Depreciation Portion
$444.44
Auto Lease Calculator
Estimate your monthly lease payment from cap cost and residual value.
Monthly Lease Payment
$561.00
Rent Charge (Finance Fee)
$75.00
Residual Value
$22,000.00
Equivalent APR
3.00%
How to use the Auto Lease Calculator
The Auto Lease Calculator is free and runs entirely in your browser — no sign-up, and nothing you enter leaves your device. It opens pre-filled with a realistic example, so you can see how it works before replacing any figure with your own; the results update as you type. Press Calculate to refresh the result panel, or Reset to return to the example.
The inputs it asks for:
- Negotiated Price (Cap Cost) — a dollar amount.
- Down Payment / Cap Reduction — a dollar amount.
- Residual Value % — a percentage (enter 6 for 6%).
- Money Factor (e.g. 0.00125) — a number.
- Lease Term (Months) — a number.
- Sales Tax Rate — a percentage (enter 6 for 6%).
The formula
A lease payment has two parts: depreciation (the value the car loses while you drive it) and a rent charge (the financing cost). It spreads depreciation over the term and applies the money factor to the sum of the cap cost and residual, then adds sales tax:
Depreciation = (Adjusted cap cost − Residual) ÷ months
Rent charge = (Adjusted cap cost + Residual) × money factor
Payment = (Depreciation + Rent charge) × (1 + tax)- Adjusted cap cost
- negotiated price minus any down payment (cap reduction)
- Residual
- the car's forecast value at lease end = price × residual %
- money factor
- the lease's interest rate in disguise — multiply by 2,400 for the approximate APR
The money factor is a small decimal (e.g. 0.00125); × 2,400 gives the equivalent APR. A higher residual lowers depreciation and your payment — you're financing less of the car's value over the term.
Worked example
Using the example values — Negotiated Price (Cap Cost) $40,000.00, Down Payment / Cap Reduction $2,000.00, Residual Value % 55%, Money Factor (e.g. 0.00125) 0, Lease Term (Months) 36, Sales Tax Rate 8% — the Auto Lease Calculator returns a Monthly Lease Payment of $561.00. It also reports Depreciation Portion ($444.44), Rent Charge (Finance Fee) ($75.00), Residual Value ($22,000.00).
Prefer your own numbers? Change any field above and this recomputes instantly.
Key terms
- Capitalized cost
- The agreed price of the vehicle being leased (negotiable).
- Residual value
- The car's predicted worth at lease end; you pay for the drop from cap cost to residual.
- Money factor
- The lease's financing rate; multiply by 2,400 for the approximate APR.
- Depreciation
- The portion of the payment covering the car's loss in value.
Frequently asked questions
What is the money factor?
It's the lease equivalent of an interest rate, written as a small decimal. Multiply by 2,400 to convert it to an approximate APR — the calculator shows this.
Why does a higher residual mean a lower payment?
Because you only pay for the depreciation — the gap between cap cost and residual. A higher residual means a smaller gap, so a smaller payment.
Is a down payment on a lease worth it?
It lowers the payment (by reducing the adjusted cap cost) but is generally at risk if the car is totaled early. Many advise minimizing lease down payments for that reason.