Security deposit interest calculator
Sixteen states and cities make landlords pay interest on deposits. Choose yours and the calculator applies the published rate for each year the deposit was held, the minimum holding period, and any share the landlord may keep.
Rates and rules at a glance
| Jurisdiction | Rate | How the rate is set | Owed when | Who must pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | 0.49% | 0.49% for 2026 (deposit index) | From day one | Every residential landlord in Connecticut, regardless of building size. |
| Maryland | 3.47% | 3.47% for 2026 (greater of 1.5% or the 1-year Treasury yield) | After 6 months | Every residential landlord in Maryland. Interest is owed on deposits of $50 or more held for at least six months. |
| Chicago | 0.01% | 0.01% for 2026 (set by the City Comptroller) | After 6 months | Landlords of units covered by the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance. Owner-occupied buildings with six or fewer units are exempt. |
| Illinois | 0.005% | 0.005% for 2026 (largest Illinois bank passbook rate at 31 Dec 2025) | After 6 months | Landlords of 25 or more units in a single building or complex, outside Chicago. Smaller landlords owe no interest under state law. |
| Massachusetts | 5% | 5% per year, or the bank’s rate if lower (enter the bank rate if you know it) | After 12 months | Every residential landlord in Massachusetts, including Boston, once the deposit has been held for one year. |
| Minnesota | 1% | 1% simple interest per year | From day one | Every residential landlord in Minnesota, from the first month. |
| Ohio | 5% | 5% per year on the excess over one month’s rent (or $50) | After 6 months | Every residential landlord in Ohio, but only on the portion of the deposit above the greater of $50 or one month’s rent, and only if the tenant stays six months or more. |
| New York | Bank rate | The prevailing rate paid by the bank holding the deposit, minus 1% the landlord may keep | From day one | Landlords of buildings with six or more units (including New York City), and any landlord who voluntarily holds the deposit in an interest-bearing account. |
| New Jersey | Bank rate | The interest actually earned in the required account | From day one | Every New Jersey landlord except owner-occupied buildings with no more than two rental units (unless the tenant requests the protections in writing). |
| Pennsylvania | Bank rate | The interest earned on the escrow account, minus 1% the landlord may keep, from the third year | After 2 years | Every Pennsylvania landlord holding a deposit of more than $100, once the tenancy passes its second anniversary. |
| New Hampshire | Bank rate | The rate paid on regular savings accounts at the bank where the deposit is held | After 12 months | New Hampshire landlords holding a deposit for one year or more. Exempt: a landlord renting a single-family home who owns no other rental property, and owner-occupied buildings of five or fewer units. |
| District of Columbia | Bank rate | The statement savings rate of the bank holding the escrow account, reset on 1 January and 1 July | After 12 months | Every DC landlord who takes a security deposit. Interest is owed to tenants who occupied the unit for at least 12 months. |
| Iowa | Bank rate | Interest the account actually earns, but only after the first five years | After 5 years | Every Iowa landlord, but the first five years of interest belong to the landlord. Tenants receive interest earned after year five. |
| New Mexico | Bank rate | The passbook savings rate prevailing in New Mexico on the lease date, on deposits above one month’s rent | From day one | Landlords who take a deposit larger than one month’s rent on a lease of one year or longer. |
| North Dakota | Bank rate | Interest earned in the required federally insured account, once occupancy reaches nine months | After 9 months | Every North Dakota landlord, for tenants who occupy the unit nine months or more. |
| Florida | Optional | Only if the landlord chose an interest-bearing account: 75% of the account’s annualised average rate or 5% simple interest, landlord’s choice | From day one | Florida landlords who elect to hold the deposit in an interest-bearing account or post a surety bond. A landlord using a non-interest-bearing account owes nothing. |
How deposit interest works
Every statute on this list uses simple interest: the deposit multiplied by an annual rate, multiplied by the fraction of a year the deposit was held. Nothing compounds. Where the rate is republished every year (Connecticut, Maryland, Chicago, Illinois), a deposit held across several years earns each year’s rate for the days in that year, which is what the calculator does when you leave the rate field at the published figure.
The states split into four groups. Published rates: an agency announces a figure every year, and the calculator carries the history. Fixed rates: Massachusetts (5%), Minnesota (1%) and Ohio (5% on the excess) write the number into the statute. Bank rates: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, DC, Iowa, New Mexico and North Dakota pay whatever the holding account earns, so you enter the rate; the landlord must tell you the bank and often the rate. Optional: Florida owes interest only if the landlord chose an interest-bearing account.
Thresholds that switch interest off
- Minimum tenancy: six months in Maryland, Chicago, Illinois and Ohio; nine months in North Dakota; twelve months in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and DC.
- Building size: New York requires interest only in buildings of six or more units; Illinois (outside Chicago) only for 25 or more; Chicago exempts owner-occupied buildings of six or fewer.
- Deposit size: Ohio pays only on the amount above one month’s rent or $50; New Mexico only when the deposit exceeds one month’s rent on a lease of a year or more.
- Time: Pennsylvania starts after the second anniversary; Iowa hands the landlord the first five years of interest.
What to do with the number
If the tenancy has ended and the interest was not returned with the deposit, the amount is owed on top of the deposit itself, and most of these states attach penalties (double or treble damages, or a fixed sum) for withholding. A short written demand citing the statute, which every page here links, resolves most cases. Print the result from the jurisdiction page: it lists the rate used for each year and the source.