An operational lease fee of €700 per month plus €150 of fuel and a settlement of €0.08 for 4,000 extra kilometres comes to about €877 per month excluding BTW, or €0.44 per kilometre. The 21% BTW on the fee is partly or fully reclaimable depending on private use.
What is zakelijk lease (operational lease)?
In an operational lease the lessor owns the car and carries the risk of its resale value. The monthly fee normally covers depreciation, financing, road tax, insurance, maintenance, tyres and often a replacement vehicle and a fuel card as an option. You agree a term and a number of kilometres per year. At the end, the lessor settles any difference: you pay for extra kilometres, and often receive a smaller credit for unused ones. For companies, the main benefit is cost certainty and less admin.
How to compare offers
- Put every offer on the same basis: term, yearly kilometres, deductible and included services.
- Add fuel or charging, the main cost not included, so you compare the all-in monthly cost.
- Divide by your real yearly kilometres to find the cost per km, and compare against an alternative such as financial lease.
- Ask about the settlement rates for extra and fewer kilometres, because a low fee with a high excess rate can end up costlier.
BTW and the tax side
The lease fee carries 21% BTW. A company can generally deduct BTW on business use. When employees or directors use the car privately, a private-use correction applies, and the employee pays bijtelling on top (22% of catalogue value for most cars, a lower rate for qualifying EVs). A fully electric car lease can make financial sense mainly because of that lower bijtelling and the lower running cost. For freelancers the ZZP calculator shows how a lease cost lowers taxable profit.
What to avoid
- Underestimating mileage. Add 10% to your best guess.
- Skipping damage rules. Minor scratches are often chargeable on return.
- Ignoring early-termination terms. Ending a lease early can cost most of the remaining fees.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the monthly lease fee excluding BTW and the term.
- Add expected fuel or charging cost per month.
- Compare contract and expected kilometres to see any settlement.
- Set the share of business use to see how much BTW you can reclaim.
Key figures at a glance
| Owner | Lessor |
|---|---|
| Fee includes | Finance, MRB, insurance, maintenance, tyres (varies) |
| BTW on fee | 21%, reclaimable for business use |
| Km settlement | Extra km charged, unused km credited at a lower rate |
Frequently asked questions
Operational lease bundles services and returns the car to the lessor at the end. Financial lease is mostly a finance deal in which you keep the risk and the asset.
For business use, yes, but a correction applies for private use, so the claim is partly reduced.
Usually between 5 and 12 cents, set in the contract. The calculator lets you enter your own rate.
It is good if you want predictable costs and no maintenance hassle, and less so if you drive very high or very low mileage.
The fee is a deductible business cost, and an employee driving privately pays bijtelling.