Most Bali yield figures you see are gross. Agents advertise 7 to 10 percent gross yields for well-located Sanur villas; after management fees, Indonesian rental tax of 10 to 20 percent on gross rent, maintenance and empty weeks, realistic net is typically around half the advertised number. Any guaranteed 15 percent pitch deserves deep scepticism.
Key takeaways
- Gross yield is rent divided by price. Net yield is what reaches your account, and it is the only number that matters.
- Indonesian rental tax is charged on gross rent: 20 percent for non-residents, 10 percent for tax residents, per PwC's Indonesia tax summaries.
- Management fees, maintenance, utilities and void weeks routinely absorb a further quarter to a third of gross income.
- Guaranteed 15 percent schemes are usually your own money handed back for a fixed period.
- Long-stay rentals gross less than holiday lets but often net nearly as much, with far less volatility.
What rental yield is realistic in Bali?
Agents advertise 7 to 10 percent gross yields for well-located Sanur villas, and similar or higher figures elsewhere on the island. Treat gross figures with caution and model net: once fees, tax on gross rent, upkeep and empty weeks are subtracted, a property grossing 8 percent commonly nets in the region of 4 percent.
None of this makes Bali a poor market. Demand is genuine: BPS Bali recorded 6.9 million foreign arrivals in 2025, up 9.7 percent on the 6.33 million of 2024, with Australians the largest source market at roughly 1.63 million. A realistic net yield from a hard asset you can also live in compares reasonably with dividend income or domestic buy-to-let in Australia or Europe. The problem is not the market; it is the marketing. Yield claims in Bali are quoted gross, before every cost that actually determines your return, and too many buyers only discover the difference after completion.
Why is the guaranteed 15 percent pitch misleading?
Because the guarantee is usually your own money. Schemes promising 15 percent guaranteed typically price the guarantee into what you paid, run it for a two or three year honeymoon period, and leave you holding an ordinary property once it lapses. The guarantee is also only as good as the company giving it.
Run the logic backwards. If a villa reliably produced 15 percent net, the developer's cheapest source of capital would be a bank, not you; they would refinance and keep the income. Selling it to a retail buyer while promising to pay them 15 percent only makes sense if the promise costs the developer less than it appears, which is exactly what an inflated purchase price achieves. When the guarantor is a thinly capitalised entity registered offshore, the promise can evaporate entirely. There are honest rental programmes in Bali, including pooled and managed models with audited payouts, but they quote projections with assumptions attached, not guarantees with exclamation points. The wider set of failure modes is catalogued in our guide to the real risks of Bali property investment.
How do you get from gross yield to net yield?
Subtract, in order: void weeks your occupancy assumption hides, platform and management fees, Indonesian rental tax charged on gross rent, then maintenance, utilities, insurance and a furniture sinking fund. What remains, divided by your all-in purchase cost, is net yield. Every serious Bali investment decision should be made on that number.
The table below runs the waterfall on an illustrative USD 250,000 leasehold villa, operated two ways. The figures are stated assumptions for demonstration, not quotes; your management agreement and tax position will move them. The tax line uses the non-resident rate of 20 percent on gross rent per PwC's Indonesia tax summaries; tax residents pay 10 percent instead, which materially improves both columns.
| Line | Holiday let | Long-term rental |
|---|---|---|
| Advertised gross rent (full occupancy) | USD 24,000 (9.6% gross) | USD 16,800 (6.7% gross) |
| Voids and seasonality adjustment | -USD 4,000 (realistic occupancy) | -USD 700 (short gap between tenants) |
| Achieved gross rent | USD 20,000 | USD 16,100 |
| Management and platform fees (assumed 20% / 8%) | -USD 4,000 | -USD 1,290 |
| Rental tax, 20% of gross rent (per PwC) | -USD 4,000 | -USD 3,220 |
| Maintenance, utilities, insurance, furniture fund | -USD 2,500 | -USD 1,600 |
| Net income | USD 9,500 | USD 9,990 |
| Net yield on purchase price | ~3.8% | ~4.0% |
Notice what happened: the holiday let advertised nearly 10 percent and the long-term rental under 7, yet they land within touching distance of each other on net, and the long-term column gets there with no seasonality risk, less wear and a tenant who pays through the quiet months. This is the arithmetic behind Sanur's long-stay investment logic, which we examine in long-term rentals vs holiday lets in Bali.
