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VA Loan Calculator 2026 — Payment Including the Funding Fee
VA loans often require no down payment, but most borrowers pay a one-time VA funding fee that is typically financed into the loan. This calculator adds that fee so your estimate reflects your real payment.
A VA loan calculator needs to account for the VA funding fee, a one-time charge that ranges from 1.25% to 3.30% of the loan amount depending on your down payment and whether it is your first time using VA loan benefits. Most borrowers finance the fee into the loan rather than paying it in cash, which slightly raises the loan amount and payment.
- ✓Effective April 7, 2023: the VA funding fee is 2.15% first use with less than 5% down, dropping as low as 1.25% with 10%+ down.
- ✓Subsequent use of VA benefits with less than 5% down raises the fee to 3.30%.
- ✓Veterans receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability and certain surviving spouses are exempt from the funding fee.
- ✓VA loans generally allow financing with no down payment for eligible borrowers, subject to entitlement and lender guidelines.
- ✓VA underwriting evaluates a residual income test alongside debt-to-income ratio rather than relying on DTI alone.
What this means for you: a VA payment estimate that ignores the funding fee will understate your real loan amount and monthly payment.
Written by
Simply Approved Mortgages Team
Licensed Loan Officers · NMLS# 2620881
Get your personalized scenario summary
Complete the short request and a Simply Approved Mortgages Loan Officer sends back a written summary built from your own numbers: estimated payment breakdown, estimated cash to close, the loan structures that fit your file, and what documentation the file will need.
- Estimated monthly payment with taxes and insurance
- Estimated cash to close for your scenario
- Loan options your profile may fit
- Document checklist for your file
Takes about 3 minutes · Summary shown on screen and emailed to you
Illustration only, generated from the information you enter. Not a rate quote, lock, loan estimate, pre-qualification, offer, approval, or commitment to lend. Figures are subject to credit, income, asset and property review and full lender underwriting; binding numbers appear on your Loan Estimate.
Scenario summary
- Purchase price entered
- $412,000
- Down payment entered
- $20,600
- Estimated loan amount
- $391,400
- Estimated cash to close
- $14,300
- Programs reviewed
- 4
Sample layout with example figures — your own numbers replace these. Simply Approved Mortgages LLC · NMLS #2620881 · Equal Housing Opportunity.
VA loan payment calculator
Monthly payment breakdown
Loan amortization summary (30-year term)
Assumes a fixed-rate 30-year loan held to maturity with no prepayments. Actual amortization varies with extra principal payments, escrow adjustments, PMI/MIP, and any rate resets on an ARM.
Use my estimate — see today's rates
We'll pre-fill your calculator numbers into the quote form below. A Simply Approved Mortgages Loan Officer will personally connect with you to walk through your scenario.
Pre-approval is a soft check with no SSN and no hard credit pull. Not a loan approval or commitment to lend — binding figures appear on your federally required Loan Estimate.
Turn these numbers into a real pre-approval
Continue on our secure application page. Your Simply Approved Mortgages Loan Officer will review your numbers and follow up within one business day.
No obligation. Soft-pull options may be available.*
Run your scenario with a loan officer
Share your numbers and a Simply Approved Mortgages Loan Officer sends back an estimated payment, estimated cash to close, and the structures that fit your file. Educational only — not a quote, lock, offer, or commitment to lend.
Why the VA funding fee matters to your calculator inputs
VA loans are one of the few loan types that regularly allow a purchase with no down payment for eligible service members, veterans, and certain surviving spouses. In exchange for that benefit, most borrowers pay a one-time VA funding fee, which offsets the cost of the VA guaranty program for taxpayers since there is no monthly mortgage insurance. A calculator that ignores the funding fee will show a lower loan amount and payment than what actually closes.
