Lease Payment Calculator
Calculate monthly car lease payments including depreciation, interest, taxes, and fees.
Quick Take
This calculator gives you real-time estimates based on standard financial formulas. Modify any input and results update instantly — no calculate button needed.
Financial Information Only — Not Advice
This tool uses standard, publicly documented formulas to estimate outcomes. It is for educational use and is not financial, tax, or legal advice. Interest rates, fees, and tax figures change over time and are set by lenders, dealers, and government agencies — not by this site. Always confirm current rates and terms with your lender, dealer, or state agency, and consult a qualified professional before making a decision.
Primary Result
Monthly Depreciation
What This Calculator Does
Calculate monthly car lease payments including depreciation, interest, taxes, and fees.
How the Calculation Works
Who Should Use This Tool
This calculator is designed for anyone looking to understand the financial implications of lease decisions. Whether you're a first-time buyer, comparing options, or planning for the future, these estimates help you make informed choices.
Important Considerations
Remember that actual terms, rates, and costs will vary by lender, your credit score, and current market conditions. These calculators provide educational estimates only and do not constitute professional financial advice. Always compare multiple offers and consult a financial professional before making decisions.
Car Lease Payment Calculator: A 2026 Lessee's Guide
A car lease is essentially a long-term rental where you pay for the depreciation that happens during the lease term, plus a finance charge on the vehicle's full value. This 2026 lease payment calculator breaks down the monthly payment into its four real components — depreciation, interest (rent charge), sales tax, and fees — so you can spot an inflated money factor or padded acquisition fee before you sign. It runs in your browser, no signup, no email required.
The four parts of a lease payment
Every lease payment has the same four building blocks. (1) Depreciation: the difference between the vehicle's selling price (cap cost) and its residual value at lease end, divided by the lease term. (2) Rent charge: the finance fee, calculated as (cap cost + residual) × money factor. (3) Sales tax: applied to the pre-tax monthly payment in most states, though some states tax the full sale price upfront. (4) Fees: acquisition fee, registration, and any dealer add-ons rolled into the cap cost. The formula above combines all four to produce your drive-off monthly payment.
Money factor vs APR — and the × 2400 trick
Leasing companies quote interest as a "money factor" (a small decimal like 0.00125) instead of an APR. To convert money factor to an equivalent APR, multiply by 2400 — so 0.00125 = 3% APR, and 0.003 = 7.2% APR. In 2026, captive lender money factors on promotional leases range from 0.0005 (1.2% APR) on heavily incentivized models to 0.0035 (8.4% APR) on standard credit. Promotional lease money factors below 0.001 are typically subsidized by the manufacturer; anything above 0.0025 is closer to a market-rate used-car loan and warrants a closer look.
Residual value and why it dominates the payment
Residual value is the leasing company's prediction of what the car will be worth at lease end, expressed as a percentage of MSRP. A 60% residual on a $40,000 vehicle means they expect it to be worth $24,000 in three years. Higher residuals mean lower depreciation, which means lower payments — which is why promotional leases on vehicles with strong resale value (Toyota RAV4, Honda Civic, Tesla Model 3) often look dramatically cheaper than leases on luxury cars that depreciate faster. Residuals are set by the lender and are generally non-negotiable, but they're published in ALG (Automotive Lease Guide) residual sheets that you can look up by make, model, term, and mileage.
2026 lease market context & data sources
Lease penetration in 2026 has stabilized around 22% of new-vehicle transactions, down from the 30%+ peak in 2019 but up from the 2022-2023 trough when high interest rates made leasing expensive. Average monthly lease payments tracked near $580 in Q1 2026 according to Experian's State of the Automotive Finance Market report, with the average MSRP of leased vehicles around $44,500 and average residual values of 56-58% on 36-month terms. Defaults in this calculator (MSRP $42,000, residual $25,000, money factor 0.00125, 36-month term) reflect a typical mid-trim compact SUV lease in 2026. Residual benchmarks come from ALG (a Subaru-owned company that supplies residuals to most US lenders), and money factor ranges are drawn from captive lender lease programs published by Edmunds and Leasehackr. This page was last reviewed on August 4, 2026.
Last updated: August 2026. This guide is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Actual loan terms vary by lender, credit profile, and market conditions.
How the math works
Lease payment = (capitalized cost − residual value) / term + (capitalized cost + residual) × money factor. The money factor is the lease's APR equivalent (APR ≈ money factor × 2400) and is set by the lessor; residual value is the lessor's estimate of the car's end-of-lease worth.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the negotiated capitalized cost (selling price minus discounts).
- Enter the real residual value and money factor from the dealer's lease sheet.
- Add the agreed mileage allowance; excess miles are billed at the contract rate.
- Compare the lease payment to buying with our lease-vs-buy tool.
Sources & authoritative references
The definitions, formulas, and benchmarks behind this tool are drawn from the public, primary sources listed below. We do not cite figures we cannot verify.
- Edmunds — Car Buying, Leasing & Value Guides — Edmunds
- FTC — Buying a Used Car — Federal Trade Commission
- Experian — State of the Automotive Finance Market — Experian
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a lease payment calculated?+
What is residual value?+
What is a money factor?+
Can I negotiate a lease?+
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