Security Deposit Calculator (2026): Max Deposit by State

A renter signs in a hurry. The deposit felt a little steep, but it changes hands anyway, and nobody checks the math. A year on, the lease ends and the money doesn’t come back, and now there’s a question nobody bothered to write down at the start: how much was that landlord ever allowed to hold? In some states there is a hard ceiling. In others there is none, and the amount was whatever the lease said it was.

That gap is why a security deposit calculator earns its one minute before any money changes hands. Type in a state and a rent figure. The tool pulls the legal cap and the return clock from statutes checked in 2026, then tells you whether the deposit owes interest. Which side of the lease you’re on barely matters. A tenant sizing up an amount before signing and a landlord trying to collect a lawful figure and return it on time both get the same reading. What follows is what each number means, and the spots where the rules turn slippery.

What the security deposit calculator shows you

The security deposit calculator returns three outputs, and each answers a different worry. Its dollar figure is the cap in real money, the state’s month-multiplier times the rent you typed. Next comes the deposit return deadline, the number of days a landlord has after you turn in the keys to send the money back with an itemized statement, meaning a written accounting of anything kept and why. Last is a plain yes-or-no on interest, since a small number of states make the landlord pay it and most owe nothing at all.

Reading them together is the point. A large cap does not mean a landlord should collect the maximum, and a short deadline does no good if nobody marks it on a calendar. If you are the tenant, the cap tells you whether the amount on your lease is even legal. If you are the landlord, it draws the ceiling you cannot cross and the clock you cannot miss. Pick your state and enter the rent in the security deposit calculator below to see all three for the place you actually rent.

How security deposit caps work: months of rent

A cap is a ceiling written in months of rent, the most a landlord may demand no matter what the lease tries to charge. California and New York both stop at one month. Maine allows up to two. Nevada permits three, the highest ceiling in the country. Delaware holds landlords to one month on leases of a year or more, and Pennsylvania steps down over time: two months in the first year, then one month for every year after that.

That is a sample of the caps the tool reads, not the full list. Every state, with its return deadline and interest rule, sits on our Security Deposit Limits by State page, verified against each statute. To see how a ceiling turns into a dollar figure, take the state with the biggest one.

When a state sets no deposit cap

Not every state names a ceiling. In much of the country there is no statutory cap on a security deposit, which throws the whole question back onto the lease. Whatever the two sides put in writing becomes the limit. The calculator says this plainly rather than inventing a figure: no statutory cap, the lease controls.

No cap doesn’t mean no limit in the real world. Set a deposit wildly out of step with the rent and it can sour the relationship and hand you a fight at move-out. A clear lease beats a big number every time. What protects both sides is a written agreement that names the deposit amount and spells out how it comes back. Drafting or reviewing one? Our basic residential lease agreement template hands you deposit language to fill in. Where the statute stays silent, the paper you sign is the entire rulebook.

When you get your deposit back: return deadlines

Returning the deposit runs on a clock, and the clock differs by state. California gives a landlord 21 days after you move out to return the money with that itemized statement. New York runs shorter, at 14 days. Texas sets no cap on the deposit itself yet still pins the refund to the 30th day after you hand back the place.

The deposit return deadline is the date tenants forget to calendar and landlords forget to honor. Note your move-out date, count the days your state allows, and mark the last one. A landlord who blows past it with no statement is often on weak ground, and in several states that opens the door to penalties a security deposit calculator cannot price for you. A tenant who never left a forwarding address, though, may have paused the clock without realizing it. Small habits, real money.

Does the deposit earn interest?

Most deposits earn the tenant nothing. A minority of states make the landlord pay interest on the money while it sits, and Massachusetts is the clean example: a deposit held for a year or longer earns 5% a year, or the lower rate the bank actually paid. The calculator flags security deposit interest with a yes, a conditional, or a no, because in several states the duty only starts past a certain building size or holding period.

Where interest is owed it is usually small money, but skipping it is still a violation, and some states let the tenant claim a penalty on top. Which deposits qualify, and at what rate, is the fussiest corner of this whole topic. We keep it straight state by state on our Security Deposit Interest by State page, and the calculator points there too. If your result reads conditional, read that fine print before you assume you are owed nothing.

Where the security deposit calculator gets its numbers

A calculator is only as trustworthy as the data under it, and this is where generic tools get people hurt. The security deposit calculator on this page reads from two tables we maintain by hand, our Security Deposit Limits by State page and our Security Deposit Interest by State page, each checked against the statute in 2026. When a legislature moves a number, we move it here.

