{
  "slug": "car-lease-payment",
  "title": "Car Lease Payment Calculator",
  "heading": "Car Lease Payment Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-lease-payment",
  "summary": "Monthly lease payment from cap cost, residual, and money factor.",
  "description": "A lease payment is depreciation plus rent charge. Money factor × 2,400 gives you the equivalent APR — a 0.00250 money factor is a 6% interest rate.",
  "formula": "Payment = (Cap cost − Residual) ÷ Term + (Cap cost + Residual) × Money factor.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=car-lease-payment",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "msrp",
      "label": "MSRP",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 42000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "cap",
      "label": "Negotiated capitalized cost",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 39000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "down",
      "label": "Cap cost reduction (down)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2500,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "residualPct",
      "label": "Residual value",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 57,
      "unit": "% of MSRP",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 100
    },
    {
      "id": "mf",
      "label": "Money factor",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0.0025,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "term",
      "label": "Term (months)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 36,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 12,
      "max": 60
    },
    {
      "id": "tax",
      "label": "Sales tax on payment",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6.5,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 15
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "withTax",
      "label": "Monthly payment with tax",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "base",
      "label": "Base payment",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "depreciation",
      "label": "Depreciation portion",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "rent",
      "label": "Rent charge (interest)",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "apr",
      "label": "Equivalent APR",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "total",
      "label": "Total lease cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "MSRP: 42000 $",
      "Negotiated capitalized cost: 39000 $",
      "Cap cost reduction (down): 2500 $",
      "Residual value: 57 % of MSRP",
      "Money factor: 0.0025",
      "Term (months): 36",
      "Sales tax on payment: 6.5 %"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Monthly payment with tax: $532.49",
      "Base payment: $499.99",
      "Depreciation portion: $348.89",
      "Rent charge (interest): $151.10",
      "Equivalent APR: 6.00%",
      "Total lease cost: $21,669.57"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter msrp ($).",
      "Enter negotiated capitalized cost ($).",
      "Enter cap cost reduction (down) ($).",
      "Enter residual value (% of MSRP).",
      "Enter money factor.",
      "Enter term (months).",
      "Enter sales tax on payment (%).",
      "Read your monthly payment with tax on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "msrp": 25000,
        "cap": 23500,
        "down": 1500,
        "residualPct": 34,
        "mf": 0.0015,
        "term": 21,
        "tax": 3.9
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "msrp": 42000,
        "cap": 39000,
        "down": 2500,
        "residualPct": 57,
        "mf": 0.0025,
        "term": 36,
        "tax": 6.5
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "msrp": 67000,
        "cap": 62500,
        "down": 4000,
        "residualPct": 91,
        "mf": 0.004,
        "term": 57,
        "tax": 10.4
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the car lease payment calculator work?",
      "a": "A lease payment is depreciation plus rent charge. Money factor × 2,400 gives you the equivalent APR — a 0.00250 money factor is a 6% interest rate. The underlying maths is: Payment = (Cap cost − Residual) ÷ Term + (Cap cost + Residual) × Money factor."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "7 values: msrp, negotiated capitalized cost, cap cost reduction (down), residual value, money factor, term (months), and sales tax on payment. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the monthly payment with tax result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/lease-or-buy-car",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/auto-loan-payment"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Car Lease Payment Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-lease-payment)"
}