One more denominator honesty check: yield should be calculated on your all-in cost, not the sticker price. Per PwC's Indonesia tax summaries, a buyer pays BPHTB transfer tax of 5 percent of assessed value, and new builds from developers attract VAT of around 11 to 12 percent, before notary and legal fees. Adding those to the base of the calculation shaves a few tenths off every yield figure in the table above.
How much tax comes off Bali rental income?
Per PwC's Indonesia tax summaries, rental income carries a final tax on gross rent: 20 percent for non-residents, with tax treaties able to reduce it, and 10 percent for Indonesian tax residents, broadly those present 183 days or more in a year. Because it is levied on gross rather than profit, it cuts deeper than investors assume.
A final tax on gross rent means you cannot deduct management fees, repairs or depreciation against it; the state takes its share off the top line. That single design choice explains most of the gap between advertised and achieved yields, and it is why residency status is one of the biggest levers in the whole model. It also affects annual holding costs less than people fear: land and building tax (PBB) is capped by statute at 0.5 percent of assessed value and works out at roughly 0.1 to 0.3 percent in practice. Who withholds and remits the rental tax, and what an NPWP tax number changes, is covered in rental income tax in Bali for foreign owners.
What should you ask before believing any yield number?
Six questions expose most inflated projections: Is this gross or net? What occupancy does it assume, and against what comparable set? What management fee applies? Is rental tax on gross rent included? Who pays maintenance, utilities and repairs? And if there is a guarantee, who exactly is the guarantor and what happens when it ends?
A seller with a defensible model answers all six in writing without flinching, and a good one shows you the sensitivity: what net looks like if occupancy drops ten points or the rupiah moves. Comparing answers across areas is also revealing; the same questions put to a Canggu holiday-let promoter and a Sanur long-stay operator produce very different risk profiles, a contrast we quantify in Sanur vs Canggu: the investment numbers compared. If a promoter will not put assumptions in writing, that is your answer.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 15 percent guaranteed yield in Bali real?
Almost never in the way it is presented. Guarantees at that level are typically funded from the price you paid, run for a fixed honeymoon period and depend entirely on the guarantor staying solvent and willing. If a property genuinely produced 15 percent net, the developer would keep it or sell it to institutions, not advertise it to retail buyers.
What is a good net rental yield in Bali?
After management fees, Indonesian rental tax of 10 to 20 percent on gross rent, maintenance and void periods, a well-run property that grosses in the 7 to 10 percent range advertised by agents typically nets roughly half that. A realistic net figure that survives an honest spreadsheet is a solid result, and anything advertised well above it deserves scrutiny rather than excitement.
Do I pay Indonesian tax on rental income if I live abroad?
Yes. Per PwC's Indonesia tax summaries, non-residents pay a final withholding tax of 20 percent on gross rent, though double-tax treaties can reduce this. Tax residents, broadly those spending 183 days or more a year in Indonesia, pay a 10 percent final tax on gross rent instead. The tax applies to gross rent, not profit, which is why it hits yields harder than investors expect.
Are Sanur yields lower than Canggu yields?
On advertised gross, Canggu often looks higher. On net, the gap narrows and can invert, because Sanur's long-stay tenants cut voids, turnover costs and management load, while Canggu's holiday lets carry heavier fees, more wear and greater oversupply risk. Compare net projections under identical assumptions before concluding either way.
Sources
- PwC Indonesia tax summaries, 2026
- BPS Bali, foreign arrivals statistics for 2025, published 2026
- Sanur agent yield advertising survey, July 2026 listings