What a salary-packaged car lease really costs you in Australia
A salary-packaged lease: your cost comes out of take-home pay after the pre-tax benefit, with running costs bundled in. Eligible EVs are FBT-exempt.
Step 1: your inputs
Step 2: your estimate
$60,000FBT-exempt EV
$929/mo
your cost, from take-home pay
Tax benefit
$5,244/yr
saved through pre-tax salary packaging
+ $5,455 GST never paid — your employer buys the car and claims it back
Pre-tax cost
$1,366/mo
Residual (end)
$25,571
+ $2,557 GST
True total over 3 years
$61,560
Take-home payments plus the residual and its GST. The balloon is the part quotes leave out.
Driva is an independent finance provider, not part of CarSorted. We aren't paid for this link.
Your estimate saves $5,244/yr — get an exact quote from DrivaBundles finance + running costs (fuel/charging, insurance, rego, servicing, tyres). Uses 2025-26 resident tax rates with the Medicare levy and ATO minimum residual values. PHEVs are no longer FBT-exempt for new leases from 1 April 2025.
Estimates only. Based on standard assumptions. Not financial advice. Individual results vary.
A novated lease lets you pay for a car and its running costs out of your pre-tax salary. Because the payments lower your taxable income, you effectively get the car at a discount equal to your marginal tax rate. For an eligible electric vehicle that is also FBT-exempt, the whole package, finance plus fuel, insurance, rego, servicing and tyres, is salary-sacrificed before tax, which is why EVs are the standout novated-lease buy in Australia right now.
A petrol or diesel car can still be novated, but Fringe Benefits Tax applies. Most providers use the Employee Contribution Method, where you pay roughly 20% of the car's value from post-tax salary each year to cancel out the FBT bill. That post-tax portion shrinks the benefit, so a combustion car saves you far less than an FBT-exempt EV of similar price. Our calculator models both cases so you can see the gap.
Every novated lease finishes with a residual (or balloon) payment set by ATO minimums, from about 65.6% of the price after one year to 28.1% after five. You can pay it out to keep the car, refinance it into a new lease, or sell the car and pocket any difference above the residual. Choose a longer term for a lower monthly cost but a smaller residual, or a shorter term to own the car sooner.
This is an estimate for general guidance, not financial or tax advice. It uses 2025-26 resident tax rates, the Medicare levy and ATO minimum residuals, and excludes leasing-company fees and GST savings that a real quote would include. Always confirm figures with a registered salary-packaging provider before committing.