VA Loan Calculator

• Applies the current VA funding fee table: first use or subsequent use, purchase or cash-out refinance, and the down payment tiers of under 5%, 5% to under 10% and 10% or more.
• Waives the fee for borrowers who are exempt, including veterans who receive disability compensation, surviving spouses and Purple Heart recipients on active duty.
• Shows that a VA loan has no monthly mortgage insurance, and compares the total cost over ten years with a conventional loan with PMI.
• Handles reduced entitlement, where a county loan limit and a down payment can apply.

How to use this calculator

Enter the home price, your down payment, the VA interest rate and the term. Say whether this is your first use of the VA loan benefit and whether it is a purchase or a cash-out refinance. Tick the exemption box if you do not pay the funding fee. Your Certificate of Eligibility shows your status.

Open Advanced to choose whether the fee is financed or paid at closing, set property tax, insurance and HOA, enter reduced entitlement, and change the conventional loan used for comparison.

The VA funding fee

The funding fee is a one-time charge on a VA loan. It replaces monthly mortgage insurance and helps keep the program running without cost to taxpayers. The percentages below are from the VA and apply to loans that close on or after April 7, 2023:

The fee is a percentage of the loan before the fee is added, and it can be rolled into the loan. This calculator covers purchases and cash-out refinances; the IRRRL is a streamlined rate refinance and is not modelled.

Who does not pay the fee

You do not pay the funding fee if you receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability, or are eligible for it but receive retirement or active-duty pay instead. Surviving spouses who receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation are also exempt, and so is an active-duty service member who shows evidence of a Purple Heart on or before the closing date. A service member with a rating decision issued before closing can also qualify. If you are later awarded compensation with an effective date before closing, you may be able to claim a refund. A rating issued after closing does not qualify.

A worked example

Consider a $400,000 home bought with no down payment on a first use of the benefit. The funding fee is 2.15%, or $8,600. Financed, it makes the loan $408,600. At 6.25% for 30 years, principal and interest is $2,516. With $367 a month in tax and $150 in insurance, the total monthly payment is about $3,032, with no mortgage insurance.

Putting down 5% cuts the fee to 1.50% and the monthly payment to $2,891; 10% down brings the fee to 1.25% and the payment to $2,761. On a subsequent use with nothing down, the fee is 3.30% ($13,200) and the payment $3,061. An exempt borrower pays $2,980.

VA versus conventional

The same home on a conventional loan with 5% down at 6.5% needs $20,000 of cash and carries PMI of $253 a month until it can be cancelled (on request at 80% of the original price, automatically at 78%). The VA loan needs no down payment and no PMI, though the funding fee is added to the loan. Total monthly payment: $3,032 for the VA loan against $3,172 for the conventional loan. Over ten years the VA loan costs $246,094 in interest and fees, against $260,772 in interest and PMI for the conventional loan.

The result moves with the rate gap, your credit and the down payment, so use the Advanced fields to test your own quotes.

Loan limits and entitlement

If you have full entitlement, there is no VA loan limit. The VA guarantees part of the loan, and the lender decides how much it is willing to lend based on your income, credit and the value of the home. If you have used entitlement that has not been restored, for example you still own a home bought with a VA loan, the guaranty is 25% of the county loan limit minus the entitlement already used. Lenders generally lend up to four times your remaining entitlement without a down payment and ask for 25% of the amount over it. The county limit follows the conforming loan limit, which in 2026 is $832,750 in most counties and up to $1,249,125 in the highest-cost areas.

As an example, with $150,000 of entitlement still in use, the same $400,000 home needs a down payment of about 10.45% ($41,812). With 10.5% down the monthly payment is $2,748.

Assumptions and limitations

• Funding fee table. The rates are from the VA as of October 2026. Congress can change them, and a bill to change refinance fees was before the House in 2026 but had not become law at the time of writing.
• Eligibility is not assessed. You need a Certificate of Eligibility and must meet the lender's credit and income standards. VA sets no minimum credit score, but lenders do.
• Residual income and appraisal. VA lenders also check residual income and the home must meet VA property requirements. Neither is modelled.
• Occupancy. The home must generally be your primary residence.
• Conventional PMI is an estimate based on the rate you enter.
• Closing costs other than the funding fee are not included.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the fee. It adds thousands to the loan. Check whether you are exempt before you assume it applies.

Ignoring the benefit of a down payment. Even 5% down cuts the fee by almost a third for a first-use buyer.

Comparing the rate only. A VA loan may have a slightly lower rate than a conventional loan and still cost more once the fee is counted; compare total cost.

Assuming an old rating counts. A rating decided after closing does not make you exempt for that loan.

Frequently asked questions