A novated lease is a salary sacrifice arrangement where car lease repayments come directly from your pre-tax salary.
The BYD Sealion 7 is an electric vehicle available for novated lease and as an electric vehicle it comes with additional tax benefits.
Depending on the terms of your novated lease, it can be much more cost-effective than taking out a car loan.
What is a novated lease?
A novated lease is an agreement between an employee, their employer and a third party leasing company.
The employer arranges a car lease on behalf of the employee. The employer makes the lease payments from the employee's pre-tax income, directly to the leasing company.
This reduces the employee's taxable income.
Why choose a novated lease for the BYD Sealion 7?
BYD's have become a popular choice for electric vehicle drivers in Australia. In fact, BYD as a make has sold more vehicles than Tesla in the first half of 2025, with a 144% increase in the number of cars sold since the previous year.
If you're interested in buying a BYD Sealion 7, taking out a novated lease for a BYD is a cost-effective way to do so.
Here are some reasons you might choose a novated lease to buy a BYD Sealion 7:
Novated leasing can make buying a car a more achievable purchase.
Savings on repayments by using pre-tax income.
Buying an electric car like a BYD Sealion 7 means you don't have to pay FBT.
BYD Sealion 7 novated lease cost vs buying outright
By sacrificing the novated lease repayments out of the employee's pre-tax salary, it reduces the taxable income of the employee. In doing this, it can cost much less to buy a car this way.
Let's take a look:
Fully maintained novated lease
You're on an annual salary of $100,000, which is a monthly pre-tax income of $8,333.33.
You choose a BYD Sealion 7 priced at $63,990 on a 5 year fully maintained novated lease.
Your monthly lease repayments are $1,241.50 a month, which comes out of your pre-tax salary and includes costs like insurance, registration and 1 set of tyres.
Your taxable income is reduced to $7,091.83, which means your take-home pay falls to $5,587.83 a month from $6,431.33.
This means your $1,241.50 lease repayment only reduces your net income by $843.50.
At the end of the lease you can pay a residual value of $20,195 to own the car.
Factoring in all costs and tax savings, the total effective cost to you is $74,554.
Buying a BYD Sealion 7 through a car loan
You borrow $63,990 through a 5 year car loan with a personalised interest rate of 9%.
Your monthly repayments, assuming no loan fees, will be $1,329.
This comes out of your post-tax salary, meaning you only have $5,102.33 left.
The total cost of your loan would cost you $79,700.
You still need to pay separately for insurance, registration and any repairs or maintenance which would cost thousands more each year.
Novated lease
Car loan
Annual income
$100,000
Annual income
$100,000
Cost of car
$63,990
Cost of car / loan amount
$63,990
Pre-tax salary
$8,333.33
Take home pay
$6,431.33
Lease repayments
$1,241.50
Interest rate
9%
New taxable income
$7,091.83
Monthly repayments
$1,329
New take-home salary
$5,587.83
Remaining income
$5,102.33
Effective cost of lease repayment
$843.50
-
-
Residual repayment
$20,195
-
-
Total cost to you (with service and maintenance)
$74,554
Total cost to you (vehicle only)
$79,700
Who benefits most from a BYD Sealion 7 novated lease?
A BYD Sealion 7 novated lease is best for someone who wants to drive an electric vehicle and is happy to lose some of their take-home pay to do so.
Novated leases generally are best for employees with a full-time, permanent and stable job. Casual employees can't take out a novated lease.
Novated leases are ideal for mid-to-high income earners who can afford the consistent repayments and lower take-home salary.
For even more savings, a fully maintained novated lease works best for people who are happy to include all of their fuel and maintenance costs into their novated lease (a fully maintained lease).
Salary sacrifice and tax treatment
Novated lease repayments will come out of the employee's pre-tax salary. This means there's nothing the employee needs to do, the repayments are effectively managed by the employer.
As well as being a logistical benefit, salary sacrificing reduces the employee's taxable income. The biggest benefit of this is that the employee loses less of their take-home income than if they were to make the payments post-tax.
You can lower your taxable income. If you take out a fully maintained novated lease, you'll save even more.
It's a cost-effective and manageable way of buying an electric vehicle.
If you decide you want a different car at the end of the lease period, you can start a new lease without paying the residual value of the previous car.
Cons:
You don't own the car until you've paid the residual value at the end of the lease, so there are restrictions on being able to modify the vehicle.
If you want to own the vehicle at the end of the lease you'll need to pay a one-off residual cost which can be a large financial burden.
You might have less control over where you buy fuel, get your insurance or get your car serviced.
Alternatives to a BYD Sealion 7 novated lease
Standard car loan:
You can buy the car by taking out a car loan and making principal and interest repayments.
Dealer finance:
Car dealerships will often have finance options. They might offer lower monthly repayments but you'll still need to pay a residual payment at the end of the term.
Buying outright:
If you have the funds saved up you can simply buy the car in cash! It's a large chunk of money to lose in one go though, so make sure you won't end up with no emergency savings or financial buffer.
Subscription services:
If you're not worried about ever owning the car, you could opt for a car subscription instead. You can borrow a car for a minimum of 30 days and your fees will cover the cost of roadside assistance, comprehensive insurance, and service and maintenance.
FAQs about novated leasing a BYD Sealion 7
Yes, the BYD Sealion 7 is eligible for novated leasing. As an electric vehicle it's also eligible for FBT exemption.
You'll need to check with your novated lease provider to make sure they offer the BYD Sealion 7, but it should be a standard offering.
Once your novated lease term has finished you have a couple of options. One option is to pay the residual value of the car so that you now own the car. Once you've paid for the car and you own it, you can then decide whether to keep the car or sell it.
Another option is that you can start a new lease with a new car. This can still work out as a cost-effective option because you'll be making the tax savings.
You can choose between a non-maintained novated lease or a fully maintained novated lease. The fully maintained novated lease includes costs like car registration, insurance and maintenance. For electric vehicles like a BYD Sealion 7, it can also include charging costs.
This is a cost-effective way to pay for running costs because it'll also come from your pre-tax salary and so you'll save money compared to paying for those costs from your post-tax income.
Rebecca Pike is Finder’s money editor, with over 7 years of experience in mortgages and personal finance. A frequent TV and radio commentator, she frequently appears on Sunrise and 7News, Today and 9News, as well as Sky News, Channel 10 and across radio and print. Rebecca previously served as Editor of Mortgage Professional Australia. She has a Master’s degree in Journalism as well as ASIC-recognised certifications in Tier 1 Generic Knowledge and Tier 2 General Advice Deposit Products, which comply with ASIC guidelines.
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