At the end of your operating lease agreement you may simply return the equipment and you owe nothing further which means no liability in terms of residual values or FBT for the company following the end of the lease.
Only available through businesses, the benefits of an operating lease vs finance lease are that working capital is maintained, rentals will be fully tax deductible if the equipment is used to generate taxable income and there is no resale value risk as the financier will own the asset at the of the operating lease. Fully maintained operating leases can also include ongoing maintenance costs such as equipment servicing and fuel costs all in one regular monthly payment. This can greatly aid the business cash flow as precise equipment running costs are known well in advance.
For this reason, operating leases are generally the simplest path to equipment ownership for many businesses.
