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EV Novated Lease Calculator (Australia, 2026)

Estimate your novated lease cost and tax savings in Australia — weekly, fortnightly or monthly — including the electric vehicle FBT exemption. Enter your own running costs for an accurate result.

📅 Planning a lease after 1 April 2027? This calculator handles the announced FBT changes. Just enter your lease start date below and it applies the right rules automatically: full exemption before 1 April 2027; from then, full exemption only for EVs under $75,000, with a 25% FBT discount up to the luxury-car-tax threshold; and a 25% discount for all eligible EVs from 1 April 2029.
⚡ PHEV change (1 April 2025): Plug-in hybrids have lost the FBT exemption. For 2026–27, only fully electric vehicles priced under the luxury-car-tax threshold for fuel-efficient cars remain FBT-exempt on a novated lease. Petrol, diesel and now PHEVs are packaged the same way, with smaller savings.
Vehicle & salary
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Quick-fill:
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Set a date on or after 1 April 2027 to model the new FBT rules.
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Annual running costs
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FBT treatment: Lease starting before 1 April 2027: this EV is fully FBT-exempt (under $91,661), so the whole lease is packaged pre-tax.
Estimated cost — includes all running costs & tax savings
$935
per month
Weekly
Fortnightly
Monthly
Residual (balloon) payment at end of term
ATO minimum 46.88% of the financed amount over 3 years
$25,726
Amount financed: $54,875  =  drive-away $60,000 + establishment fee $0 − GST credit $5,125.
The GST credit is 1/11 of the car price ($56,372), not the drive-away price — registration, CTP and stamp duty carry no GST.
💰 Potential tax saving
Tax saving over the lease
$15,841
Tax saving per year
$5,280
Lease starting before 1 April 2027: this EV is fully FBT-exempt (under $91,661), so the whole lease is packaged pre-tax. This is the income tax you save by packaging the lease from pre-tax salary over 3 years. Lease residual owing at end: $25,726.
Cost breakdown
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What your pay slip should look like
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Compare against a car loan
Optional — turn this on to enter your own car loan rate, fees and balloon, then press Compare. Enter 0 where a fee doesn’t apply.
⚖ Novated lease vs car loan
Total difference over the lease
Difference per year

Worked examples by car price

See the full cost by salary for a $60,000, $70,000, $80,000 or $90,000 drive-away EV on a 3-year novated lease — weekly, fortnightly and monthly cost for salaries from $90,000 to $220,000.

How the EV FBT exemption changes from 1 April 2027

Today an eligible EV under the fuel-efficient luxury car tax threshold ($91,661 for 2026–27) is fully exempt from FBT, so the whole lease is packaged pre-tax. That narrows in stages. Enter your lease start date above and the right rules apply automatically.

Lease startsEV base valueFBT treatment
Before 1 Apr 2027Under $91,661Full exemption
1 Apr 2027 – 31 Mar 2029$75,000 or lessFull exemption
 $75,001 – $91,66125% FBT discount
 $91,662 or moreNo concession
From 1 Apr 2029Under $91,66125% FBT discount
“25% discount” is not a 25% saving. The FBT that would otherwise apply is cut by a quarter — the remaining three quarters is still payable, covered by post-tax (ECM) contributions, so part of your payment stops being tax-free. You stay better off than with a petrol car, but clearly worse off than under today’s full exemption. From 1 April 2029 the $75,000 tier disappears, so every eligible EV drops to the discount. “Eligible” means battery-electric or hydrogen fuel-cell; plug-in hybrids lost the concession on 1 April 2025. Announced 5 May 2026 and not yet legislated — confirm with a licensed novated lease provider or tax adviser before committing.
How this works: A novated lease is a three-way agreement between you, your employer and a financier. Your lease payments and running costs come out of your salary — partly before tax (reducing your taxable income) and partly after tax (the Employee Contribution Method, used to cancel out Fringe Benefits Tax). For fully electric vehicles (EVs) priced under the luxury car tax threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles, the government waives FBT entirely, so the whole lease can be packaged pre-tax — which is why EV savings are dramatically larger. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) lost this exemption from 1 April 2025 and are now treated the same as petrol, diesel and conventional hybrids. We compare the after-tax cost of leasing against buying the same car with a car loan at the same rate. This is an estimate using 2025–26 tax rates; it excludes the Medicare Levy Surcharge, HELP/HECS debt, and your Reportable Fringe Benefits Amount (RFBA), which can affect family-payment and surcharge thresholds. Always confirm with a licensed novated lease provider or tax adviser before committing.

