Auto Lease Calculator
Estimate your monthly car lease payment from negotiated price, residual value, money factor (or APR), term and tax.
How to Use
- Choose "Using a money factor" if your lease worksheet shows a money factor (a small decimal like 0.00125), or "Using an APR" if you only have an interest-rate-style figure.
- Enter the negotiated price (the price you agreed to before any down payment or rebate), any cap cost reduction, the vehicle's MSRP, and the residual value as a percentage of MSRP (shown on the lease worksheet, or ask your dealer).
- Enter the money factor or APR, the lease term in months, and a sales tax rate if your state taxes the monthly payment — leave it at 0 if not.
- The result breaks the payment down into its depreciation and rent-charge components, and shows the total monthly payment and total of payments over the lease.
Formula
- Adjusted cap cost
- adjusted_cap_cost = negotiated_price − cap_cost_reduction
- Residual value
- residual_value = msrp × residual_percent ÷ 100
- Monthly depreciation
- monthly_depreciation = (adjusted_cap_cost − residual_value) ÷ term_months
- Money factor from APR
- money_factor = apr_percent ÷ 2400
- Monthly rent charge
- rent_charge = (adjusted_cap_cost + residual_value) × money_factor
- Total monthly payment
- total_payment = (monthly_depreciation + rent_charge) × (1 + sales_tax_percent ÷ 100)
Worked Example
A $30,000 negotiated price with a $2,000 cap cost reduction, $32,000 MSRP, 55% residual, a 0.00125 money factor, 36-month term, 7% sales tax.
- Adjusted cap cost: $30,000 − $2,000 = $28,000
- Residual value: $32,000 × 55% = $17,600
- Monthly depreciation: ($28,000 − $17,600) ÷ 36 ≈ $288.89
- Monthly rent charge: ($28,000 + $17,600) × 0.00125 = $57.00
- Base monthly payment: $288.89 + $57.00 ≈ $345.89
- Total monthly payment with 7% tax: $345.89 × 1.07 ≈ $370.10
Result: Base monthly payment (before tax): $345.89 / Total monthly lease payment (including tax): $370.10 / Total of lease payments over the term: $13,323.64
About This Tool
What this tool does
This calculator estimates a car lease's monthly payment using the standard industry formula: a depreciation portion (the vehicle's expected loss in value over the lease, spread evenly across the term) plus a rent charge (a finance charge computed from the money factor), with sales tax applied on top if your state taxes lease payments.
When to use it
Use it to check a dealer's quoted lease payment, to compare different money factors/residual percentages/terms, or to convert a quoted APR-style rate into the money factor form actually used on lease paperwork.
What the result means
The depreciation and rent-charge lines show exactly what you're paying for — most of a lease payment is depreciation, with the rent charge being the lease equivalent of interest. A lower money factor or a higher residual percentage both lower the payment.
Assumptions & limitations
A lease payment is fundamentally different from a loan payment: you're paying for the vehicle's expected depreciation plus a finance charge, not paying down the full purchase price, and you do not own the vehicle at lease end unless you separately exercise a buyout at the residual value. This tool doesn't model acquisition fees, disposition fees, mileage overage charges, or excess wear-and-tear charges, which can add real cost on top of the payment shown here. The residual percentage, money factor and every other rate here are figures you enter (from your own lease worksheet or a quote) — this tool has no live or hard-coded market rates, and is not a lease offer or approval of any kind.