How the funding fee is calculated
The fee is a percentage of your loan amount, and the percentage depends on two things: your down payment size and whether this is your first time using VA loan benefits. As of April 7, 2023, purchase and construction loans use the following schedule:
- Less than 5% down: 2.15% first use / 3.30% subsequent use
- 5% or more (but less than 10%) down: 1.50% first use / 1.50% subsequent use
- 10% or more down: 1.25% first use / 1.25% subsequent use
Cash-out refinances use a flat 2.15% first use / 3.30% subsequent use fee, and other transaction types — including Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans, Native American Direct Loans, manufactured home loans, and loan assumptions — have their own separate fee percentages.
Financed versus paid in cash
Most borrowers finance the funding fee into the total loan amount rather than paying it at closing, similar to how FHA borrowers typically finance UFMIP. This means your VA loan amount is often slightly higher than the purchase price minus your down payment, and your monthly payment reflects interest on that higher balance. The calculator above lets you add the funding fee to see this effect on your estimate.
Who is exempt from the VA funding fee
Certain borrowers are exempt from the funding fee entirely:
- Veterans receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability
- Veterans entitled to receive VA compensation but receiving retirement or active-duty pay instead
- Veterans rated eligible to receive compensation based on a pre-discharge claim review or exam
- Surviving spouses of Veterans who died in service or from a service-connected disability
- Service members who provide evidence of receiving the Purple Heart on or before loan closing
Your Certificate of Eligibility will typically indicate exemption status, and your lender confirms it before closing.
Want these numbers built around your file?
A short request is all it takes to get a written scenario summary back from a Simply Approved Mortgages Loan Officer. Binding figures appear on your Loan Estimate.
Why VA loans have no monthly mortgage insurance
Unlike FHA loans, which charge both an upfront and an ongoing annual mortgage insurance premium, and conventional loans with less than 20% down, which typically require monthly PMI, VA loans do not have a recurring mortgage insurance charge. The one-time funding fee replaces that ongoing cost, which is one reason VA loan payments can be meaningfully lower than FHA or PMI-bearing conventional loans at the same interest rate and loan amount.
How VA underwriting evaluates affordability
VA loans do not rely on a hard debt-to-income ceiling the way FHA and conventional loans generally do. Instead, VA guidance references a benchmark debt-to-income ratio while also requiring a residual income test based on family size and region of the country, which verifies that a household has enough money left over each month for ordinary living expenses after the proposed housing payment and debts. This dual approach can allow approval at a higher DTI than other loan types when residual income is strong.
What else affects your estimated VA payment
Property taxes, homeowners insurance, and any HOA dues are added on top of principal, interest, and the financed funding fee to reach your full estimated payment. VA loans are available in 15-, 20-, and 30-year terms, and the term you choose changes both the monthly payment and total interest paid over the life of the loan, just as it would with any other loan type.
How a Simply Approved Mortgages Loan Officer helps
Your exact funding fee percentage, exemption status, and rate depend on details specific to your file, including your Certificate of Eligibility, prior VA loan use, and down payment. A Simply Approved Mortgages Loan Officer can confirm your funding fee tier and generate a Loan Estimate with binding numbers.
Figures shown are illustrative only and not a quote, lock, offer, or commitment to lend. Binding figures appear on your Loan Estimate.
What you can do with this loan
Estimate a full VA monthly payment including the financed funding fee.
Compare first-use versus subsequent-use funding fee scenarios.
See how a down payment as small as 5% or 10% lowers the funding fee tier.
Model 15-, 20-, and 30-year VA terms side by side.
Prepare realistic numbers before starting a VA pre-approval conversation.
Pros & cons — honest tradeoffs
Pros — Pros & cons
- +Can allow financing with no down payment for eligible borrowers, subject to entitlement.
- +No recurring monthly mortgage insurance, unlike FHA MIP or conventional PMI under 20% down.
- +Residual income test can support approval at a higher DTI than other loan types when strong.
- +Funding fee is typically financed rather than required in cash at closing.
- +Many disabled veterans and certain surviving spouses are exempt from the fee entirely.
Cons / watch-outs — Pros & cons
- −The funding fee still adds to your loan balance and the interest paid over time.