California is the cautionary tale. The cap there once ran higher, then AB 12 changed it, and plenty of older calculators still floating around the web show the pre-2024 figure. A tenant trusting one of those would hand over too much and never know. Checked-in-2026 is not a slogan here. It is the difference between a number you can act on and one that quietly went stale two years ago.

What the calculator cannot do for you

The security deposit calculator does not do everything, and pretending otherwise is how tools mislead. City ordinances sit outside it. A state can set no cap while a city inside it holds deposits to one month, and the tool works at the state level, so a local rule can override what it shows. Add-ons sit outside it too. Some states let a landlord ask for more when there is a pet, or when the unit comes furnished, and that extra is not folded into the base number.

And it is not legal advice, which matters most when money is on the line. The tool hands you the statutory ceiling and the deadline. It cannot read your lease or judge whether one specific deduction was fair. For that you are into the facts of your own tenancy, and sometimes into a lawyer’s office. Treat the number as your starting line, the place an informed conversation begins, not the final word.

Deductions and the itemized statement

The fight over a deposit is almost never about the cap. It is about what the landlord kept. That itemized statement is where it plays out, listing any rent still owed or repairs charged against the money. A landlord who can document the condition of the unit at move-in and move-out can stand behind a deduction. One working from memory usually cannot.

Photographs are the best friend both sides have here, and the moment to take them is the day the keys change hands, in both directions. A dated set at move-in and another at move-out settles most arguments before they begin. Our move-in move-out checklist walks the unit room by room so nothing slips through. A deposit you can prove you left clean is a deposit that tends to come back.

When the deposit does not come back: your next move

When the money does not show up on time, there is a ladder to climb, and it starts polite. A security deposit return letter from the landlord, or a firm demand letter from the tenant, clears a lot of these before anyone files anything. Lay out the amount owed and the deadline the landlord blew, cite the statute, and many standoffs end right there.

If the letter goes nowhere, small claims court is the usual next stop, the low-cost venue where you argue your own case over a modest sum without hiring a lawyer. Our guide to handling security deposit disputes online maps that path. Pressure can run the other way too. Where a tenant leaves owing rent, a landlord may apply the deposit to the balance and, in California, follow with a 3-day notice to pay rent or quit before any eviction. Either side of that fight, the calculator already handed you the number it all turns on.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit?

It depends entirely on the state. Some states cap the deposit at one month’s rent, like California and New York; Nevada allows up to three, the highest in the country; and many states set no statutory cap at all, which leaves the amount to the lease. A security deposit calculator is the fastest way to see your state’s ceiling: enter the state and the monthly rent, and it returns the legal maximum in dollars. Always confirm against your state’s current statute, since local ordinances can add rules on top.

What does the security deposit calculator actually tell me?

Three things. First, the maximum deposit a landlord can legally collect, calculated as your state’s month-limit times your rent. Then there’s the return deadline, the number of days the landlord has to send the money back once you’ve moved out. And it tells you whether the deposit is supposed to earn interest, which most states don’t require. The security deposit calculator pulls those figures from statutes we verified in 2026, so you’re reading current law and not some rule that quietly went stale a couple of years back.

How long does a landlord have to return my security deposit?

The window varies by state. California gives a landlord 21 days after you move out to return the money with an itemized statement. New York runs tighter, at 14 days. Texas requires the refund by the 30th day after you hand back the unit. Miss the deadline and a landlord can lose the right to keep parts of the deposit, or face a penalty, depending on the state. Mark your move-out date and count off the days your state allows, so the deadline can’t slip by unnoticed.

Does a security deposit earn interest?

In most states, no. A handful require it: Massachusetts, for example, pays 5% a year on a deposit held for a year or longer, or the lower rate the bank actually paid. Several other states owe interest only under conditions, such as a minimum building size or holding period. The security deposit calculator flags your state as yes, conditional, or no, and our interest data page explains exactly which deposits qualify and how the rate is set.

Is there a cap on security deposits in every state?

No. Plenty of states set no statutory cap at all. When yours is a no-cap state, the lease is in charge, and the deposit is whatever you and the landlord write down. A ceiling being absent doesn’t make a sky-high deposit smart, though. Ask for far more than the rent and you’re inviting a fight down the road, which is why a clear written lease is worth more than a round number. In states that do cap deposits, the limit comes in months of rent, and the calculator shows you that ceiling for whichever state you pick.

Elena Rodriguez

Elena Rodriguez writes about real estate and landlord-tenant law for ClearLegalTips. She focuses on making leases, security deposits, and rental rules understandable for tenants and small landlords handling them without a lawyer.