Monthly payment and whole-lease cost

Car Lease Calculator

Compare the quoted-style monthly payment with effective monthly cost after spreading upfront costs and trade-in equity across the lease term.

Vehicle and lease terms

Payment timing

Cash reduction is your down payment only, excluding the first payment, fees and trade-in. Enter trade value minus outstanding payoff as net trade-in equity. Positive equity reduces capitalized cost; negative equity is added to it. Enter rebates already reflected in the negotiated price only once.

Use the lessor's residual percentage and money factor. Enter a decimal such as 0.002, not an APR such as 4.8. Monthly tax applies only to the base payment. Enter any additional tax on upfront amounts separately; set monthly tax to 0 if all tax is paid upfront. This tool does not look up state rules or model financed taxes.

Inputs stay in your browser. Example terms are illustrative, not an available lease offer.

How lease payments are calculated

Residual value = MSRP × residual percentage. Adjusted capitalized cost = negotiated price + financed acquisition fee + negative trade equity debt - cash reduction - positive trade equity. Monthly depreciation = (adjusted capitalized cost - residual) / term. Monthly rent charge = (adjusted capitalized cost + residual) × money factor.

Base payment combines depreciation and rent. Each component rounds to cents before monthly tax is calculated. Due at signing includes cash reduction, upfront acquisition fee if selected, entered upfront taxes, registration and the first payment if selected. The first payment is counted once, not added to a full term of payments again.

Total cash paid = signing cash + remaining monthly payments + disposition fee. Total lease cost adds positive trade-in equity. Effective monthly cost = total lease cost / term. Capitalized negative equity is already included in the monthly payment and is not added again. Lower monthly payments from a larger cash reduction do not make those upfront funds disappear.

Scope and assumptions

This is a standard money-factor lease estimate, not a lender quote. Insurance, maintenance, fuel, annual registration renewals, security deposits, optional buyout, excess mileage, wear charges and unentered fees are excluded. Tax bases and rounding can differ by contract and jurisdiction. Negative-depreciation leases are not modeled.

Formula reference: Federal Reserve: lease rent charge. Federal Reserve: ongoing lease costs.

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