Truck finance for rigid trucks, prime movers and trailers

What is the best way to finance a truck?

For most owner-drivers and fleets that will keep the truck, a chattel mortgage: the business owns the truck from day one, a GST-registered business claims the GST in the price on its next BAS, and the interest and depreciation are deductible. Hire purchase reaches the same tax result with the lender holding title until the last payment; PACCAR Financial and BOQ both publish it with repayments that can follow seasonal cash flow. A lease suits a fleet that turns trucks over on a cycle and wants to hand them back.

On a new truck, the maker’s finance arm is worth a quote alongside the banks. For a used truck, a mixed fleet or a private sale, a bank or a broker comparing several lenders is the better starting point.

What are the current interest rates for truck finance?

There is no single published rate. The banks price each truck and business individually and publish discounts rather than rates, such as CommBank’s up to 1% p.a. off electric trucks. What moves your rate: new or used, the truck’s age at the end of the term, the term and any balloon, how long you have traded, your financials and credit file, and whether the truck is on a contract.

How balloons work on truck finance

A balloon leaves part of the price owing at the end of the term, which lowers the monthly repayment. Illustration: $80,000 over five years at 10% p.a. is about $1,700 a month with no balloon and about $1,493 with a 20% ($16,000) balloon. Interest is charged on the balloon for the whole term, so the total cost is higher, and Westpac notes the same trade-off. Set the balloon below what you expect the truck to be worth at the end, so selling it covers the lump sum.

Owner-drivers and new operators

Lenders look at the driver’s experience, the truck, and the work it will do. A contract or letter of intent from a freight company helps a new owner-driver, and CommBank publishes 12 months of trading as a floor for its equipment finance. Under 12 months, expect to need a deposit, a guarantor with equity or a lender that specialises in new ABNs.

Trucks, GST and the car limit

The car limit that caps the GST credit and depreciation on passenger cars ($69,883 for 2026-27, with a GST credit cap of $6,353) applies to vehicles designed to carry fewer than nine passengers and a load under one tonne. A truck built to carry a load of one tonne or more is outside it, so a GST-registered business on a chattel mortgage or hire purchase can generally claim the GST on the full price and depreciate the full cost. Most trucks cost well over the $20,000 instant asset write-off threshold and go into the small business pool instead.