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Source: Lease End 2026 Annual Lease Buyout Report, based on 19,287 completed buyouts.
Car Lease Payment Deferral: What You Need to Know
Published 1/5/26
Updated 7/30/26
TL;DR (4-minute read): Deferring a payment can provide short-term relief. However, it usually means your lease gets extended, and you may end up paying more in the long run. There are typically better options like restructuring your lease, buying it out, or transferring it to someone else.
Across the 19,287 lease buyouts Lease End completed in 2025, the average buyout loan payment was $563 per month versus $659 for a new lease on a comparable vehicle. For many drivers, a buyout lowers the monthly bill instead of pushing it down the road.
Reviewed by Zander Cook · Co-founder, Lease End
Managing finances during tough times is no easy feat. When bills pile up and every penny feels stretched, deferring a car lease payment can seem like a relief.
But before you hit the “pause” button, it’s important to understand the full picture. Let’s walk through the ins and outs of deferring car lease payments—what it means, when it works, and when it might backfire.
What is a Car Lease Payment Deferral?
A car lease payment deferral is basically an agreement that lets you postpone one or more of your car lease payments. Sounds good, right? Well, it can be...
Whether or not you can defer your payment depends on your leasing company and your specific situation. Many companies will offer deferrals for those experiencing financial hardships, such as job loss, illness, or other emergencies.
But don’t wait until the last minute—contact your leasing company as soon as you foresee trouble. Some companies might even ask for proof of hardship before agreeing to the deferral.
What Happens When You Defer A Payment?
When you defer a payment, you essentially get a break from paying for a while. Some leases may temporarily reduce your payment to $0, while others might only reduce it to a smaller amount.
However, here’s the catch: the deferred payment doesn’t just disappear. It’s typically added to the end of your lease, meaning your lease term will be extended.
While a deferral can provide a short-term break, it does come with consequences—mainly, you’ll pay more over time due to accrued interest and potential fees.
The Hidden Cost of Extending: More Miles on the Clock
A deferral does not just move a payment. It keeps you driving the car longer, and mileage is where extra months quietly turn into money owed. Lease End data from 19,287 buyouts in 2025 shows the average driver hit 36,954 miles at lease-end, already 954 miles past the standard 36,000-mile cap. With overage fees running 10 to 30 cents per mile, that average driver is looking at roughly $300 in fees before a single deferred month is added.
Some vehicles run far higher. Jeep Wrangler lessees in the Lease End dataset averaged 44,740 miles, or 8,740 miles over the cap, which works out to about $2,622 in overage fees that a buyout avoids entirely. Every deferred month you keep driving adds to that total.
Read More: 2026 Lease Buyout Report
What Happens if I Don’t Defer a Payment?
If you decide not to request a deferral and simply miss a payment, you’re in dangerous territory. Late payments will be reported to credit agencies, which can cause your credit score to take a hit. A lower credit score means higher interest rates and less favorable terms when applying for future loans, credit cards, or car leases.
So, as tempting as it may be to "skip" the payment, it could cost you much more in the long run.
What a Credit Hit Actually Costs You on a Buyout Loan
The damage from a missed payment is not abstract. Lease End financed 19,287 buyouts in 2025 and the spread between credit tiers is stark. Here is the average APR by credit tier from the 2026 Annual Lease Buyout Report:
| Credit Rating | Score Range | Avg. APR |
| Exceptional | 800+ | 6.23% |
| Very Good | 740 to 800 | 6.60% |
| Good | 670 to 739 | 8.15% |
| Fair | 580 to 669 | 11.34% |
| Poor | Under 580 | 15.60% |
Source: Lease End 2026 Annual Lease Buyout Report, based on 19,287 completed buyouts.
Dropping from Good to Fair roughly triples the rate gap. On the average Lease End financed amount of $31,874 over a 72-month term, that difference costs thousands of dollars in interest. If a buyout is anywhere in your future, protecting your score now is worth more than one skipped payment.
One more note: Lease End works with credit scores as low as 520, so a rough patch does not automatically shut the door on a buyout.
How Long Can I Defer a Car Lease Payment?
The length of time you can defer a payment depends on the leasing company’s policies and your individual situation. Some companies may allow you to skip one or two payments, while others might offer more extended deferral options for people facing larger financial challenges.
The bottom line: talk to your leasing company early to understand your options.
Pros and Cons
A deferral might sound like a great quick fix, but it’s not always the best solution. Here’s a look at the Pros and Cons:
Pros
- Keep your car: The big win is that your car stays with you, so you don’t have to worry about repossession.
- Temporary relief: Deferring payments can buy you some time and give you a chance to focus on other financial priorities.