EV vs plug-in hybrid vs petrol: how each is taxed

The single biggest driver of your novated-lease saving is the fuel type, because it decides how much of the lease comes out of your pre-tax salary.

Electric (EV)Plug-in hybridPetrol / diesel
FBT exemptionYes (under LCT threshold)No (ended 1 Apr 2025)No
How it’s packagedWhole lease pre-taxPre-tax + post-tax (ECM)Pre-tax + post-tax (ECM)
Relative tax savingLargestSmallerSmaller

What is a novated lease?

A novated lease is a three-way agreement between you, your employer and a financier. Your car repayments and running costs — fuel or charging, insurance, registration and maintenance — are bundled into one regular payment that comes out of your salary. Part of that payment is taken before tax, which reduces your taxable income and the income tax you pay.

How the electric vehicle FBT exemption works

Fully electric vehicles priced under the luxury car tax threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles are exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax. That means the entire lease can be packaged from your pre-tax salary, producing much larger savings than a petrol or diesel car. Plug-in hybrids lost this exemption from 1 April 2025 and are now treated the same as conventional vehicles. Select the vehicle type in the calculator to see the difference.

How your drive-away price is broken down

Your dealer quotes a drive-away price, but Fringe Benefits Tax and the GST credit are based on the car itself — the price excluding registration, CTP and stamp duty, but including dealer delivery, accessories, GST and Luxury Car Tax. The amount financed is your drive-away price plus any establishment fee, minus the GST saving. The ATO caps the GST you can save at a set limit, so on more expensive cars you won't save GST on the full price. You only enter the drive-away price and your state. The calculator works the rest out, and shows the breakdown so you can check it against your quote. This matters at the top end: the $91,661 FBT threshold applies to the car price, not the drive-away, so a car quoted above that can still qualify.

The residual (balloon) payment

At the end of the lease there is a residual, or balloon, payment set by the ATO as a minimum percentage of the financed amount. Shorter terms have a higher residual. You pay it to own the car outright, or you can re-lease or sell the car to cover it. The calculator shows this figure clearly so you can plan for it.

Assumptions & What's Not Included

This estimates the cost and tax effect of a novated lease. It relies on several assumptions:

Novated leasing is highly individual. These figures are a general estimate only — get advice from your lease provider and a tax professional before committing.

Worked example: how the saving scales

An illustration using a $60,000 vehicle on a 3-year lease. The exact dollar saving depends on your running costs and current tax rates — enter your own numbers in the calculator above. What the three scenarios show is why the saving changes:

ScenarioVehicleSalaryRelative saving
A$60k EV (FBT-exempt)$80,000Large
B$60k EV (FBT-exempt)$120,000Largest
C$60k petrol$120,000Smaller
What it tells you: two things drive the saving — how much of the lease is pre-tax (an FBT-exempt EV packages the whole lease before tax; a petrol car uses the Employee Contribution Method, so part is post-tax), and your marginal tax rate (the higher your salary, the more each pre-tax dollar saves). That’s why the same EV saves more on a $120k salary than on $80k, and a petrol car saves less than an EV on the same salary. General information only, not financial advice — confirm with a licensed provider.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a novated lease save tax?

Your lease payments and running costs are deducted from your salary partly before tax, which lowers your taxable income and therefore the income tax you pay. For eligible electric vehicles the whole lease can be packaged before tax because they are exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax, which is why EV savings are much larger.

Are electric vehicles FBT exempt on a novated lease?

Yes. Fully electric vehicles priced under the luxury car tax threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles are exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax, so the entire lease can be packaged from pre-tax salary. Plug-in hybrids lost this exemption from 1 April 2025 and are now treated like petrol and diesel cars.

Is the EV FBT exemption still available in 2026?

Yes. As of the 2026–27 year, fully electric vehicles priced under the luxury-car-tax threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles remain exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax, so the whole novated lease can be packaged from pre-tax salary. Plug-in hybrids lost this exemption on 1 April 2025. The thresholds are indexed each year, so confirm the current figure before you commit.

What is a residual or balloon payment on a novated lease?

The residual is a lump sum set by the ATO as a minimum percentage of the financed amount, payable at the end of the lease term to own the car outright. You can also re-lease or sell the car to cover it. The percentage is higher for shorter terms.

Is this calculator private? Do you store my data?

Yes, it is completely private. Every calculation runs locally in your browser, so the figures you enter are never sent to a server, never stored, and never shared. There are no accounts and no sign-up.

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