A fully maintained novated lease combines the cost of the actual car and the vehicle's running expenses over a given period (usually 3 years) into one monthly lease payment. The running costs usually includes; servicing, maintenance & tyres; fuel; registration and insurance; accident management; other tax costs & FBT.
This type of car finance is an agreement between an employer, employee and finance company. An employee leases the car from the finance company and the employer agrees to take on the obligations (make the payments) under that lease agreement. The employer pays the monthly lease payments on behalf of the employee and provides the vehicle to the employee as part of their salary package. If employment ceases, the lease obligations revert to the employee.
As an employee, a fully maintained novated lease may reduce your income tax and may saves you the GST costs on the purchase of the vehicle and its running expenses. At the end of the lease term, the equity in the vehicle is yours, not your employers. You choose the vehicle you want, you purchase the vehicle and the lease agreement is in your name. As part of your agreement with your employer, a portion of your earnings is salary sacrificed in return for the vehicle. The lease portion is deducted from your pre-tax earnings and PAYG tax is calculated after the lease portion has been deducted.
Employers benefit by being able to offer a flexible salary package with little or no-extra cost to the business without risk.
Talk to your employer to see if they offer salary packaging and find out what choices you have.
