What does a novated lease comparison Excel template do?

It lets you compare the likely cost of different cars under a novated lease, including salary packaging effects, GST treatment and running-cost assumptions. That makes it easier to see whether the lease is actually worth it before you commit.

Who is this template best for?

It suits employees looking at salary packaging, payroll staff checking a quote, and small-business owners who want to compare a couple of vehicles without using finance software. It is also handy for bookkeepers who need to explain the numbers to a client.

Does this template calculate GST savings?

It is set up for novated lease comparison work where GST is part of the cost picture. If the employer is registered for GST, the comparison helps you see the effect of input tax credits on purchase and running costs.

Can I use it for an electric vehicle?

Yes. It is useful for EV comparisons because the lease, salary packaging and tax treatment can be very different from a petrol or diesel car, especially where FBT treatment is affected by the current rules.

What sheets are included in the workbook?

The workbook includes Instructions, Vehicle Comparisons, Summary Dashboard and Assumptions. That gives you a place for setup notes, inputs, summary results and the rate settings behind the model.

When should I move from Excel to software?

If you are running many employee quotes, need workflow approvals, or want live integration with payroll and accounting, software is the better call. For a few comparisons at a time, Excel is usually quicker and easier to manage.

Personal Finance

Novated Lease Comparison Excel - Free Template

Compare novated lease costs, salary packaging, tax savings and running costs across vehicles for Australian employees and employers.

2026-06-21

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Screenshot 1: Instructions tab - Excel template novated lease comparison excel template australia

This novated lease comparison Excel template helps you compare vehicle costs, salary packaging and estimated tax savings for Australian employees. It includes an Instructions sheet, a Vehicle Comparisons input sheet, a Summary Dashboard and an Assumptions sheet.

Use it to test different cars side by side, see the impact on take-home pay, and check the likely lease cost before you sign anything. It is set up for quick comparisons, with clear inputs and summary charts.

The workbook is built for a practical decision: whether a novated lease is actually better than paying for the car another way. That matters when you're balancing cash flow, salary packaging and the tax treatment of a vehicle through payroll.

The key benefits of this Excel template

Compares multiple vehicles in one workbook, so you can line up the numbers before you commit.
Shows the effect of pre-tax salary packaging on take-home pay, not just the lease payment.
Helps you estimate GST savings on eligible vehicle costs where the employer is registered for GST.
Separates assumptions from inputs, making it easier to update fuel, finance and running-cost figures.
Includes a dashboard view, so you can see the comparison without digging through the raw numbers.
Useful for employees and payroll staff who need a quick, clear side-by-side check.
Saves time on manual cash flow calculations by keeping the key figures in one place.

Step-by-step guide

Open the Instructions sheet first and check the notes for the data you need. That gives you the salary, purchase price and other fields to prepare before you start.
Go to Vehicle Comparisons and enter each vehicle you want to compare. Add the purchase price, salary, lease term and any other inputs shown on the sheet.
Review the Assumptions sheet and update any default rates to match your scenario. This keeps the comparison consistent if you are testing more than one option.
Look at the Summary Dashboard to compare the totals and charts. Use it to spot the cheaper option, the biggest salary impact and the rough tax savings.
Change one input at a time and watch the result update. That makes it easier to see whether the lease still stacks up if the car price, salary or running costs move.
Save a copy for each employee or vehicle scenario. That way you can keep a clean record of the numbers you tested and compare them later.

Screenshot 2: Vehicle Comparisons tab - Excel template novated lease comparison excel template australia — Figure 2: Worksheet "Vehicle Comparisons"

What is included

Four-sheet layout: Instructions, Vehicle Comparisons, Summary Dashboard and Assumptions.

Input fields for salary, vehicle price and comparison assumptions on the main calculation sheet.

A summary dashboard that pulls the results together in a cleaner view.

Built for Australian novated lease comparisons, including salary packaging and tax-saving checks.

Clear separation between editable inputs and summary outputs, which helps reduce accidental changes.

Designed to support side-by-side vehicle comparisons rather than a single-car quote.

Simple formatting with highlighted input cells so you can see what needs to be changed.

How employees and payroll teams use this novated lease comparison Excel template

This template is handy when you are weighing up a car through salary packaging and want to see the cost before you sign. A salaried employee, payroll officer or office manager can use it to compare two or three vehicles, then check how the lease affects pay each fortnight or month.

It is especially useful when the numbers are close. For example, if one vehicle costs $52,000 and another is $58,500, a small difference in finance, running costs and GST treatment can change the result by several thousand dollars over a 5-year term.

Where the decision usually happens

Most people open a comparison sheet when they are getting a quote, reviewing a salary packaging offer, or checking a dealer’s numbers against payroll. If your employee earns $95,000 a year and you are comparing a $48,000 hatchback with a $68,000 SUV, the pre-tax deductions can change the take-home result by a noticeable amount each pay cycle.

Why the dashboard matters

The Summary Dashboard gives you the quick view you need when you do not want to trawl through each line item. That is the difference between a messy quote folder and a decision you can explain in 2 minutes at the desk.

Best fit for small teams

It suits small businesses that handle one or two novated lease requests at a time, rather than a large fleet operation. If you only need to compare 2 vehicles for a single employee, a spreadsheet is often faster than waiting for a full finance system report.

