Calculating Investment Returns

[Peter Sosnow]

When calculating annual returns or some say total annual returns, what do do investors generally include for gains: net income, depreciation and equity appreciation, less costs/expenses: initial equity, closing costs, refi costs, capex? Curious about formulas when I see IRR, CoC and others what exactly is included, especially depreciation which I find is such an important part of real estate investing. Thanks in advance for sharing formulas, thoughts.