VA Mortgage Calculator
Find your VA loan payment with zero PMI, see the one-time funding fee in full context, and compare your lifetime cost against FHA and conventional alternatives.
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Enter your values above to see the results.
Tips & Notes
- ✓Veterans with any service-connected disability rating are exempt from the VA funding fee — verify your status before closing to avoid paying unnecessarily.
- ✓The VA funding fee can be financed into the loan rather than paid at closing, preserving your cash for reserves, repairs, and moving costs.
- ✓VA loans have no PMI ever — this saves $100-300 per month versus conventional loans with under 20% down, compounding dramatically over long hold periods.
- ✓Putting 5% or 10% down on a VA loan significantly reduces the funding fee — worth considering if you have savings and plan to stay long-term.
- ✓VA IRRRL streamline refinance requires minimal documentation and no appraisal — the simplest refinance option when rates drop after purchase.
- ✓VA entitlement restores after selling and paying off the VA loan — you can use a VA loan multiple times throughout your lifetime.
Common Mistakes
- ✗Not verifying disability exemption status before closing — many veterans with ratings pay the funding fee unnecessarily and miss the retroactive refund.
- ✗Assuming VA loans are only for first-time buyers — entitlement is reusable and can fund multiple properties over a lifetime with proper restoration.
- ✗Overlooking the funding fee in cost comparisons — it must be included for an honest comparison against conventional and FHA options.
- ✗Not using a VA-experienced lender — VA loans have specific appraisal, condition, and entitlement requirements that inexperienced lenders routinely mishandle.
- ✗Assuming all VA lenders offer the same rate — VA loans are originated by private lenders who set their own rates; shopping multiple lenders matters.
- ✗Confusing VA loan limits with purchase price limits — VA does not cap purchase price for borrowers with full entitlement, only lenders apply their own maximums.
VA Mortgage Calculator Overview
A VA loan is a mortgage benefit earned through military service. It requires no down payment, carries no private mortgage insurance, and consistently offers competitive rates. The only unique cost is the VA funding fee — a one-time charge that replaces the monthly PMI you would pay for years on any conventional loan.
For eligible veterans and service members, a VA loan is almost always the most cost-effective home financing available.
What each field means:
- Home Price — full purchase price of the property
- Down Payment — optional; 0% is available; putting 5% or 10% down reduces the funding fee
- Interest Rate — annual rate from your VA-approved lender; shop multiple lenders
- Loan Term — typically 30 years; VA also offers 15-year terms
What your results mean:
- Monthly Payment — P&I only; no PMI ever added to this figure
- Loan Amount — after down payment; funding fee is typically added to this
- Total Paid — all payments over the full term
- Total Interest — interest only; does not include the one-time funding fee
Example — $350,000 home, 0% down, first VA use, 6.5% rate:
Loan amount: $350,000 VA funding fee (2.15% first use, 0% down): $7,525 Total financed: $357,525 Monthly P&I at 6.5%: $2,261 Monthly PMI: $0 (never required on VA loans) Monthly savings vs conventional 5% down: approximately $150/month in PMI avoided Funding fee paid once vs PMI paid for 8+ years: VA wins by roughly $7,000+
EX: VA vs conventional vs FHA — $350,000 home at 6.5% VA (0% down): $2,261/month — funding fee $7,525 one-time — no ongoing insurance Conventional (5% down): $2,094 P&I + $145 PMI = $2,239/month — PMI for ~9 years = $15,660 total FHA (3.5% down): $2,147 P&I + $135 MIP = $2,282/month — MIP for 30 years = $48,600 total VA total insurance cost over 30 years: $7,525. FHA: $54,900. Conventional: $15,660.
VA funding fee by use and down payment:
| Loan Use | 0% Down | 5-9.9% Down | 10%+ Down |
|---|---|---|---|
| First use | 2.15% | 1.50% | 1.25% |
| Subsequent use | 3.30% | 1.50% | 1.25% |
| Exempt (disability) | $0 | $0 | $0 |
VA vs conventional — 10-year total cost ($350,000 at 6.5%):
| Loan Type | Down Payment | Monthly Payment | 10-year total cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| VA (first use) | $0 | $2,261 | $279,645 |
| Conventional | $17,500 (5%) | $2,239 | $286,380 + $17,500 |
| FHA | $12,250 (3.5%) | $2,282 | $291,990 + $12,250 |
Veterans with a service-connected disability rating of any percentage are completely exempt from the VA funding fee — a savings of $7,525 on a $350,000 loan with zero down. If you have a pending disability claim when you close, pay the funding fee and file for a refund once the rating is approved. The VA issues retroactive refunds, and this is a benefit many veterans miss entirely because no one tells them at closing.
Frequently Asked Questions
VA loans are available to: active duty service members with 90+ continuous days, veterans with honorable or general discharge who served 181+ days during peacetime or 90+ days during wartime, National Guard and Reserve members with 6 years of service or 90+ days of active duty, and surviving spouses of veterans who died in service or from a service-connected disability. Eligibility is confirmed through a Certificate of Eligibility, which your lender can typically obtain electronically from the VA system.
For veterans with full entitlement — no active VA loans and no prior default — there is no VA loan limit. You can borrow any amount a lender will approve. For veterans with reduced entitlement due to an existing VA loan, limits apply based on county conforming loan limits. The practical limit is lender approval based on income, credit, and debt-to-income ratio. In high-cost areas, this effectively caps borrowing at conforming limits unless the veteran makes a down payment to cover the gap.
The VA funding fee is a one-time charge of 0.50% to 3.30% of the loan amount, paid at closing or financed into the loan. It replaces ongoing mortgage insurance required by conventional and FHA loans. For a first-time VA user with 0% down, the fee is 2.15%. Compared to 30 years of PMI totaling $15,000-$50,000 on similar loans, the funding fee is almost always the cheaper option. Veterans with any service-connected disability rating are completely exempt and should verify before closing.
Yes — VA entitlement is reusable. After selling a home and paying off the VA loan, full entitlement restores automatically. You can also have two active VA loans simultaneously if remaining entitlement supports it. Many veterans use VA loans repeatedly as they move, upgrade, or downsize. The property being purchased must be your primary residence — VA loans cannot be used for investment properties, though a multi-unit property up to 4 units qualifies if you occupy one unit.
VA appraisers evaluate both market value and minimum property requirements — the property must be safe, structurally sound, and sanitary. Requirements include functioning utilities, adequate heating, no lead paint hazards in pre-1978 homes, roofing with remaining useful life, and no active pest infestation in required states. VA appraisers tend to be stricter than conventional appraisers, which can complicate purchases of homes with deferred maintenance. The VA appraisal is not a home inspection — always hire an independent inspector regardless.
The Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan is a streamlined VA-to-VA refinance requiring minimal documentation, no new appraisal in most cases, and no income re-verification. The only requirements: you already have a VA loan on the property and the new rate must be lower than the current rate for fixed-to-fixed refinances. The funding fee is just 0.50%. Use IRRRL when rates drop 0.5% or more below your current rate — break-even on closing costs is typically 18-24 months. It cannot be used for cash-out refinancing.