Home charging on a novated lease
Yes, you can put your home charging inside the lease. The electricity and the charger hardware are treated differently, and it is worth knowing which is which before you ask.
The short answer
Electricity: yes
The power used to charge an eligible electric car is an associated car expense and is exempt alongside the car. It can sit inside the packaged arrangement in the same way fuel would for a petrol car.
The charger itself: no, not as a car expense
The ATO is explicit that a home charging station is not a car expense associated with providing a car fringe benefit. It may instead be a property fringe benefit or an expense payment fringe benefit, which is a different treatment and does not ride on the electric car exemption.
That distinction is the one to raise before you assume a charger is covered. Some employers and providers will package the hardware anyway under those other rules, and some will not. It is a question worth asking rather than an assumption worth making.
How the electricity is worked out
Charging at home mixes with everything else on the household bill, so there is no natural way to separate it. The ATO publishes a shortcut rate to deal with that. For the 2026-27 FBT year it is 5.47 cents per kilometre. Earlier FBT years use 4.2 cents, so the year the expense falls in matters.
Illustrative working
2026-27 rate. Not a quote.
- Kilometres travelled in the year
- 15,000
- Charged at home
- 80%
- Home charging kilometres
- 12,000
- Shortcut rate
- 5.47c per km
The alternative is using actual costs, which means being able to substantiate them. The choice applies per vehicle for the whole year, so it is not something to switch between when one looks better.
If you can determine what proportion of charging happened at home rather than at a commercial charger, the two can be apportioned and the commercial charging costs claimed separately, provided the records support it.
Two things to keep in view
Charging inside the arrangement is a straightforward win. Two things sit alongside it: the car needs to clear the eligibility test for the exemption to apply, and the benefit is reported on your income statement either way.
How eligibility is tested covers the first. Why reportable matters covers the second.
Related reading
What a novated lease is covers the arrangement itself, the calculator shows the tax difference on your salary, and a quote is the only way to find out what a given provider will package.
Common questions
How is home charging calculated
The ATO publishes a shortcut rate so you do not have to separate car charging from household electricity. For the 2026-27 FBT year it is 5.47 cents per kilometre. You can use actual costs instead if you can substantiate them, and the choice applies per vehicle for the whole year.
Can a home charger be included in a novated lease
Not as a car expense. The ATO is explicit that a home charging station is not a car expense associated with providing a car fringe benefit, so it does not ride on the electric car exemption the way the electricity does. It may instead be a property fringe benefit or an expense payment fringe benefit, which is a different treatment. Some employers and providers will package the hardware under those rules and some will not, so it is a question to ask rather than an assumption to make.
Can I include home electricity in a novated lease
Yes. Electricity used to charge an eligible electric car is an associated car expense and is exempt alongside the car, in the same way fuel would be for a petrol car. Because home charging mixes with the rest of the household bill, the ATO publishes a shortcut rate to work out the cost: 5.47 cents per kilometre for the 2026-27 FBT year. Actual costs can be used instead if you can substantiate them.
What is included in a novated lease payment
Usually the finance on the car plus a budget for running costs: registration, insurance, servicing, tyres, and fuel or charging. Bundling running costs is where much of the GST saving comes from. What is actually included varies by provider and by quote, so it is worth reading the inclusions rather than assuming.
Get a quote
What a provider will and will not package differs, including on chargers. A quote on your car and your employer is the way to find out.
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Novii is an information and referral service. When you request a quote your details are provided to an Australian novated leasing provider. Novii is not a lease provider, financier or financial adviser.
Information only, not tax, financial or credit advice.