VA Mortgage Calculator
Calculate VA loan payments including the VA funding fee and no-PMI benefit.
Related calculators
About
VA Mortgage Calculator
This VA mortgage calculator estimates the monthly payment on a loan backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, with no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance. Enter the home price, rate, and term, choose your eligibility, and it works out the VA funding fee, adds it to the loan if you finance it, and folds in property tax, insurance, and other costs to show the full monthly figure and a year-by-year schedule.
What a VA loan is
A VA loan is a mortgage guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and offered to veterans, active-duty service members, National Guard and Reserve members, and some surviving spouses. Eligibility usually rests on a DD Form 214 showing an honorable discharge. The VA does not lend the money itself; it guarantees part of the loan, which lets private lenders offer terms most borrowers could never get otherwise, starting with zero down. VA loans are a small share of all U.S. mortgages because of who qualifies, but they carry the lowest foreclosure rate of any major loan type.
The VA funding fee
In place of a down payment and mortgage insurance, most VA borrowers pay a one-time funding fee. It runs from 0% to 3.3% of the loan and depends on your down payment, whether this is your first VA loan, and the type of loan. The fee keeps the program running and covers losses when borrowers default, and it can be rolled into the loan rather than paid in cash at closing. Standard rates for a purchase:
| Down payment | First use | Later use |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 5% | 2.15% | 3.30% |
| 5% to under 10% | 1.50% | 1.50% |
| 10% or more | 1.25% | 1.25% |
A larger down payment lowers the fee. Some other cases are cheaper still: a streamline refinance (IRRRL) or a loan assumption is 0.50%, and a manufactured home that is not permanently affixed is 1.00%.
When the funding fee is waived
The funding fee is waived entirely for veterans who receive compensation for a service-related disability of 10% or more, and for eligible surviving spouses. For those borrowers a VA loan carries no down payment, no mortgage insurance, and no funding fee, which is about as inexpensive as a mortgage gets.
Other costs at closing
The funding fee is not the only closing cost. Expect a loan origination fee for processing, optional discount points to buy down the rate (two points or fewer is normal), a credit report fee, and an appraisal fee, which on a VA loan doubles as a check that you are not overpaying for the home. You will also prepay the first year of hazard insurance and property taxes, plus title insurance and a recording fee. One VA rule works in your favor: buyers may not pay certain charges, such as broker fees and real estate commissions, and sellers can cover closing costs up to 4% of the loan.
The upside of a VA loan
For anyone who qualifies, the terms are hard to beat:
- No down payment. Very few loans allow zero down; conventional loans usually want at least 5% and FHA at least 3.5%.
- No monthly mortgage insurance, unlike FHA MIP or conventional PMI, which removes a large recurring cost.
- Sellers may pay your closing costs, up to 4% of the loan amount.
- Reusable. You do not have to be a first-time buyer, and the benefit can be used again.
- Interest rates and closing costs that tend to run slightly lower than other loans.
- A VA appraisal, which gives some assurance you are paying a fair price.
The trade-offs
VA loans do not fit every situation:
- Only borrowers with the right service record qualify.
- The funding fee is a real cost for anyone who is not exempt.
- The loan cannot fund renovations, so a true fixer-upper is out.
- Not every seller or lender is comfortable with VA loans, and some handle them poorly, so it helps to work with an agent or lender who knows them.
- The home must be your primary residence; investment properties and raw land do not qualify.
- Closing involves more paperwork than a conventional loan.
For most eligible buyers, though, especially those exempt from the funding fee or putting little down, the VA loan is often the best choice. The funding fee is the number to watch: make sure its cost is outweighed by the benefits. Compare it against an FHA loan or a conventional mortgage before deciding.
Paying a VA loan off early
VA loans have no prepayment penalty. Federal rules under Title 38 give the borrower the right to prepay any amount at any time without a fee. Extra payments shorten the term and cut interest, and the More Options section of this calculator takes extra monthly, yearly, or one-time payments so you can see the savings in both interest and time. As with any prepayment, weigh it against the rest of your finances first. To check the price range your income supports, use the House Affordability Calculator.
