A novated lease is a three-way arrangement between you, your employer and a specialist car financier or fleet provider. A fully maintained novated lease bundles your vehicle expenses into one payment, which your employer deducts from your pretax income. For more information about the novated lease vs salary sacrifice comparison,click here.
The benefits of salary packaging your car via a novated lease are enormous. These include:
Tax savings
Tax benefits are A big reason many employees choose to sacrifice their car. Employees can save around $2,900* a year in tax by salary packaging their vehicle.
This is because the car expenses (lease payments and running costs) are paid from their pre-tax income, reducing their taxable income. Plus, novated leases can be fully maintained, meaning that the car’s maintenance, registration, tyres and insurance are also covered – creating a single monthly payment.
Novated leasing is also the only way to sidestep GST when purchasing a new car, representing a substantial up-front saving. However, it’s important to note that any GST savings depend on your tax situation and will not be reflected on your FBT return.
Flexibility
A novated lease is an agreement between the employee, employer and finance company. It includes a car and running costs such as fuel, servicing, and insurance. This is a tax-efficient way to own a new vehicle, as it comes from pretax income.
It’s also easy for you to change jobs without significantly impacting your novated lease. You take your car’s lease with you, and your employer doesn’t have a residual value to pay when you leave. For more information about the novated lease vs salary sacrifice comparison,click here.
You can purchase the vehicle or renew it with another car at the end of your novated lease. The residual payment will be calculated based on what the car is expected to be worth at the end of your lease.
Incentives
A car is one of the most significant purchases you’ll make in your lifetime and probably one of the most expensive to maintain. But the way you buy it can impact your bottom line. Traditionally, people have either saved to pay cash for the vehicle or taken out a loan to finance it.
With a novated lease, your purchase is made using pre-tax income, reducing your taxable income and helping you to pay less tax. You can also save on goods and services tax (GST) on the purchase price and running costs and be offered acquisition fleet discounts. This makes it attractive to employees and employers alike, as the employee doesn’t have to worry about being lumbered with an unwanted car if they leave their job, and the employer doesn’t have to shoulder the financial cost of an incentive program.
Convenience
Novated leasing is one of the few remaining free kicks left for employees who earn between $80,001 and $180,000. It increases your spending power, provides great fleet discounts and GST savings, reduces your taxable income, and lets you take care of all your car running costs in a single payment deducted from your pre-tax salary. For more information about the novated lease vs salary sacrifice comparison,click here.
Many employers are wary of allowing novated leases because they fear a significant administrative burden will be on their business. However, this isn’t the case because payments are automatically made into the payroll system, and computers do all the work. Also, the lease contract is a transferable benefit, so you can take it with you if you change jobs or are laid off. This means there’s no risk of the employer getting lumbered with an unnecessary car.
Security
As the name suggests, salary sacrifice involves exchanging a portion of your pretax income for a car. It involves a three-way agreement between you, your employer and a fleet or novated lease provider.
For employers, it’s an excellent way to provide employees with the cars they want without burdening the business’ bottom line or the hassle of managing company vehicles. It’s also a great way to attract and retain staff.
Employees benefit because they ‘own’ the vehicle (the finance company holds the lease) and, should they leave their job, the lease obligations and the car will go with them. This eliminates the risk for both parties – unlike with a car loan, where debt can remain even after a job change.