{"success":true,"version":"v1","request":{"tool":"get_calculator_schema","calculator_id":"car-lease"},"result":{"entity_type":"calculator","id":"car-lease","calculator_id":"car-lease","canonical_url":"https://tttkmbb.com/finance/car-lease","name":"Car Lease Calculator","title":"Car Lease Payment Calculator – Depreciation, Money Factor Finance Charge and Total Lease Cost","category":"finance","category_name":"Finance","tool_name":"calculate_car_lease_payment","featured_mcp_tool":false,"description":"Computes a closed-end vehicle lease payment from the negotiated price, residual value, money factor (or APR) and term: the monthly depreciation, finance charge, base payment, payment with sales tax and the total cost of the lease.","use_when":"You are evaluating a car lease offer and want to check the monthly payment or convert the money factor to an APR.","do_not_use_when":"You are buying the car with a loan (use car-loan), or the lease is open-ended with a balloon purchase (different terms).","inputs":[{"name":"msrp","label":"MSRP","type":"number","required":true,"max":10000000,"exclusive_min":0,"description":"Manufacturer's suggested retail price; the residual value is a percentage of this.","example":30000},{"name":"negotiated_price","label":"Negotiated price (gross capitalized cost)","type":"number","required":true,"max":10000000,"exclusive_min":0,"description":"Agreed selling price of the vehicle including any fees rolled into the lease.","example":27000},{"name":"residual_percent","label":"Residual value","type":"number","unit":"% of MSRP","required":true,"max":100,"exclusive_min":0,"description":"Lessor's estimate of the vehicle's value at lease end as a percent of MSRP (typically 45–65 % for 36 months).","example":55},{"name":"money_factor","label":"Money factor","type":"number","required":false,"min":0,"max":0.05,"description":"Lease finance rate as a decimal (e.g. 0.00125). APR = money_factor × 2400. Takes precedence over apr_percent.","example":0.00125},{"name":"apr_percent","label":"APR","type":"number","unit":"%","required":false,"min":0,"max":100,"description":"Alternative to money_factor: annual rate in percent (money_factor = apr_percent / 2400).","example":3},{"name":"term_months","label":"Term","type":"integer","unit":"months","required":false,"default":36,"min":1,"max":120,"description":"Lease length in months.","example":36},{"name":"down_payment","label":"Down payment (capitalized cost reduction)","type":"number","required":false,"default":0,"min":0,"max":10000000,"description":"Cash or trade-in applied to reduce the capitalized cost.","example":0},{"name":"sales_tax_percent","label":"Sales tax on payments","type":"number","unit":"%","required":false,"default":0,"min":0,"max":30,"description":"Tax rate applied to each monthly payment (the usual US method; some states tax the full price up front).","example":0}],"outputs":[{"name":"residual_value","label":"Residual value","type":"number","decimals":2,"description":"msrp × residual_percent / 100."},{"name":"adjusted_capitalized_cost","label":"Adjusted capitalized cost","type":"number","decimals":2,"description":"negotiated_price − down_payment."},{"name":"monthly_depreciation","label":"Monthly depreciation","type":"number","decimals":2,"description":"(adjusted_capitalized_cost − residual_value) / term_months."},{"name":"monthly_finance_charge","label":"Monthly finance charge (rent charge)","type":"number","decimals":2,"description":"(adjusted_capitalized_cost + residual_value) × money_factor."},{"name":"base_monthly_payment","label":"Base monthly payment","type":"number","decimals":2,"description":"monthly_depreciation + monthly_finance_charge."},{"name":"monthly_payment_with_tax","label":"Monthly payment with tax","type":"number","decimals":2,"description":"base_monthly_payment × (1 + sales_tax_percent / 100)."},{"name":"total_lease_cost","label":"Total lease cost","type":"number","decimals":2,"description":"monthly_payment_with_tax × term_months + down_payment."},{"name":"money_factor_used","label":"Money factor","type":"number","decimals":6,"description":"Money factor applied (given, or apr_percent / 2400)."},{"name":"apr_equivalent_percent","label":"APR equivalent","type":"number","unit":"%","decimals":2,"description":"money_factor × 2400."}],"input_schema":{"type":"object","properties":{"msrp":{"description":"Manufacturer's suggested retail price; the residual value is a percentage of this.","type":"number","maximum":10000000,"exclusiveMinimum":0,"examples":[30000]},"negotiated_price":{"description":"Agreed selling price of the vehicle including any fees rolled into the lease.","type":"number","maximum":10000000,"exclusiveMinimum":0,"examples":[27000]},"residual_percent":{"description":"Lessor's estimate of the vehicle's value at lease end as a percent of MSRP (typically 45–65 % for 36 months). Unit: % of MSRP.","type":"number","maximum":100,"exclusiveMinimum":0,"examples":[55],"x-unit":"% of MSRP"},"money_factor":{"description":"Lease finance rate as a decimal (e.g. 0.00125). APR = money_factor × 2400. Takes precedence over apr_percent.","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":0.05,"examples":[0.00125]},"apr_percent":{"description":"Alternative to money_factor: annual rate in percent (money_factor = apr_percent / 2400). Unit: %.","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":100,"examples":[3],"x-unit":"%"},"term_months":{"description":"Lease length in months. Unit: months.","type":"integer","minimum":1,"maximum":120,"default":36,"examples":[36],"x-unit":"months"},"down_payment":{"description":"Cash or trade-in applied to reduce the capitalized cost.","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":10000000,"default":0,"examples":[0]},"sales_tax_percent":{"description":"Tax rate applied to each monthly payment (the usual US method; some states tax the full price up front). Unit: %.","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":30,"default":0,"examples":[0],"x-unit":"%"}},"additionalProperties":false,"required":["msrp","negotiated_price","residual_percent"]},"output_schema":{"type":"object","properties":{"residual_value":{"description":"msrp × residual_percent / 100.","type":"number"},"adjusted_capitalized_cost":{"description":"negotiated_price − down_payment.","type":"number"},"monthly_depreciation":{"description":"(adjusted_capitalized_cost − residual_value) / term_months.","type":"number"},"monthly_finance_charge":{"description":"(adjusted_capitalized_cost + residual_value) × money_factor.","type":"number"},"base_monthly_payment":{"description":"monthly_depreciation + monthly_finance_charge.","type":"number"},"monthly_payment_with_tax":{"description":"base_monthly_payment × (1 + sales_tax_percent / 100).","type":"number"},"total_lease_cost":{"description":"monthly_payment_with_tax × term_months + down_payment.","type":"number"},"money_factor_used":{"description":"Money factor applied (given, or apr_percent / 2400).","type":"number"},"apr_equivalent_percent":{"description":"money_factor × 2400. Unit: %.","type":"number","x-unit":"%"}}},"formula":"residual_value = msrp × residual_percent/100; adjusted_cap_cost = negotiated_price − down_payment; monthly_depreciation = (adjusted_cap_cost − residual_value) / term_months; monthly_finance_charge = (adjusted_cap_cost + residual_value) × money_factor; base_payment = depreciation + finance charge; payment_with_tax = base_payment × (1 + sales_tax_percent/100); money_factor = apr_percent / 2400","method":"Standard US closed-end lease arithmetic (Federal Reserve Regulation M disclosures). Acquisition and disposition fees, security deposits and mileage charges are not included unless folded into negotiated_price.","sources":[{"name":"Investopedia – Money Factor: Definition, Calculation and Example","url":"https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/money-factor.asp","type":"reference","retrieved_at":"2026-09-24"},{"name":"Federal Reserve – Keys to Vehicle Leasing","url":"https://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/leasing/","type":"government","retrieved_at":"2026-09-24"},{"name":"Wikipedia – Vehicle leasing","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_leasing","type":"reference","retrieved_at":"2026-09-24"}],"freshness":{"type":"static","max_age_seconds":null,"note":"Deterministic formula with fixed constants; results never go stale. Inputs supplied by the caller determine the output."},"examples":[{"name":"MSRP 30,000, price 27,000, residual 55 %, MF 0.00125, 36 months","inputs":{"msrp":30000,"negotiated_price":27000,"residual_percent":55,"money_factor":0.00125,"term_months":36},"expected":{"residual_value":16500,"adjusted_capitalized_cost":27000,"monthly_depreciation":291.67,"monthly_finance_charge":54.38,"base_monthly_payment":346.04,"monthly_payment_with_tax":346.04,"total_lease_cost":12457.5,"apr_equivalent_percent":3},"url":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/car-lease?msrp=30000&negotiated_price=27000&residual_percent=55&money_factor=0.00125&term_months=36"},{"name":"MSRP 40,000, price 37,500, residual 60 %, 6 % APR, 2,000 down, 7 % tax","inputs":{"msrp":40000,"negotiated_price":37500,"residual_percent":60,"apr_percent":6,"term_months":36,"down_payment":2000,"sales_tax_percent":7},"expected":{"residual_value":24000,"adjusted_capitalized_cost":35500,"monthly_depreciation":319.44,"monthly_finance_charge":148.75,"base_monthly_payment":468.19,"monthly_payment_with_tax":500.97,"total_lease_cost":20034.85,"money_factor_used":0.0025},"url":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/car-lease?msrp=40000&negotiated_price=37500&residual_percent=60&apr_percent=6&term_months=36&down_payment=2000&sales_tax_percent=7"}],"faq":[{"q":"Why multiply the money factor by 2400?","a":"The finance charge is applied to the average of the capitalized cost and the residual, i.e. (cap + residual)/2, each month; folding the ½ and the 12 months into the rate gives APR = MF × 2 × 12 × 100 = MF × 2400."},{"q":"Is a bigger down payment a good idea on a lease?","a":"It lowers the payment one-for-one over the term but is lost if the car is totaled or stolen early, because gap coverage settles the lessor's balance, not your prepaid amount."}],"tags":["car lease","lease payment","money factor","residual value","capitalized cost","lease vs buy"],"related":[{"calculator_id":"car-loan","reason":"Payment and total cost of buying the same car with a loan."},{"calculator_id":"loan-payment","reason":"Amortizing-loan payment for comparison."}],"links":{"html":"https://tttkmbb.com/finance/car-lease","markdown":"https://tttkmbb.com/finance/car-lease.md","json":"https://tttkmbb.com/finance/car-lease.json","api":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/car-lease","schema":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculators/car-lease","openapi":"https://tttkmbb.com/openapi.json","mcp":"https://tttkmbb.com/mcp"},"version":"v1","updated_at":"2026-09-24"},"timestamp":"2026-09-24T01:45:50Z"}