The engine estimates a cost from the driver profile, vehicle and available data. A modelled amount remains an estimate.
CzymPojade methodology
Car costs.
Assumptions you can check.
One TCO v6 engine calculates car acquisition and use for individuals and businesses. It shows operating costs, forecast resale and tax. Return-only rental is calculated separately from a quote you provide.
BEVHEVPHEVpetroldieselLPG
01Common scenario
Match the period and mileage.
The reference case uses five years. Set the price, mileage, driving mix and tax profile before comparing; your inputs replace defaults.
5 yearsreference horizon
15,000 kmreference annual mileage
40 / 35 / 25%city / road / motorway
75,000 kmtotal in this example
Financing comparisons keep the same vehicle, equipment, mileage, horizon and operating assumptions. Services included in each contract can change what you pay separately.
02Inputs
Choose how each cost is calculated.
Private and business profiles share the engine. The business profile adds tax conditions; the advanced form allows manual calculation inputs.
Enter an annual amount including tax for a category. Zero is an explicit assumption; an empty field is not zero.
The selected category does not contribute to the comparison. Equipment has a separate one-off price, added to the vehicle value on purchase.
Services listed in a rental quote are not charged again, even if the shared scenario has a manual budget. The declared budget remains recorded.
03Nominal result
TCO and monthly payments answer different questions.
For a car bought and sold at the end, this balance measures the economic cost. Acquisition is counted once. Average monthly TCO is total TCO divided by months, not the contractual instalment.
acquisition + financing interest
operating costs
gross sale proceeds
net tax and other benefits
TCO after adjustments
The adjustment includes modelled deductions and tax on sale; it can increase or reduce TCO. Return-only rental uses contract fees + costs outside the package − tax benefits. The renter neither buys nor sells the car.
04Four ways to use a car
One vehicle, four payment structures.
A comparison requires the same horizon and explicit financing terms. Missing quotes are unavailable. A partial result selects the cheapest only among calculated options.
Cash
The equipped vehicle price is paid initially. Forecast or manually entered sale proceeds are deducted at the end, with modelled tax adjustments.
Loan
Provide the financed principal, term and nominal interest rate. Principal funds the acquisition; interest is a separate cost. A sale before the loan ends settles outstanding principal.
Lease with buyout
The down payment, instalments and buyout form the acquisition schedule. After buyout, the vehicle remains in the scenario until sale. Full-service coverage ends with the contract; operating costs then resume.
Return-only rental
A monthly gross payment and a contract term matching the analysis are required. Declared initial, return and excess-mileage fees are added. There is no renter acquisition, depreciation, buyout or resale value.
A nominal interest rate is not APR. Bank commissions and additional finance fees are not inferred from the rate. Initial cash shown in the comparison excludes the first month of operating costs. Refundable rental deposits are not modelled. Missing mileage terms mean unknown conditions, not unlimited mileage.
05Calculation components
From vehicle inputs to the cost balance.
The result retains categories and cost assumptions. Its detailed ledger reconciles with headline TCO; tax is shown separately.
Resale value
Residual value is a forecast or a manually entered sale assumption.
- Age, mileage, powertrain and model adjustments affect the forecast.
- A manual value is not a guaranteed buyback without a corresponding contract.
- Return-only rental has zero renter RV and economic depreciation.
Fuel and electricity
Consumption depends on driving mix, speed, driving style and charging conditions.
- PHEVs combine fuel and electricity using the electric-driving share.
- Wall-measured electricity consumption does not receive charging losses a second time.
- Edit tariffs and prices or replace the energy calculation with an annual budget.
Maintenance, repairs and tyres
Schedules and failure risks are model assumptions that can be replaced with your own costs.
- Age, mileage, service channel and vehicle configuration affect the estimate.
- Repairs are an expected cost, not a forecast invoice.
- Rental packages suppress only their declared included categories.
Insurance and assistance
Liability insurance, comprehensive cover and assistance have independent controls.
- Each can be automatic, manual or excluded.
- An automatic premium is not an insurer or broker quote for a specific driver or fleet.
- A service included in the rent is not added again outside the payment.
Equipment and fees
Equipment is added to the vehicle price once. Recurring and one-off fees have separate inputs.
- In rental, equipped vehicle value is only a reference for tax limits.
- The registration override accepts an explicit zero.
- Parking, tolls, inspections and other budgets depend on the selected scope.
