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.
Bundles 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.
Get an exact novated-lease quote with DrivaEstimates 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.