VA Mortgage Calculator
Work out a VA home loan payment with the funding fee, property taxes, insurance and HOA dues included — plus the full amortization schedule and what extra payments would save you.
Guard and Reserve pay the same rates as regular military. Qualifying surviving spouses owe no funding fee.
| Monthly | Total |
|---|
| Down payment | First use | Repeat use |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 5% | 2.15% | 3.30% |
| 5% to 9.99% | 1.50% | 1.50% |
| 10% or more | 1.25% | 1.25% |
The highlighted row is the tier your entries fall into. Rates apply to purchase loans and are charged on the amount borrowed, not the sale price.
Refinance Rates| Refinance type | Rate |
|---|---|
| Streamline (IRRRL) | 0.50% |
| Cash-out, first use | 2.15% |
| Cash-out, repeat use | 3.30% |
A streamline refinance is charged the same flat rate however many times you have used the benefit. Cash-out refinances use the zero-down purchase rates no matter how much equity you hold.
What a VA loan really costs
The headline feature of a VA-backed mortgage is that qualifying buyers can finance the whole purchase price. No down payment, and — unlike every low-down-payment alternative — no monthly mortgage insurance for as long as you hold the loan. That combination is unusual enough that it is worth being precise about where the money actually goes, because "zero down" is not the same as "no cost."
What replaces mortgage insurance is a single charge called the funding fee, paid once, at closing. It is set by law rather than by your lender, it scales with your down payment and whether you have used the benefit before, and a large share of borrowers owe nothing at all. Most general mortgage calculators leave it out entirely, which is why they under-report a VA payment: on a $425,000 purchase with nothing down, the fee adds $9,137.50 to the balance before the first payment is even due.
The rest of the payment behaves like any other fixed-rate mortgage. Principal and interest are fixed for the term. Property tax, homeowners insurance and — where they apply — HOA dues sit on top, usually collected monthly into escrow, and those pieces drift upward over the years while the loan payment does not.
How this calculator works
Four steps run in order, and each one feeds the next.
1. The base loan. Subtract any down payment from the purchase price. This figure, not the sale price, is what the funding fee is charged on.
2. The funding fee. Look up the rate from your down payment tier, whether this is a first or repeat use, and your exemption status, then apply it to the base loan. If you finance the fee it is added to the balance; if you pay it at closing the balance is unchanged and the fee joins your cash to close.
Loan amount = Base loan + Funding fee (when financed)
3. The monthly payment. Standard amortization, with the monthly rate as the annual rate divided by twelve and the term in months.
P = loan amount · r = annual rate ÷ 12 · n = term in months
Worked through with the defaults on this page — $425,000, nothing down, 6.45% over 30 years — the financed fee brings the loan to $434,137.50 and the payment to $2,729.78 in principal and interest.
4. Everything else. Property tax, insurance, HOA dues and any other annual costs are divided into monthly amounts and added on. Each can be given its own yearly increase, which compounds once a year rather than every month, since that is how tax assessments and insurance renewals actually arrive. With 1.1% property tax, $2,100 of insurance and $3,600 of other costs, that same example lands at $3,594.37 leaving your account each month.
The schedule underneath is generated payment by payment rather than from a closed-form shortcut, which is what lets extra payments, mid-loan start dates and escalating costs all land in the right month.
The funding fee, tier by tier
Two things set the rate on a purchase loan: how much you put down, and whether you have used a VA loan before. Nothing else moves it.
- Under 5% down — 2.15% for a first use, 3.30% for any later use. This is the only tier where prior use costs you anything.
- 5% to 9.99% down — 1.50%, first use or not.
- 10% or more down — 1.25%, first use or not.
The repeat-use penalty in that first tier is steep — on a $425,000 zero-down purchase it is the difference between $9,137.50 and $14,025, or $4,887.50. It also vanishes completely at 5% down, which makes a modest down payment worth far more to a repeat borrower than to a first-time one. A first-time buyer moving from nothing down to 5% saves $3,081.25 in fee; a repeat borrower making the same move saves $7,968.75.
Refinances follow their own rule. A streamline refinance, the IRRRL, is charged a flat 0.50% no matter how many times you have used the benefit. A cash-out refinance is charged at the zero-down purchase rates regardless of how much equity you hold.
Who pays nothing
Exemption is common enough that it deserves checking before you plan around the fee at all. You owe nothing if you receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability rated 10% or higher, if you are entitled to that compensation but draw retirement or active-duty pay in its place, if you are an active-duty Purple Heart recipient, or if you are a qualifying surviving spouse.
On the running example, exemption removes $9,137.50 from the balance, drops the payment by $57.46, and saves roughly $20,684 across thirty years — because the fee, when financed, accrues interest like any other borrowed dollar.
Two practical notes. Your Certificate of Eligibility is what confirms the exemption, so it is worth having in hand before closing rather than after. And if a disability rating is granted retroactively to a date before your closing, a fee you already paid can often be refunded — a claim a fair number of eligible borrowers never file.
Roll the fee in, or pay it at closing?
Financing the fee is the default, and for good reason: it keeps cash in your pocket at the moment when cash is tightest. But it is not free. Rolling $9,137.50 into a 6.45% thirty-year loan adds $57.46 to every payment and about $20,684 in total — more than twice the fee, because you are borrowing it for three decades.
Paying it at closing is the cheaper option whenever the money is genuinely spare. Toggle the two settings on the calculator and the closing-cash row appears so you can see both sides at once. A third route worth asking about: sellers may contribute toward the fee as a concession, within the VA's limits on concessions, which is negotiable in a way the fee rate itself is not.
