Car Lease Calculator
Enter your lease terms — the payment updates as you type, and the link in your address bar always reflects your numbers.
How this calculator works
A car lease payment is really two pieces added together. The depreciation fee covers the value the car is expected to lose while you drive it: the capitalized cost after your down payment, minus the residual value, spread evenly over the term. The finance fee is the interest-like charge for the privilege of leasing, calculated on the combined cap cost and residual using the money factor. This is the standard pre-tax lease payment formula used by dealers: depreciation fee + finance fee = monthly payment.
Worked example
A $32,000 vehicle with a $2,000 down payment has an adjusted cap cost of $30,000. At a 55% residual, the car is expected to be worth $17,600 at lease end. Over a 36-month term, the depreciation fee is ($30,000 − $17,600) ÷ 36 = $344.44/month. At a money factor of 0.00125, the finance fee is ($30,000 + $17,600) × 0.00125 = $59.50/month. Add them together and the estimated payment is $403.94/month — and that money factor works out to roughly a 3.0% APR-equivalent (0.00125 × 2400).
Frequently asked questions
What is a money factor, and why is it such a small decimal?
A money factor is just interest expressed differently — a tiny decimal like 0.00125 instead of a percentage. To translate it into a rate you already understand, multiply by 2400: 0.00125 × 2400 = 3.0% APR-equivalent. That conversion works for any money factor, so you can quickly tell whether a quoted lease is cheap or expensive financing.
What is residual value, and why does it move my payment so much?
Residual value is the leasing company's prediction of what the car will be worth when the lease ends, and it's set by them, not you. A higher residual means the car is expected to lose less value over the lease, so less value gets "used up" during your term — and since depreciation is the biggest chunk of a lease payment, a higher residual usually means a noticeably lower monthly payment.
Does this include sales tax?
No. Sales tax on a lease is out of scope here on purpose — states tax leases very differently (some tax the whole vehicle price up front, others tax only the monthly payment as you go), and getting it wrong would be worse than leaving it out. Check your state's rules before you sign.
Can I negotiate any of these numbers?
Yes, some of them. Vehicle price and money factor are both commonly negotiable, just like the price on a purchase. Residual value generally is not — it's set by the leasing company (or bank) using standardized depreciation data, not by the dealer, so haggling over it rarely works.