- −Subsequent use of VA benefits raises the funding fee percentage at lower down payment levels.
- −VA loans require a VA appraisal, which can add time and property condition requirements.
- −Not available to buyers without qualifying military service, spousal eligibility, or specific program access.
- −Entitlement limits can affect maximum loan amount without a down payment in higher-cost areas.
Compare loan officer compensation on your mortgage quote
Loan officer compensation is part of the cost of a mortgage. On eligible residential loans, Simply Approved Mortgages generally uses 1.5% lender-paid compensation. Enter the compensation shown on another lender's Loan Estimate to see the difference in dollars.
Compensation difference on this illustration: $3,750.
How lower compensation can help you
When less compensation is built into pricing, there can be room for a lower interest rate, which may lower your monthly payment.
Depending on the rate you choose, pricing can sometimes include a lender credit toward third-party closing costs, so you may bring less cash to closing.
A lower rate means a lower monthly payment, which can lower your debt-to-income ratio and may help you qualify for more home on the same income.
As a mortgage broker we compare pricing from wholesale lenders instead of offering a single bank’s retail pricing.
Tip: On page 2 of your Loan Estimate, look at Section A, "Origination Charges." If the lender pays the loan officer, that compensation usually does not appear there as its own line; it is built into the interest rate. That is why comparing the rate and any lender credits side by side matters.
Already have a Loan Estimate from another bank or broker? Share it with a Simply Approved Mortgages Loan Officer, who will compare the rate, fees and credits side by side with options we can arrange. No cost to request a review.
Illustration only — not a quote, lock, offer, or commitment to lend; binding figures appear on your Loan Estimate. Lender-paid compensation is paid by the lender, not directly by you, and is part of the loan's pricing, so the loan is not free of costs. A lower compensation figure does not by itself guarantee a lower rate or lower closing costs; individual results vary by credit, loan type, property and market conditions. Residential lending in FL and CO only. Simply Approved Mortgages LLC · NMLS #2620881 · Equal Housing Opportunity.
Worked example
How this loan actually works — a full example
A first-time VA loan borrower purchases a $400,000 home with no down payment at an illustrative 6.25% rate on a 30-year term.
Inputs
- Purchase price
- $400,000
- Down payment
- $0
- Base loan amount
- $400,000
- VA funding fee (2.15%, first use)
- $8,600 (financed)
- Total loan amount
- $408,600
Calculation
- 1Estimated principal & interest~$2,516/mo (illustrative)
- 2Estimated taxes + insurance~$480/mo (illustrative)
- 3Monthly mortgage insurance$0 (not required on VA loans)
- 4Estimated total PITI~$2,996/mo (illustrative)
Illustrative only — not a quote, lock, offer, or commitment to lend. Binding figures appear on your Loan Estimate.
Purchase market update
What buyers should know this month
30-Yr Fixed · national avg
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15-Yr Fixed · national avg
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2026 buying power
Conforming baseline: $832,750
FHA floor / ceiling: $541,287 – $1,249,125
Funding fee replaces monthly MI
VA loans have no recurring mortgage insurance; a one-time funding fee applies instead.
Fee varies by down payment and use
Larger down payments and first-time use both lower the funding fee percentage.
Exemptions for disability and survivors
Borrowers with a qualifying VA disability rating and certain surviving spouses are exempt.
Cost and payment tools
Run your payment, affordability, closing cost and refinance numbers
Monthly payment, affordability, closing costs, refinance break-even and early payoff, all on one screen. This page is not written for one state, so property tax, insurance and transfer or recording charges start at neutral placeholder assumptions rather than published averages — Transfer, documentary-stamp and recording charges are set by your state and county — enter your own figure, or open the state page for a sourced seed. Insurance and tax assumptions vary widely by state, county and property, so replace these starting values with quotes for your address. Every figure is an illustrative estimate, not a quote, lock, offer, approval, or commitment to lend.
