By Austin D., Lease Solutions
Beyond the purchase price, a lease buyout usually carries three charges: a purchase-option fee set in your contract (if it has one), your state's sales or use tax, and its title and registration fees. Dealer doc fees apply only when a dealer processes the sale, and some leasing companies say in writing that you should not be charged them. The turn-in charges (disposition, excess mileage, wear) generally drop away when you buy. If we handle your buyout, our flat $695 processing fee is the only charge we add; the lender pays our commission.
Every Charge in a Lease Buyout, in One Table
The price itself is not on this list. At maturity it is the residual value written into your lease; before maturity it is the early payoff your contract describes. Either way it is fixed by the contract and not negotiable with the leasing company, and our guide to calculating your buyout price walks through that number. Everything below rides on top of it.
| Charge | Who sets it | Where you'll find it | Can you avoid it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase-option fee | Your leasing company, in your lease | The purchase-option section of your contract | Usually not. It is a contract term, though asking for a waiver costs nothing. |
| Sales or use tax | Your state, and sometimes your county or city | Your payoff quote, or the bill when the car is titled | No. It is set by law, and the rules vary by state. |
| Title, lien recording, and registration | Your state's motor vehicle agency | Your state's fee schedule; our California guide and other state guides list them | No. They are government fees. |
| Amounts still owed on the lease | Your leasing company | Your written payoff quote | No. A past-due payment or a billed tax is a debt, not a fee. |
| Dealer doc or processing fees | A dealership, only if one processes the sale | The dealer's itemized worksheet | Sometimes. Buy direct where your leasing company and your state allow it. Where a dealer is required, some leasing companies say in writing that you should not be charged them (see the table below). |
| Our compensation | Lease Solutions sets the flat $695 processing fee; the lender pays us a commission | Disclosed before you apply; details in how we make money | The $695 fee applies only when we handle your buyout. The commission is paid by the lender and is not added to your buyout, payoff, or fee. |
| Protection products | The product provider; you choose whether to buy | Offered separately, with a no-protection option | Yes. Service contracts and GAP coverage are optional. |
The Purchase-Option Fee: Where It Lives in Your Lease
Federal Regulation M requires the consumer leases it covers (terms over four months, with a total obligation under a dollar threshold that adjusts each year) to state whether you have the option to purchase the car. If you do, the lease must also state the purchase price at the end of the term and, for buying early, the price or the method for setting it. The CFPB's official interpretation adds the detail that matters here: a purchase-option fee is disclosed with the purchase option, not with the lease's other charges, and it may be listed separately or folded into the purchase-option price. So read the purchase-option section. If it shows a price and a fee side by side, you owe both. If it shows one number, the fee may already be inside it.
Because the fee is whatever your contract says, leasing companies rarely publish a standard amount. Here is what the ones we checked say publicly:
- Nissan Motor Acceptance (Nissan and INFINITI Financial Services): its help center says your lease may require “a purchase option fee of up to $300.”
- Hyundai Motor Finance, Kia Finance America, and Genesis Finance: “a predetermined purchase option fee,” with the amount left to your lease contract. Our Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis buyout guide covers the rest of their process.
- GM Financial and Toyota Financial Services: no published figure. GM Financial tells you to check your contract's purchase option, and Toyota Financial Services' glossary says the purchase price is “disclosed or described in the lease.” Our GM Financial and Toyota Financial Services guides cover the rest of their process.
- Honda Financial Services, Chase Auto, and Ford Credit: no published standard amount; it is set in your individual lease agreement, as our Honda, Chase, and Ford Credit guides detail.
Buying early can change the picture. The early payoff is built differently from the maturity price, and your contract's purchase-option section says whether the purchase-option fee applies to an early purchase too; our early buyout guide covers both.
As for a waiver: the fee is a contract term, so the leasing company has no obligation to drop it. Asking costs nothing and cannot raise your price, which is why our guide on what you can and can't negotiate puts it on the short list worth one ask.
Sales Tax, Title, and Registration: Your State's Charges
Buying the car is a purchase, and most states tax it, even if you paid tax through your lease payments. How much, on what number, and who collects it varies more than any other line in the table. Our guide to sales tax on a lease buyout explains how each state handles it. Three examples from our state guides:
- Idaho charges its 6% sales tax on the buyout price, and the leasing company collects it when it transfers the title.
- New York taxes the buyout even though it taxed your lease payments up front.
