Use this auto lease calculator to estimate your monthly payment, due at signing, and total lease cost from a dealer worksheet, with a clear breakdown of depreciation, finance charge, fees, and tax.
Advanced options
How to use this calculator
- Enter the MSRP (sticker price) and your negotiated selling price from the quote.
- Enter the lease term in months (example: 36).
- Choose how you want to enter the residual value: percent of MSRP or dollars, then enter the residual number from the quote.
- Open Advanced options and pick Rate type. Enter either the money factor (MF) or the APR percent (the calculator converts APR to MF using a common rule of thumb).
- Enter your sales tax rate and choose a tax method that matches your state or the dealer worksheet (tax on monthly payment, upfront on selling price, or tax on depreciation).
- Add fees and credits as needed: acquisition fee, doc and registration fees, rebates, cap cost reduction (down payment), and any trade-in value and trade-in loan payoff.
- Choose whether the first month is paid at signing and whether to include the disposition fee in your total cost estimate.
- Click Calculate. Compare the estimated monthly payment and the line-by-line breakdown to your dealer quote.
- If your dealer gave you a monthly payment and you want to verify it, switch Calculator mode to quote-check, enter the advertised monthly payment, choose what to solve for, and calculate again.
Definitions
MSRP (sticker price): The price on the window sticker. Residual value is often set as a percent of MSRP.
Selling price: The negotiated price you are leasing at, before adding fees. In lease math it is part of the capitalized cost (cap cost).
Residual value: The value the leasing company expects the car to be worth at the end of the lease, shown as a percent of MSRP or in dollars [1].
Money factor (MF): The interest-like rate used in leases (a small decimal like 0.00200). It drives the monthly finance (rent) charge.
Adjusted cap cost: The amount used in the lease payment math after adding rolled-in fees and negative equity, then subtracting rebates, down payment (cap cost reduction), and positive trade equity.
Depreciation charge: The monthly amount that pays for the value you use up during the lease.
Finance (rent) charge: The monthly interest-like charge based on the adjusted cap cost, residual value, and money factor.
Due at signing: What you pay upfront (often includes down payment, fees paid upfront, upfront tax in some states, and sometimes the first month payment).
Disposition fee: A fee you may owe at lease end if you return the car (often not charged if you buy it, but rules vary).
Methodology
What this calculator is doing
A typical auto lease payment is built from two main parts: (1) a monthly depreciation charge and (2) a monthly finance (rent) charge. Then tax is applied based on the method you choose. Residual value is the lease-end value used by the lessor and is often shown as a percent of MSRP [1].
Step 1: Residual value in dollars
If you enter residual as a percent, the calculator converts it to dollars: residual value (dollars) = MSRP x (residual percent / 100). If you enter residual in dollars, that value is used directly.
Step 2: Convert APR to money factor (if needed)
If Rate type is APR, the calculator converts APR percent to money factor using a common consumer rule of thumb: money factor = APR percent / 2400. If Rate type is Money factor, your money factor input is used. If both are filled, money factor is used and APR is ignored.
Step 3: Adjusted cap cost (lease amount used in the math)
First compute trade equity = trade-in value minus trade-in loan payoff. Positive trade equity reduces what you finance; negative equity increases it. Rolled-in fees in this calculator include acquisition fee plus any negative equity. Then adjusted cap cost = selling price + rolled-in fees - rebates and incentives - cap cost reduction - positive trade equity.
Step 4: Base monthly payment before tax
Monthly depreciation charge = (adjusted cap cost - residual value) / lease term months. Monthly finance (rent) charge = (adjusted cap cost + residual value) x money factor. Base monthly payment = depreciation charge + finance charge.
Step 5: Tax handling (choose the method that matches your quote)
Tax on monthly payment: monthly tax = base monthly payment x (tax rate / 100), and monthly payment total = base monthly payment + monthly tax.
Upfront tax on selling price (simplified): upfront tax = selling price x (tax rate / 100). Monthly payment total = base monthly payment and monthly tax shown is 0.
Tax on depreciation (simplified): taxable depreciation total = max(0, adjusted cap cost - residual value). Upfront tax = taxable depreciation total x (tax rate / 100). Monthly payment total = base monthly payment and monthly tax shown is 0.
Step 6: Due at signing and totals
Due at signing (estimate) = cap cost reduction + doc and registration fees + security deposit + upfront tax + (first month paid at signing? monthly payment total : 0).
Total of payments = monthly payment total x lease term months.
Estimated total lease cost = total of payments + (due at signing minus the first month if it was paid at signing, to avoid double-counting) + (include disposition fee? disposition fee : 0).
Quote-check mode (back-solving)
Implied money factor: only shown when tax method is Tax on monthly payment. The calculator removes tax from the advertised payment (base target = advertised payment / (1 + tax rate)), then solves implied money factor = (base target - (adjusted cap cost - residual value)/months) / (adjusted cap cost + residual value). If the denominator is 0, implied money factor is shown as N/A.
Implied selling price: the calculator uses a numeric bisection search over selling price (with your money factor fixed) to find the selling price that makes the calculated monthly payment match the advertised monthly payment. If it cannot find a stable solution in the search range, it shows N/A.
Input validity and edge cases
The calculator blocks missing or invalid required fields (like lease term months, residual percent range, and required rate fields). If adjusted cap cost is below residual value, depreciation becomes negative; the calculator still computes the math but shows a warning because that is unusual in real leases.