VA against FHA and conventional
The comparison people usually want is not really about the fee, it is about what the fee replaces.
An FHA loan charges an upfront premium and an annual mortgage insurance premium that, at the minimum down payment, stays for the life of the loan. A conventional loan under 20% down carries private mortgage insurance, which does fall away once you reach sufficient equity, but which you pay every month until then. A VA loan charges its fee once and never bills for insurance again.
That is why a zero-down VA payment frequently beats a 3.5%-down FHA payment and a 5%-down conventional payment on the same house, despite the larger balance. VA rates also tend to price slightly below conventional, which widens the gap further.
The trade-offs are real, though. Eligibility is limited to those who have earned it. The property must be your primary residence, so this is not a route to a rental. VA appraisals apply minimum property standards that can complicate a fixer-upper. And borrowing the full price means starting with no equity, which matters if you may need to sell within a few years.
Paying it down early
VA loans cannot carry a prepayment penalty, so anything extra goes straight against principal. The effect is larger than most people expect early on, when almost the whole payment is interest.
Adding $250 a month to the running example clears the loan in about 23 years and 10 months instead of 30, and cuts roughly $133,162 of interest. Open the extra-payments panel to model a monthly amount, a yearly lump sum such as a bonus, or a single one-off payment, each starting in whatever month you choose. The biweekly figure shown alongside is a different route to a similar place: half a payment every two weeks works out to thirteen monthly payments a year rather than twelve.
None of this is automatically the right call. Extra principal is a guaranteed return equal to your mortgage rate, which is a fair benchmark — but it is money you cannot easily get back, and it ranks behind an emergency fund and any employer retirement match.
What this calculator does not cover
A payment estimate is only as useful as the list of things it leaves out, so here is that list.
- Closing costs beyond the funding fee. Origination, appraisal, title, credit report and recording fees are all separate. Use the "other costs" field for recurring items such as maintenance or utilities, not one-time closing charges.
- Discount points. Buying down the rate changes both your cash at closing and your rate; model it by entering the bought-down rate directly.
- Adjustable rates. The schedule assumes a fixed rate for the full term.
- Entitlement limits. Borrowers with reduced or partially used entitlement may face a required down payment on larger loans. This tool prices the loan you describe; it does not certify that you qualify for it.
- Underwriting. The VA uses a residual-income test alongside debt-to-income, and neither is evaluated here. Your debt-to-income ratio and overall affordability are separate questions from the payment itself.
Rates shown are your input, not a quote. Actual figures come from a VA-approved lender and a Loan Estimate.
Frequently asked questions
Does the VA funding fee apply to the purchase price or the loan amount?
The loan amount. The fee is charged on what you actually borrow, so a down payment shrinks it twice — once by lowering the balance and again by moving you into a cheaper fee tier. On a $425,000 home with nothing down, the first-use fee is 2.15% of $425,000, or $9,137.50. Put 5% down and the fee is 1.50% of the remaining $403,750, or $6,056.25 — a $3,081.25 reduction on top of the smaller loan.
How much is the VA funding fee in 2026?
For a purchase with less than 5% down it is 2.15% the first time you use the benefit and 3.30% for any later use. From 5% up to 9.99% down it drops to 1.50%, and at 10% or more it falls to 1.25% — those two lower tiers are the same whether or not you have used a VA loan before. Streamline (IRRRL) refinances are charged 0.50%.
Do National Guard and Reserve members pay a higher funding fee?
Not any more. Guard and Reserve members once paid rates about a quarter-point above regular military, but that gap was removed and every service category now pays the same published rate. The calculator keeps the category as a separate choice because it still matters for entitlement and documentation, even though it no longer changes the fee.
Is it better to roll the funding fee into the loan or pay it at closing?
Paying it at closing is cheaper if you have the cash. Financing $9,137.50 at 6.45% over 30 years adds about $57.46 to the monthly payment and roughly $20,684 in total cost — more than double the fee itself. Rolling it in still makes sense when keeping cash on hand matters more than the long-run interest, which is often the case for a first purchase.
Who is exempt from the VA funding fee?
Borrowers receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability rated at 10% or higher, those entitled to that compensation but drawing retirement or active-duty pay instead, active-duty Purple Heart recipients, and qualifying surviving spouses. Exemption is confirmed from your Certificate of Eligibility, and a fee paid before a rating is granted can often be refunded afterward.
Why is my VA payment higher than the calculator's principal and interest figure?
Principal and interest is only the part that repays the loan. Your servicer usually also collects property tax and homeowners insurance into an escrow account each month, and HOA dues are billed separately. Fill in the tax, insurance, HOA and other-cost fields and the total out-of-pocket row shows the number that actually leaves your account.
Do VA loans have mortgage insurance?
No. There is no monthly mortgage insurance on a VA loan at any down payment, which is the main reason a zero-down VA payment can undercut a low-down-payment conventional or FHA payment on the same house. The one-time funding fee is what stands in for it, and unlike FHA's annual premium it never recurs.
Can I pay extra on a VA loan without a penalty?
Yes. Prepayment penalties are not permitted on VA-backed loans, so you can pay more whenever you like. Adding $250 a month to the example above clears the loan in about 23 years and 10 months instead of 30 and cuts roughly $133,162 of interest.
This calculator provides estimates for general information only and is not financial, tax, legal or lending advice, nor an offer of credit. Funding fee rates, eligibility rules and entitlement limits are set by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and can change; verify current figures with the VA or a VA-approved lender before making a decision. Learn more about how we build these tools or read our privacy policy.