Australian novated lease calculator and quote checker

Start with the quote, not a marketing savings claim

A provider can describe a large tax saving while the finance rate, administration charges and residual remain hard to compare. This tool starts with the amounts that would actually leave payroll, recomputes resident Income Tax and the standard Medicare levy, and then adds the residual needed to own the car at the end.

The cash benchmark uses the same expected resale value and your own running-cost assumption. That makes the comparison inspectable without pretending that a tax saving is the same thing as a lower total cost.

Standard cars and eligible electric cars follow different FBT paths

For a standard car, the annual statutory-formula taxable value is generally 20% of the FBT base value for a full FBT year, reduced by recipient payments. An employee contribution method quote commonly uses post-tax deductions to reduce that taxable value, often to zero. The page shows any amount left unneutralised and an indicative employer FBT exposure rather than silently adding it to the employee's cost.

An eligible battery-electric or hydrogen-fuel-cell car can be exempt from FBT, including under salary packaging, but the conditions are factual. The car must meet the ATO's acquisition/use and luxury-car-tax tests. The calculator does not test vehicle records or the current indexed LCT threshold; select the exemption only after the employer or adviser has confirmed it.

An FBT-exempt EV can still affect income tests

The notional taxable value of an exempt electric-car benefit can still produce a reportable fringe benefits amount. That amount is not taxable income, but it can be used in HELP and other income tests. The calculator therefore keeps the tax saving and the estimated HELP repayment change on separate lines.

Family assistance, Medicare levy surcharge, child support, private-health-insurance rebate, employer policies and other income tests are not reconstructed. Treat the reportable amount as a flag to investigate, not as a personalised eligibility decision.

Residual value and quote reconciliation are risk checks

For one-to-five-year car leases, the page compares the entered residual with the ATO minimum percentages for an eight-year effective life. A residual is a real end-of-term obligation, not a saving. Market value can finish above or below it.

Finance rental, running-cost budget and provider fees are optional audit fields. Their sum may not exactly equal payroll deductions because quotes can treat GST credits, timing and reconciliations differently. A gap is a question for the provider, not proof that the quote is wrong.