Equipment Lease Leasing

Unlike an outright purchase or equipment secured through a standard loan, equipment under an operating lease cannot be listed as capital. It's accounted for as a rental expense. This provides two specific financial advantages: Equipment is not recorded as an asset or liability.

Leasing capital equipment: Lowers upfront costs, compared to buying equipment outright. Reduces the chance that your company gets stuck with obsolete equipment, if your contract specifies upgrades. Transfers the cost of equipment maintenance to the leasing company, again according to the terms of your contract.

The equipment account is debited by the present value of the minimum lease payments and the lease liability account is the difference between the value of the equipment and cash paid at the beginning of the year. Depreciation expense must be recorded for the equipment that is leased.

+ Total up front costs (down payment + other fees) + Lost interest. + Outstanding loan balance at time lease expires. - Market value of vehicle at time lease expires. = Net cost of buying.

The equipment account is debited by the present value of the minimum lease payments and the lease liability account is the difference between the value of the equipment and cash paid at the beginning of the year. Depreciation expense must be recorded for the equipment that is leased.

A lessee must capitalize a leased asset if the lease contract entered into satisfies at least one of the four criteria published by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). An asset should be capitalized if:The lease runs for 75% or more of the asset's useful life.

If equipment lasts only one or two years or you constantly need to upgrade it, you may want to lease. But if it lasts 10 or 12 years and needs very little maintenance, buying could be better. If you have solid cash flow, buying equipment may be best because it typically comes with a lower overall cost of ownership.

Assets being leased are not recorded on the company's balance sheet; they are expensed on the income statement. So, they affect both operating and net income.

The major drawback of leasing is that you don't acquire any equity in the vehicle. It's a bit like renting an apartment. You make monthly payments but have no ownership claim to the property once the lease expires. In this case, it means you can't sell the car or trade it in to reduce the cost of your next vehicle.