Screenshot 3: Summary Dashboard tab - Excel template novated lease comparison excel template australia — Figure 3: Worksheet "Summary Dashboard"

The Australian novated lease rules and tax settings behind the numbers

A novated lease sits inside Australian tax and payroll rules, so the model has to line up with GST, FBT and salary packaging treatment. Employers registered for GST can generally claim input tax credits on eligible lease costs, and that changes the real cost of the vehicle compared with a personal purchase.

Electric vehicles can also be different. Under the current Australian settings, eligible battery electric vehicles may be exempt from FBT where the car is below the luxury car tax threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles, which is $91,387 in 2026, while most other novated lease arrangements still need to be tested against payroll and fringe benefits treatment.

What the employer needs to check

The employer must be able to run the deductions through payroll correctly, including any pre-tax salary sacrifice amounts and post-tax amounts if they are used. If the employee is on $88,000 a year and the lease deduction is $920 a month, that is $11,040 a year being pushed through payroll, so the PAYG withholding and payslip treatment need to be right.

Why GST still matters

Vehicle purchase price and operating costs may include GST, and that matters because a $66,000 vehicle price includes $6,000 GST. If the employer can claim that credit, the net cost is not the same as the showroom sticker price, which is why a comparison tool is more useful than a quick mental estimate.

Records and compliance

You should keep the supporting lease quote, payroll settings and calculations with the employee record for at least 5 years to match ATO record-keeping expectations. That is the practical way to handle it if a query comes back later and you need to show how the numbers were built.

Those records also need the withholding calculations that sit behind each payslip, so the payroll trail matches the employee file and the figures can be explained later.

Where novated lease comparisons go wrong and what it can cost

The biggest mistake is comparing the monthly lease payment and stopping there. If you ignore fuel, tyres, servicing, insurance, registration and the employee’s tax position, a quote that looks $50 cheaper a month can end up costing more over a 3-year term.

Another common problem is using the wrong salary figure. If the employee is actually on $72,500 but the spreadsheet assumes $85,000, the tax savings will be overstated and the whole comparison can be off by $1,000s over the lease.

Bad assumptions on running costs

Running costs are where the numbers drift fastest. A driver doing 18,000 km a year in a petrol SUV will spend far more on fuel than someone in a small EV doing the same distance, and the difference can be $2,000 or more a year before you even touch finance costs.

Forgetting the payroll side

If payroll does not process the deduction correctly, the employee can be left with the wrong net pay and confusion at tax time. I have seen a lease set up with a neat finance quote, then the payroll deduction missed a fringe benefits adjustment and the employee had to spend hours untangling the figures.

Ignoring the end of the lease

The residual value matters too. A 5-year lease on a $60,000 car with a weak residual plan can leave you with a big payout at the end, so the “cheap” monthly number was never really cheap at all.

The same habit of checking the final figure applies to a BAS tracking sheet, where the quarter-end totals need to reconcile before anything gets lodged.

Screenshot 4: Assumptions tab - Excel template novated lease comparison excel template australia — Figure 4: Worksheet "Assumptions"

How to turn the spreadsheet into a proper comparison routine

The easiest way to keep this useful is to tie it to the moment you already review payroll or finance quotes. If you look at it when a new employee asks about salary packaging, or when a car quote lands on your desk, the template becomes part of your normal workflow instead of another forgotten file.

Use the same checks each time

Update the salary, vehicle price and lease term before comparing quotes.
Check the Assumptions sheet each time fuel, interest or running costs change.
Save one copy per employee so you do not overwrite the numbers from the last quote.

Keep the data clean

Use the highlighted input cells only, and leave the summary areas alone. That reduces the chance of breaking a formula, which is the usual problem when someone pastes over the wrong row after a Friday arvo rush.

Know when Excel is no longer enough

If you are doing dozens of employee quotes each month, or linking the lease data into payroll and accounting software, it is time to move to a proper system such as Xero or MYOB. A spreadsheet is perfect for a few comparisons; it is not the right tool when you need live approval tracking, document storage and system-to-system integration.

Frequently asked questions about this template

It lets you compare the likely cost of different cars under a novated lease, including salary packaging effects, GST treatment and running-cost assumptions. That makes it easier to see whether the lease is actually worth it before you commit.
It suits employees looking at salary packaging, payroll staff checking a quote, and small-business owners who want to compare a couple of vehicles without using finance software. It is also handy for bookkeepers who need to explain the numbers to a client.
It is set up for novated lease comparison work where GST is part of the cost picture. If the employer is registered for GST, the comparison helps you see the effect of input tax credits on purchase and running costs.
Yes. It is useful for EV comparisons because the lease, salary packaging and tax treatment can be very different from a petrol or diesel car, especially where FBT treatment is affected by the current rules.
The workbook includes Instructions, Vehicle Comparisons, Summary Dashboard and Assumptions. That gives you a place for setup notes, inputs, summary results and the rate settings behind the model.
If you are running many employee quotes, need workflow approvals, or want live integration with payroll and accounting, software is the better call. For a few comparisons at a time, Excel is usually quicker and easier to manage.