- Georgia charges its title ad valorem tax (TAVT) instead of sales tax, paid when the title moves into your name. For leases signed since January 1, 2022, that is a second TAVT bill on the same car.
Title and registration fees are the state's charges for putting the car in your name and recording your lender's lien. A few figures from our guides: California's DMV title transfer fee is $15, plus any registration fees then due (the California guide lists the registration fee stack); Florida's title transfer runs $75.25, or $77.25 with a lien recorded for your lender (Florida); and in New York, where the car is usually registered to you already, a buyout is typically a $50 title certificate change (New York).
When we handle a buyout, those state charges stay separate from our fee: they are government fees that go to the state, not to us. The state sets the price, we handle the paperwork, and the charges can usually be financed into the loan along with the payoff (more on that below). Our title transfer guide explains what that paperwork actually does.
Dealer Fees: Only When a Dealer Processes the Sale
A dealership enters a lease buyout in one of two ways: you choose to buy through one, or your leasing company or your state requires one. When a dealer papers the sale, it may add a documentation, processing, or handling fee. Whether it should is a question GM Financial and the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis finance companies have already answered in writing.
What Leasing Companies Publish
| Leasing company | Purchase-option fee | When a dealer must process the purchase | What it says about dealer fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| GM Financial | Not published; check your contract's purchase option | Residents of AZ, AR, CO, FL, HI, KS, NC, PA, SD, and VT | “You should not be charged a fee by the dealer to facilitate your payoff,” naming doc, documentary, D&H, and handling fees |
| Hyundai Motor Finance, Kia Finance America, Genesis Finance | “A predetermined purchase option fee”; see your contract | CO, DC, FL, HI, IN, PA, SC, and SD, states that require a dealer license to sell used vehicles | In those states, the dealer “cannot increase the sale price above the purchase option price and should not charge additional fees if you have your own financing” |
| Nissan Motor Acceptance (Nissan, INFINITI) | Up to $300 | Ohio and Illinois residents | No statement on its help pages |
| Volkswagen Financial Services | Not published | Colorado, Florida, and South Dakota | No statement in its FAQ |
| Ford Credit | Not published; set in your lease | Every purchase, at a Ford dealership: your originating dealer, or another Ford dealer if you can't return to it | No statement on its lease-purchase FAQ |
| Toyota Financial Services | Not published; its glossary says the price is “disclosed or described in the lease” | “Some states,” not listed; TFS confirms by phone | No statement in its lease-end guide |
Read the two published rules closely. GM Financial's covers any dealer fee to facilitate your payoff. The Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis rule is written for the eight states where they require a dealer, and it applies when you bring your own financing; if you finance through the dealer instead, their FAQs say there may be extra fees or costs tied to that new financing. Neither rule touches sales tax or the state's title fees, which are still owed.
Why this matters: regulators have taken action on exactly this. The New York Attorney General, for one, has reached settlements with dealerships over lease buyouts that charged customers more than their contract price, through add-on fees and bundled products that never appeared in the lease. That is not every dealer, but the lesson travels: know your contract price before you sit down. Bring the leasing company's written quote, ask for an itemized worksheet, and check that the vehicle price matches the purchase-option price. Any line you can't trace to your contract, your state, or a product you chose deserves a question.
If your leasing company or state requires a dealer step, that doesn't change who arranges your financing. We coordinate that step with you, and where your leasing company has published a rule on dealer fees, that is the one to point the dealer to. Our third-party buyout guide explains who is allowed to buy the car in the first place.
What We Charge, and How We're Paid
We make money in exactly two ways: a flat $695 processing fee you see before you apply, and a commission the lender pays us for arranging the loan. Neither is a markup: your buyout price and payoff pass through to you untouched, and the lender's commission comes from the lender's side of the deal, not yours.
The $695 is the same on every buyout. It doesn't scale with your loan or change with your credit, and it is typically rolled into your financing rather than paid out of pocket. It pays for the work: confirming your payoff with the leasing company, handling the title, registration, and plates, preparing the loan documents, and giving you one specialist from start to finish. Your state's own tax, title, and registration charges are separate, as described above.
We are not a lender and make no credit decisions. Financing is arranged through partner lenders, and your final rate and payment come from the lender after a credit application. When you decide to go ahead, your specialist chooses where to apply with you and tells you before any inquiry. The full account, including why lenders pay brokers at all, is in how Lease Solutions makes money, and the fee is itemized on how we get paid.
Protection Products Are Optional
Along the way you may be offered a service contract or GAP coverage. Both are optional, we always show you the no-protection option, and the loan works either way.