Business use: Poland in 2026
The Polish profile separates VAT, income-tax deductions and vehicle disposal.
- Vehicle-value caps: PLN 225,000 for BEV/hydrogen; PLN 150,000 below 50 g CO₂/km; PLN 100,000 from 50 g/km. Unknown combustion CO₂ uses a conservative PLN 100,000.
- VAT recovery is zero for a non-registered user, normally 50% for mixed use or 100% when exclusive-business conditions are met. Recovered VAT is not deducted again from taxable income.
- The 75% rule applies to mixed operating expenses. Comprehensive insurance has a separate PLN 150,000 cap. Lease and rental deductions distinguish capital and services.
Timing, NPV and capital
Nominal TCO, present value and opportunity cost are separate measures.
- NPV discounts the initial payment, instalments and terminal settlement; operating costs use year-end timing.
- Rental operating tax follows each year’s expenses. Purchase and lease recurring tax benefits are averaged across years.
- Opportunity cost is an optional scenario, not a charge added to baseline TCO. The inflation view is separate from nominal TCO.
06Uncertainty
A forecast is not a cost guarantee.
Where a result includes an uncertainty simulation, percentiles describe its scenarios under the stated assumptions. Comparing four financing quotes does not itself run such a simulation.
P1010% of simulated costs fall below this value
P50the median simulated cost
P9090% of simulated costs fall below this value
P10–P90 covers the middle 80% of model results. It does not validate the inputs or future sale price. Quoted rent is a contract input; costs outside its package may still change.
07Sources and provenance
Quotes, catalogue records and estimates have different status.
Source and date matter as much as the number. A catalogue entry does not mean every parameter of that variant has been verified.
| Area | Provenance | Freshness | How to interpret |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price and contract | User-entered inputs | Date of the supplied quote | A manual amount is a declaration; the calculator does not authenticate a document. |
| Variant and battery | Catalogue and source documents | Per record | Check the variant, source and usable or total capacity; missing information does not justify guessing. |
| Fuel and electricity | Price feeds, tariffs and reference assumptions | Per timestamp | Not every rate is live. Stored data or model assumptions may be used when updates are unavailable. |
| RV, repairs and insurance | Models, reference parameters and manual inputs | Per version and source | Forecasts are not binding buyback, repair or insurance offers. |
| Polish 2026 limits | Polish Ministry of Finance | 2026 legislation | CO₂ must be established for the specific vehicle; a PHEV label alone does not establish the higher limit. |
| Tax deduction structure | Polish MF guidance and CIT Act | Including 2026 amendments | Older guidance explains mechanisms; its historical monetary limits do not replace current ones. |
Results record the engine version and cost assumptions. Check data freshness, variant status and RV provenance separately. Failed calculations remain unavailable; they never become a zero-cost winner.
08Scope and limits
Checks before making a decision.
TCO structures a comparison. It does not confirm future prices, vehicle availability or your business’s tax eligibility.
Tax assumptions
The Polish scenario assumes a standard VAT invoice and a purchase under 2026 rules. Margin-scheme or private purchases, exemptions, older assets and individual depreciation require separate assessment. Polish rules must not be transferred to Germany or the UK.
Business sale
RV is gross. The model includes output VAT, income tax and a VAT adjustment approximated in whole years. Polish lump-sum taxation has no income deduction for costs; business asset disposal is modelled separately.
Unallocated rental package
If a rental quote does not separate services from the vehicle payment, deductions use a disclosed conservative approach. The model does not invent invoice components.
Fees outside the quote
Refundable deposits, return damage, early termination and undeclared commissions are not included automatically. A manual expense needs the right category and must not duplicate a package.
Tax timing and insurance
The model is not a monthly tax ledger. The Polish comprehensive-insurance cap uses acquisition value rather than a separate annual insured value; deduction timing and tax losses may require adjustment.
Partial comparisons
Missing loan, lease or rental terms remove that option from the ranking. The cheapest available calculation does not mean the cheapest offer on the market.
Reference: ADAC
Compare the assumptions too.
ADAC cost tables provide an external reference for cost categories and comparable scenarios.
CzymPojade has its own engine, data and tax scope. A similar horizon does not imply identical results, an affiliation or ADAC certification.
Examples and changes in TCO v6
Your inputs
Check the terms of your offer.
Enter the price, mileage and costs. The advanced calculator compares cash, loans, leasing with buyout and return-only rental.