The EV Novated Lease Impact Calculator estimates how salary-packaging an electric vehicle changes three income-tested government systems: your Child Care Subsidy (CCS) rate, your HELP compulsory repayment, and your Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) exposure. Most EV lease calculators show only the tax saving — this one shows the full family-finance picture.
Child Care Subsidy is assessed on Adjusted Taxable Income (ATI), not just taxable salary. An eligible electric vehicle may be discounted or exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax, but it can still generate a Reportable Fringe Benefits Amount (RFBA) on the employee's income statement. RFBA is added back into ATI for CCS purposes. If ATI rises as a result, your CCS percentage may fall — even though your take-home pay has improved.
For a family earning $120,000 ATI, a $10,000 RFBA from an EV lease could reduce the CCS rate by several percentage points and add hundreds of dollars to annual childcare costs. The calculator shows this before-and-after comparison automatically.
HELP compulsory repayment income includes RFBA at full value, regardless of employer type. An EV lease that reduces taxable income may not reduce HELP repayments if it generates equivalent RFBA — and could increase them.
The Medicare Levy Surcharge thresholds ($97,000 for singles, $194,000 for families in 2025–26) also include RFBA. A lease that pushes household income over a threshold — without private hospital cover — can add 1–1.5% MLS on top of the standard Medicare levy.
Many novated lease quotes include an after-tax employee contribution — sometimes called ECM (employee contribution method), post-tax contribution, or FBT contribution. This reduces the taxable value of the benefit. If it brings the value below $2,000, no RFBA is reported, removing the CCS, HELP and MLS impact entirely. The calculator lets you enter an ECM amount and shows the outcome with and without it.
The government has announced staged changes to the EV FBT discount from 1 April 2027. Under the announced 2027–29 phase:
The calculator models both current and announced 2027 settings so you can compare outcomes before signing a lease. For 2025–26, the fuel-efficient LCT threshold is $91,387. The calculator uses an estimated 2026–27 threshold of $91,661 until the ATO publishes the official figure.
The FBT discount applies to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles below the applicable LCT threshold. Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) entered into new novated leases after 1 April 2025 are generally not eligible. Combustion vehicles receive no EV FBT discount.
Employees of public hospitals, Public Benevolent Institutions (PBIs) and eligible charities have a different ATI treatment: only 53% of the grossed-up RFBA is counted for CCS and FTB income tests. For standard employers, 100% is counted. HELP and MLS always use the full RFBA regardless of employer type. The calculator includes an employer type toggle for this purpose.
Open the EV Novated Lease Impact Calculator →
Guide: EV Novated Lease Impact on CCS, HELP & MLS
An electric vehicle novated lease changes your Adjusted Taxable Income — directly affecting your Child Care Subsidy rate, HELP repayment threshold, and Medicare Levy Surcharge. See all three impacts together in one free calculator.
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