Which Costs Can Go Into the Loan
Usually all of them. Our partner lenders can finance the sales tax and the state's title and registration fees into the loan along with the payoff and our $695 fee, subject to lender credit approval. Your specialist shows you the full loan amount, and anything paid separately, before you sign. For how the loan itself works, see lease buyout loans explained.
The Fees You Skip by Buying
Buying also removes the charges that exist only on a return: the disposition fee, excess mileage, and excess wear and use. Nissan's and Volkswagen's own FAQs say so for mileage and wear (Volkswagen names its turn-in fee too), and our guide to turn-in fees covers the rest.
Check the Fees in Five Steps
- Open your lease to the purchase-option section. Write down the price (or the early-purchase method) and any purchase-option fee.
- Ask your leasing company for a written purchase payoff quote. Note the good-through date and whether tax is included.
- Look up your state's tax and title fees in our state guide if we have one for your state, or ask us.
- If a dealer processes the sale, get an itemized worksheet and match every line to your contract, your state, or a product you chose.
- Confirm which costs the loan covers, then run the total through the buyout calculator.
Or skip the homework. Start with your license plate or VIN and we pull your payoff, check the equity, and show your estimated Keep-It payment, with no credit pull to see your estimate. If keeping the car is the right move, financing is arranged through partner lenders and the title work is handled for one flat $695 fee. Get your buyout options.
Common Questions
Is there a fee to buy out my lease?
Often, yes: a purchase-option fee if your contract includes one, plus your state’s sales or use tax and its title and registration fees. Leasing companies rarely publish the amount. Nissan’s help center says up to $300; the others we checked publish no standard amount, so your lease is the place to look. For leases it covers, federal Regulation M requires the fee to be disclosed with your lease’s purchase option, so that section of your contract has the answer.
Do I pay the disposition fee if I buy?
Generally no. The disposition fee pays for the leasing company to take back and resell a returned car, so it is a turn-in charge, like excess mileage and excess wear. Buy the car and, at most lessors, none of them apply. Your written payoff quote will still include anything already owed on the account, such as a past-due payment.
Can a dealer charge doc fees on a lease buyout?
Only if a dealer processes the sale, and some leasing companies say it should not. GM Financial’s lease-end FAQ says you should not be charged a dealer fee to facilitate your payoff, naming doc, documentary, D&H, and handling fees. Hyundai Motor Finance, Kia Finance America, and Genesis Finance say that in the eight states where they require the purchase to go through a dealer (CO, DC, FL, HI, IN, PA, SC, and SD), the dealer cannot increase the sale price above the purchase option price and should not charge additional fees if you have your own financing. If a dealer handles your buyout, ask for every fee itemized before you sign.
Can the purchase-option fee be waived?
Not by right. The fee is a contract term, like the purchase price, so the leasing company does not have to drop it. Asking costs nothing and cannot raise your price, so it is worth one request.
How is Lease Solutions paid?
Two ways: a flat $695 processing fee disclosed before you apply, and a commission the lender pays us for arranging the loan. Your buyout price and payoff pass through untouched, so neither is a markup. State tax, title, and registration charges are separate and go to the state.
Can I roll the fees into my buyout loan?
Usually, yes. Our partner lenders can finance the sales tax and the state’s title and registration fees into the loan along with the payoff and our $695 fee, subject to lender credit approval. Your specialist shows you the full loan amount, and anything paid separately, before you sign.
Is there an extra fee for buying out a lease early?
Your contract’s purchase-option section says whether the purchase-option fee applies to an early purchase. Chase Auto’s Tesla lease FAQ, for example, says the purchase-option fee specified in the lease is owed if you buy at any time during the lease. The early payoff itself is built differently from the maturity price, which our early buyout guide explains.
Sources: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation M, 12 CFR 1013.4(i) and its official interpretation; GM Financial's lease-end FAQ and customer FAQ; the Hyundai Motor Finance FAQ and its Kia Finance America and Genesis Finance counterparts; the Nissan Motor Acceptance help center; the Volkswagen Financial Services FAQ; Ford's lease-purchase FAQ; Toyota Financial Services' lease-end guide and glossary; the New York Attorney General's published lease buyout settlements; state fee figures from our state guides, each sourced there. Policies current as of September 2026 and subject to change; confirm with your leasing company. Lease Solutions is not affiliated with or endorsed by any leasing company named here. This is general information, not financial, tax, or legal advice.