lease

What It Is

A lease is an agreement, usually in writing, between the owner of an asset and a lessee.

How It Works

Leases can be for a variety of assets, though real estate often comes to mind first. For example, let's say John Doe owns a house on Main Street. He does not live in the house; he decides to lease it to Jane Smith. John continues to be the owner of the house, but Jane agrees to pay John $800 a month in return for letting her live there for a year. They type up a lease, which sets forth the exact dates Jane can live in the home, what improvements or changes Jane is allowed to make to the home, and what happens if Jane damages the home.

Leases can also be for cars, manufacturing equipment, office space, photocopiers, musical instruments, solar panels, or virtually any other asset. Generally, leases are handy when one party has the capital to purchase the asset and another party does not have the capital to do so but would like access to the asset.

Why It Matters

There are many kinds of leases. Some allow the lessee to buy the asset at the end of the lease term, some do not, for example. Regardless, a lease is a legal contract, and violating a lease can result in monetary damages or other remedy by a court. Generally speaking, leases set forth the lease dates, the payments required, and guarantees that the lessor actually owns the asset that he or she is leasing to the lessee.

Accounting for leases can be complicated. There are two general types: operating leases and capital leases. An operating lease is simply a lease on an asset that does not give the lessee rights similar to those of an owner of the asset. Generally, lease payments made under a capital lease go on the income statement and thus reduce profits.

A capital lease is the opposite—it gives the lessee rights similar to those of an owner of the asset. Generally, lease payments made under a capital lease are recorded on the balance sheet and thus do not reduce profits.

GAAP rules state that to determine whether the lease is an operating lease, the lease must not have any of these characteristics:

1The life of the lease must not be longer than 75% of the life of the asset.
2The lessor cannot transfer ownership of the asset to the lessee at the end of the lease term.
3There cannot be an option to purchase the asset at a "bargain price" at the end of the lease term.
4The present value of the lease payments cannot exceed 90% of the fair market value of the asset.

Source: Investing Answers

What It Is

An operating lease is simply a lease that does not give the lessee rights similar to those of an owner of the asset.

How It Works

Let's assume Company XYZ needs a widget machine for its factory. The widget machine costs $1,000,000 to buy, but Company XYZ could also lease the widget machine for $2,000 a month instead. This certainly could preserve a considerable amount of cash for the company. If Company XYZ enters into an operating lease for the asset, it also will not assume any of the risks of ownership by leasing the machine rather than buying it. However, it will have to record all of the lease payments on its income statement (thereby reducing its net income) rather that placing the asset on its balance sheet and recognizing only depreciation on the income statement.

Why It Matters

The buy-versus-lease question is one of the most common in the business world. There are considerable tax and income advantages and disadvantages on both sides, as there are for the operating-versus-capital lease decision.

The payments on an operating lease must be expensed, meaning the lease payments must be recorded on the income statement and thus reduce net income. The asset does not appear on the lessee's balance sheet in an operating lease. This is a different accounting treatment than what would be the case for a capital lease, whereby the lessee enjoys rights that are usually only reserved for someone who actually owns the asset (in that case, the lease payments are capitalized, meaning they appear on the balance sheet instead and thus do not affect net income).

There is certainly the temptation to structure a lease contract such that Company XYZ's lease payments are essentially a series of installments toward the purchase of the asset over time, thereby making Company XYZ the owner at the end of the lease term. But GAAP rules see through most schemes to make asset purchases look like leases. Thus, GAAP rules state that to determine whether the lease is an operating lease, the lease must not have any of these characteristics:

1The life of the lease must not be longer than 75% of the life of the asset.
2The lessor cannot transfer ownership of the asset to the lessee at the end of the lease term.
3There cannot be an option to purchase the asset at a "bargain price" at the end of the lease term.
4The present value of the lease payments cannot exceed 90% of the fair market value of the asset.

Source: Investing Answers