With one lease, IFRS 16 is a calculation. With twenty, it is a data problem. The arithmetic does not get harder, but every year-end you need the same answers for every lease: what is the liability, how much is current, what was the depreciation and interest, and what payments fall due in which years. The tool that makes this manageable is a lease register.
This guide covers what an IFRS 16 lease register should contain, how to make sure it is complete, and a worked example that takes a three-lease register to the year-end figures and disclosures. A free Excel register is linked at the end.
Quick answer: An IFRS 16 lease register is a single list of every lease, one row per lease, holding the data needed to measure it: commencement date, lease term, payments and their timing, escalations, discount rate, initial direct costs, incentives, restoration costs and asset class. At each year-end, it is used to roll forward the lease liabilities and right-of-use assets and to prepare the disclosure note.
Download the free EunoiaData lease register and calculate your year-end figures →
What to track for every lease
Split the register into the data the calculation needs and the data that keeps it under control. Both matter: the first gets the numbers right, the second lets you prove they are right.
Calculation fields
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Lease name or reference | Links the row to the signed contract and to the ledger. |
| Asset class | IFRS 16 disclosures are given by class: land and buildings, motor vehicles, plant and equipment and so on. |
| Commencement date | The date the asset is available for use, not the signing date. Measurement starts here. |
| Lease term (months) | Including extension periods you are reasonably certain to exercise. |
| Payment amount, frequency and timing | Monthly, quarterly or annual; in advance or in arrears. Timing alone can move the liability by several percent. |
| Annual escalation | Fixed increases are part of the liability from day one. |
| Discount rate and rate type | Implicit rate or incremental borrowing rate. See our guide to setting the incremental borrowing rate. |
| Initial direct costs, incentives, restoration costs | Adjust the right-of-use asset at commencement. |
Control fields (keep these alongside)
- Lessor and contract location: who you pay and where the signed lease is filed.
- Options: renewal, termination and purchase options, their dates and your assessment of each.
- Index-linked payments: which index, the base value and the next review date.
- Modifications log: date, what changed and the revised discount rate used.
- Exemption flag: short-term or low-value, and why.
- Owner: the person in the business who tells finance when something changes.
Finding every lease: the completeness check
The most common register error is not a wrong number. It is a missing lease. Before each year-end, check for leases in these places:
- Payables: list every supplier paid rent, hire or rental charges in the year.
- Legal and procurement: contracts signed for property, vehicles, equipment and IT.
- Service contracts: outsourcing, logistics and data-centre agreements can contain an embedded lease if you control the use of a specific asset, such as dedicated trucks or servers.
- Branches and subsidiaries: local offices often sign leases that head office never sees.
- Ended and renewed leases: a lease that ran past its end date on a month-to-month basis may need reassessing.
Worked example: from register to year-end figures
A company prepares accounts for the year ending 31 December 2026. Its register holds three leases, all with annual payments in arrears on 31 December:
| Lease | Asset class | Commenced | Term | Annual payment | Discount rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head office | Land and buildings | 1 Jan 2024 | 5 years | 24,000 | 10% |
| Warehouse | Land and buildings | 1 Jan 2026 | 10 years | 36,000 | 11% |
| Delivery vans | Motor vehicles | 1 Jan 2025 | 4 years | 15,000 | 9% |
Each lease is measured at its own commencement date, then rolled forward to the reporting date. The warehouse is new this year; the other two are in their third and second years.
Lease liabilities for the year (US$)
| Lease | Opening 1 Jan 2026 | Interest | Payments | Closing 31 Dec 2026 | Current | Non-current |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head office | 59,684.45 | 5,968.44 | (24,000.00) | 41,652.89 | 19,834.71 | 21,818.18 |
| Warehouse | 212,012.35* | 23,321.36 | (36,000.00) | 199,333.71 | 14,073.29 | 185,260.42 |
| Delivery vans | 37,969.42 | 3,417.25 | (15,000.00) | 26,386.67 | 12,625.20 | 13,761.47 |
| Total | 309,666.22 | 32,707.05 | (75,000.00) | 267,373.27 | 46,533.20 | 220,840.07 |
* New lease: the amount recognised at commencement on 1 January 2026, shown as an addition in the disclosure note.
The current portion of each lease is next year’s payment less next year’s interest. For the head office: 24,000 − (41,652.89 × 10%) = 19,834.71.