The funding fee, tier by tier
The funding fee replaces mortgage insurance, and it is charged once on the loan amount rather than on the purchase price. The rates below have applied to purchase loans since 7 April 2023.
| Down payment | First use | After first use |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 5% | 2.15% | 3.3% |
| 5% or more | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| 10% or more | 1.25% | 1.25% |
Two things fall out of that table. A second VA loan with nothing down costs 3.3% instead of 2.15%, a difference of $3,450 on a $300,000 loan. And putting down 5% cuts the fee to 1.5% whether it is your first VA loan or your fourth, which is often the cheapest 5% a repeat borrower can spend.
Entitlement, and where loan limits still bite
A veteran with full entitlement has no VA loan limit. The cap is the appraised value or the purchase price, whichever is lower, together with what a lender will actually approve. County limits have not disappeared though. On loans above $144,000 the VA guarantees up to 25% of the amount, and that guaranty is figured from the county limit published by the FHFA, which for 2026 starts at $832,750 for a one-unit property and reaches $1,249,125 in high-cost counties.
Those limits matter when entitlement has already been used and not restored, for instance when a first VA loan is still outstanding on a home you kept. The remaining entitlement is the county limit less the amount already committed, and that difference sets what you can borrow with no down payment on the next purchase.
Residual income, the test other loans do not have
The VA looks past the debt-to-income ratio to the money left over each month after tax, housing costs and every debt payment. Its handbook publishes a minimum for each region of the country by household size and loan amount, and a file that meets the ratio but misses residual income does not pass. Once the debt-to-income ratio goes above 41%, the required residual figure rises by 20%.
This is the quiet reason VA loans have held up well through downturns despite the absence of a down payment. The test asks whether a household can afford to live, not merely whether it can afford the loan.
What is missing from the payment
There is no monthly mortgage insurance on a VA loan at any down payment. An FHA borrower with a small deposit typically pays 0.55% of the balance a year for the life of the loan, which on a $300,000 balance is $137 a month that a VA borrower does not pay. Over the years it takes to build 20% equity that gap does more for total cost than a modest difference in rate.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
On a purchase with no down payment, the funding fee is 2.15% of the loan for first-time use and 3.30% for later use. It drops to 1.50% with 5% down and 1.25% with 10% or more down. A streamline refinance or loan assumption is 0.50%. The fee can be financed into the loan.
Veterans receiving compensation for a service-related disability of 10% or more are exempt, as are eligible surviving spouses. For them, the loan has no down payment, no mortgage insurance, and no funding fee.
No. Zero down is the defining feature of a VA loan, one of very few mortgages that allow it. Putting money down is optional and lowers the funding fee, but it is not required.
No. VA loans carry no monthly mortgage insurance, unlike FHA loans (MIP) or low-down-payment conventional loans (PMI). The one-time funding fee takes the place of ongoing insurance.
Yes. The benefit is reusable and is not limited to first-time buyers. The funding fee is slightly higher on later use with no down payment (3.30% instead of 2.15%), but the entitlement can be restored and used again.
No. VA loans are for primary residences only, so investment properties and raw land do not qualify. They also cannot finance renovations, so a home needing major repairs to meet VA standards will not work.
Yes. Sellers are allowed to pay a buyer's closing costs up to 4% of the loan amount, though they are not required to. VA rules also bar buyers from paying certain charges, such as broker fees and real estate commissions.
No. Under Title 38, you can prepay any part of a VA loan at any time without a premium or fee. Extra payments reduce the balance, shorten the term, and cut total interest.
Not with full entitlement. The loan is capped by the appraised value or purchase price, whichever is lower, and by what a lender will approve. County limits still apply when part of your entitlement is tied up in another VA loan, and the remaining entitlement is worked out from the FHFA county limit, which starts at $832,750 for 2026.