- Avoids default: By working with your leasing company to defer payments, you can avoid defaulting on your lease, which could have more severe consequences, such as damage to your credit score.
Cons
- Longer commitment: Deferring payments typically extends the duration of your lease agreement, meaning you’ll be paying for longer than expected.
- Higher Costs: The extension will likely result in higher costs down the line due to accrued interest and fees.
- Limited options: Not every lease agreement allows for deferrals, and there may be restrictions on how long you can defer or how many times.
- You may be sitting on equity you cannot access. Every one of the 10 most popular buyout vehicles in Lease End's 2025 dataset carried positive average equity, ranging from $2,397 on a Jeep Wrangler to $7,886 on a Honda CR-V. Deferring keeps you in the lease, which means that equity stays with the leasing company instead of you.
What to Do If You Can't Make Your Car Lease Payment
If deferring isn’t the right option for you, don’t panic, there are other choices to explore. Here are some alternatives that could help you avoid financial stress:
- Contact your leasing company: Reach out to your leasing company ASAP to discuss your situation and explore other solutions, like payment deferral or restructuring.
- Explore assistance programs: Some companies offer temporary payment reductions, lease extensions, or other forms of assistance for customers facing financial hardship.
- Consider a lease buyout: Depending on your lease terms and financial situation, you may want to buy out your lease with Lease End if your lease term is ending in the next few months. This involves financing through one of our trusted partners like Ally and Capital One.
- In 2025 the average Lease End customer captured roughly $5,500 in equity plus about $3,800 in avoided overage fees. Across all customers that added up to $73,155,589 in total savings. A buyout is often the option that puts money in your pocket rather than delaying a bill.
- Consider a lease transfer: Want to offload your lease? Some platforms let you transfer your lease to someone else, so you don’t have to continue paying.
- Sell or trade-in your vehicle: If a lease just isn’t feasible anymore, trading in or selling your leased car for a more affordable one could provide financial relief.
Read More: How to Get Out of a Car Lease
Deferral vs. Buyout: What the Numbers Say Right Now
If cash flow is the problem, it is worth comparing the two paths side by side rather than assuming a deferral is the cheaper one. Here is what Lease End's live portfolio looked like as of May 2026, drawn from more than 60,000 completed lease buyouts (and counting):
| Metric | Lease End Average (May 2026) |
| Average monthly payment | $576.37 |
| Average amount financed | $31,874 |
| Average loan term | 72.7 months |
| Average APR, all credit profiles | 9.05% (2026 YTD) |
| Minimum qualifying credit score | 520 |
Source: Lease End lease buyout loan rates page, updated monthly.
Financing conditions have also improved. The average lease buyout APR started 2025 at 9.49% and finished at 9.09%, and early 2026 has dipped further to 9.03%, the most favorable financing environment in over a year. Stretching your loan term is another lever: Lease End customers averaged 72.3 months in 2025, up from 70.2 months in 2022, which lowers the monthly payment without pausing anything.
The practical difference is this. A deferral gives you one month of relief and adds cost at the back end. A buyout can permanently reduce your monthly obligation, from a $659 average new lease payment down to a $563 average buyout payment, and it lets you keep whatever equity is in the car.
Your State May Change the Math
Rates are not uniform across the country. Lease End's state-level transaction data shows a national average buyout APR of 9.34% against a national median of 9.19%, but the range runs from 7.96% in Idaho to 11.29% in Oklahoma. On a $30,000 buyout financed over 72 months, that spread is worth more than $3,000 in additional interest. Lease End publishes a buyout guide for all 50 states plus D.C. with local averages for APR, equity, credit score, and mileage, so it is worth checking your state before deciding between a deferral and a buyout.
Wrapping It Up: Is Deferring Your Lease Payment the Right Move?
Deferring your car lease payment can be a lifesaver in the short-term, but it’s not without its risks. If you need immediate relief, it might be a good option—but be prepared for the long-term consequences, including extended payments and extra costs.
Always weigh your options and consider alternatives like a lease buyout, transfer, or restructuring before making a final decision.
Lease End has facilitated more than 50,000 lease buyouts since 2021 and unlocked $108 million in equity for drivers in 2025 alone. Before you defer, it is worth 60 seconds to find out whether your car is worth more than your payoff. The Lease End Buyout Score is a proprietary 0 to 100 rating built from popularity, reliability, replacement cost, equity, and mileage overage behavior, and it only requires your VIN, license plate, and email.
If you’re in a position to buy out your lease so you can be making loan payments rather than lease payments, check out our monthly payment calculator to get an estimate of your new payment amount.
To start the buyout process online, enter your VIN or license plate number in the form below.
If you want to chat through your options with an end-of-lease expert, give us a call at 888-307-5197.