Right-of-use assets (US$)
None of the leases had initial direct costs, incentives or restoration costs, so each asset’s cost equals its liability at commencement. Each is depreciated straight-line over its lease term.
| Lease | Cost | Depreciation 2026 | Accumulated depreciation | Carrying amount 31 Dec 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head office | 90,978.88 | 18,195.78 | 54,587.33 | 36,391.55 |
| Warehouse | 212,012.35 | 21,201.24 | 21,201.24 | 190,811.11 |
| Delivery vans | 48,595.80 | 12,148.95 | 24,297.90 | 24,297.90 |
| Total | 351,587.03 | 51,545.97 | 100,086.47 | 251,500.56 |
Totals by asset class
This is the view the disclosure note needs (IFRS 16 paragraph 53):
| Asset class | Right-of-use asset | Depreciation | Lease liability | Interest | Cash paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land and buildings | 227,202.66 | 39,397.02 | 240,986.60 | 29,289.80 | 60,000.00 |
| Motor vehicles | 24,297.90 | 12,148.95 | 26,386.67 | 3,417.25 | 15,000.00 |
| Total | 251,500.56 | 51,545.97 | 267,373.27 | 32,707.05 | 75,000.00 |
Additions to right-of-use assets in the year are 212,012.35 (the warehouse). The total charge to profit or loss is 84,253.02: depreciation of 51,545.97 plus interest of 32,707.05, compared with cash rent of 75,000.
The maturity analysis
IFRS 16 paragraph 58 requires a maturity analysis of lease liabilities under IFRS 7. It shows the undiscounted payments by time band, which is why it does not agree to the balance sheet until future interest is deducted:
| Undiscounted lease payments due | US$ |
|---|---|
| Within one year | 75,000.00 |
| Between one and five years | 183,000.00 |
| Later than five years | 144,000.00 |
| Total undiscounted payments | 402,000.00 |
| Less: future interest | (134,626.73) |
| Lease liability at 31 December 2026 | 267,373.27 |
The warehouse drives the “later than five years” band: it has nine payments left, four of them after 2031. The head office lease has two payments left (2027 and 2028) and the vans also have two.
The year-end disclosure checklist
From the register, a lessee usually needs:
- Right-of-use assets: carrying amount and depreciation by asset class, and additions in the year.
- Lease liabilities: current and non-current, either on the face of the balance sheet or in the notes.
- Interest expense on lease liabilities.
- Expense for short-term and low-value leases kept off the balance sheet.
- Variable payments not included in the liability.
- Total cash outflow for leases.
- The maturity analysis above.
- Significant judgements: lease terms with options and the discount rate approach.
The annual register routine
- Add new leases that commenced in the year, with their commencement-date figures.
- Remove leases that ended, after their final payment and derecognition.
- Reassess options: has anything made an extension or termination more or less likely?
- Record modifications and index changes, remeasuring the affected leases.
- Update the reporting year-end and recalculate.
- Reconcile the register totals to the general ledger and to the cash paid in the year.
Excel register or lease software?
A well-structured Excel register is enough for most small and medium-sized businesses. It becomes risky when you have hundreds of leases, frequent modifications, many currencies or several people editing the same file. Warning signs include formulas copied inconsistently between rows, hard-coded overrides and no record of who changed what. At that point, dedicated lease accounting software usually pays for itself. Below that point, the priority is a clean, consistent register and a reliable calculation engine.
Free lease register and portfolio calculator
The EunoiaData IFRS 16 Lease Portfolio gives you a free Excel lease register (no macros, one lease per row, up to 100 leases). Fill it in, upload it, and get your year-end lease liability (current and non-current), right-of-use assets, depreciation, interest and cash paid, lease by lease and totalled by asset class. Every row is checked before anything is calculated, and the file itself is discarded after reading.
Checking a single lease first? Use the IFRS 16 Lease Calculator, and see how the lease liability is calculated step by step.
Frequently asked questions
What is an IFRS 16 lease register?
A single list of every lease a company holds as lessee, one row per lease, with the data needed to measure it under IFRS 16 and to prepare the year-end disclosures.
What information should a lease register include?
At minimum: lease reference, asset class, commencement date, lease term including reasonably certain options, payment amount, frequency and timing, escalations, discount rate, initial direct costs, incentives and restoration costs. Many companies also track options, index reviews, modifications and the contract owner.
Do short-term and low-value leases go in the register?
It is good practice to list short-term leases and flag them as exempt, so you can show completeness and disclose their expense. Very small low-value items such as individual laptops are usually tracked separately rather than in the IFRS 16 register.
Why doesn’t the maturity analysis agree to the lease liability?
The maturity analysis shows undiscounted payments, while the balance sheet shows their present value. The difference is the interest that will be charged in future years.
Can I manage IFRS 16 leases in Excel?
Yes, for a moderate number of leases with simple terms. Use one row per lease, consistent formulas, and a documented year-end routine. Consider lease software once you have hundreds of leases or frequent modifications.
This article explains the general requirements of IFRS 16 for lessees and uses a simplified example. It is not accounting advice for any specific lease portfolio. For help with your leases, talk to our team.