If you need a computer for home use or for your business, then you have to make a decision between owning and leasing. Leasing the computer can prevent you or your business from getting stuck with paying large sums of money for computer equipment that will go obsolete in a year or two. On the other hand, with most leasing plans you will end up paying more in the long run than you would if you bought the same computer all at once.
When deciding between owning and leasing, you should take several factors into account: how easily you can afford paying for the computer up front, what type of equipment you need, and how important it is to you to stay on top of the latest technology. If you can afford to buy the computer now, then you should probably do so because you will save more money overall compared with leasing. This also depends on the type of computer you want – although your business might not afford an expensive macro computer, maybe your business can afford another personal computer. Most equipment leased by computer leasing agencies involves expensive, high-end equipment, usually because it’s initially less affordable. Your business might save money with computer leasing because it can spend the extra money on more urgent needs, while spreading out the computer payments over several months or years.
Many people prefer leasing computers to buying them because leasing guarantees that you won’t end up with a lot of obsolete technology that you can’t get off your hands because no one else wants to buy it, either. If you choose to lease a computer, you will just return it at the end of the one- or two-year lease. While this may sound like the ideal solution, remember that you will probably pay just as much if not more for that computer than you would if you had bought it at first. In this sense, the benefits of leasing hinge mainly upon convenience. You can also avoid going obsolete through other methods of computer leasing. One option includes building upgrades into your lease. With this lease structure, once your lease reaches the end of its term, you can exchange that computer for the next edition.
Before you decide to lease a computer, make sure you know all the company’s rules and fees. Some leases require you to have computer insurance, another cost that you might not have for your own computer. Also ask about other fees, such as document processing fees, shipping fees (which can reach well over $100 per computer), security deposits (depending on your credit), and early termination fees for returning the equipment before the end date on the lease.
One of the major financial benefits of computer leasing involves the money that you can write off on your taxes. The IRS doesn’t look at a computer lease as a purchase, but as a tax-deductible overhead expense. The government allows you to write off about $100,000 on your corporate income taxes when your business leases computers. In order to determine whether computer leasing will benefit you or harm you, you should calculate the specific cost of leasing versus owning, and take into account if the money which would be used to purchase computers could currently be put to better use.
By Lisa Zyga