deadlines (commonly 14–60 days), and deposit caps vary by state and lease terms — use this to sanity-check the math, not as legal advice. If your deposit earns interest in your state, see our security deposit interest calculator.
What actually gets deducted
Two things control what can come out of your deposit: state law and your lease terms, and when they conflict, state law wins. Within that, landlords can generally withhold for four categories:
- Unpaid rent — any balance owed when the lease ends, including the final month if it was never paid.
- Damage beyond normal wear — holes in walls, broken fixtures, stains that need professional treatment. Not the same as ordinary use.
- Excessive cleaning — restoring a unit left significantly dirtier than move-in condition, not routine turnover cleaning between tenants.
- Unpaid utilities or other lease-specified charges — balances you were responsible for that never got settled.
Everything else — faded paint, worn carpet in high-traffic spots, small nail holes, appliances that are simply old — falls under normal wear and tear, and it’s not a legal deduction no matter what a landlord’s itemized statement claims.
Why the itemized statement matters
Most states require landlords to send a written, itemized statement of any deductions within a set window after move-out, commonly somewhere between 14 and 60 days depending on the state. That statement should list each charge separately with a dollar amount, not a single lump “damages” line. If yours doesn’t, or it arrives late, you may have grounds to challenge the entire withholding — some states let tenants recover two to three times the wrongfully withheld amount if a landlord misses the deadline or withholds in bad faith.
Photos and a move-in inspection report are what settle disputes. If you documented the unit’s condition when you moved in, you’re in a much stronger position to push back on a charge that looks like normal wear dressed up as damage.
Using the numbers
Enter your deposit and each deduction category as your landlord listed it. The calculator adds them up and shows what you should get back — or, if the deductions run higher than the deposit itself, what you may still be billed for separately. That second scenario is legal in some states if the lease allows it, but it’s also where documentation matters most: don’t pay a follow-up bill you haven’t seen itemized in writing.
Quick answers
Can a landlord charge me for repainting? Only if you painted over the original color or damaged the walls beyond touch-ups. Routine repainting between tenants is a normal cost of owning a rental, not a deposit deduction.
What if I disagree with a deduction? Send a written response referencing your move-in documentation and ask for an itemized explanation of any charge you’re disputing. If that doesn’t resolve it, small claims court is built for exactly this kind of dispute and generally doesn’t require a lawyer.