Your inputs
Estimated result
- Down payment
- $20,000
- Loan amount
- $380,000
- Principal & interest
- $2,402
- Property tax
- $333/mo
- Homeowners insurance
- $167/mo
- Estimated total monthly
- $2,902/mo
Reference sources: Tax Foundation — property taxes paid as a percentage of owner-occupied housing value, NAIC — Homeowners Insurance Report, CFPB — Understanding your Loan Estimate.
Assumptions, methodology, and limitations
Principal and interest use the standard amortization formula on the loan amount you enter. This page does not target a single state, so the property tax and insurance fields start at neutral placeholder assumptions rather than published averages — replace them with figures for your own address, or open the matching state page for sourced seeds. Closing costs apply your state's transfer / documentary-stamp practice (0.00% of price used as the buyer-side seed) plus typical title, recording, appraisal, credit and prepaid escrow lines. Refinance break-even divides your entered costs by the monthly payment difference. Early payoff runs a month-by-month amortization with your extra principal.
These tools do not include mortgage insurance, funding or guarantee fees, HOA special assessments, flood or windstorm premiums, seller credits, lender credits, discount points, or county and municipal charges specific to your parcel. Statewide averages will not match any individual property. Figures are estimates only.
Illustrative only. Binding figures appear on your Loan Estimate, and terms vary by borrower, property, lender, program, and state.
Turn these estimates into real numbers
Send your scenario to a Simply Approved Mortgages Loan Officer and get a written summary back, or compare where rates sit today. Educational only — not a quote, lock, offer, approval, or commitment to lend.
VA loan calculator FAQs
Answers to the most common VA loan calculator questions, written by licensed loan officers.
Ask SAM anything about mortgages
SAM is the Simply Approved Mortgages AI assistant. It answers general questions using the reviewed guides published on this site and links you to the primary government source. It is educational only — it does not quote a rate, payment, APR, approval or commitment to lend. A Simply Approved Mortgages Loan Officer reviews every scenario before any terms are confirmed.
Hi, I'm SAM — an AI assistant for Simply Approved Mortgages. I can explain loan programs, closing costs, DTI, down payments and which calculator or guide to use. I'm not a licensed loan officer, and nothing here is a quote, approval or commitment to lend.
Ask Sam AI provides general educational information only. It is an automated assistant, may be incomplete or out of date, and does not provide legal, tax or financial advice. Nothing it produces is a rate quote, APR, pre-approval, offer or commitment to lend. Never share a Social Security number, ITIN, date of birth, account number or password in chat. Simply Approved Mortgages LLC (NMLS #2620881) arranges residential mortgage loans in Florida and Colorado. Eligibility, terms, conditions and availability vary by borrower, property, lender, loan program and state, and all loans are subject to lender underwriting and approval. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Trusted government resources
These independent government resources can help you research mortgage programs, rates, and your rights before you apply.
VA
VA — Funding Fee and Closing Costs
VA
VA — Home Loan Eligibility Requirements
CFPB
CFPB — VA Home Loans
Simply Approved Mortgages is not affiliated with HUD, the CFPB, the FTC, the VA, or any other government agency. Links are provided for your independent verification.
How this page connects
Where this fits in the VA lending library
This page sits inside our VA lending coverage.
What most readers open next
- The entitlement worksheetBecause remaining entitlement decides whether a down payment is needed.
- VA appraisal and Minimum Property RequirementsBecause MPRs decide whether a property can be financed at all.
Explore the full guide
Keep reading — the rest of the buying playbook
Each of these is a deep-dive on one piece of the purchase mortgage process. Bookmark whichever you need next.
Guide
VA Loans
Full overview of VA loan eligibility and underwriting.
Read the guide →Guide
VA Funding Fees
Full funding fee schedule and exemption details.
Read the guide →Guide
VA Residual Income Requirements
How the residual income test works alongside DTI.
Read the guide →Guide
VA Certificate of Eligibility
How to obtain the document that proves eligibility.
Read the guide →Guide
Mortgage Payment Calculator
General PITI calculator for any loan type.
Read the guide →Guide
VA Loan Rates
Current VA loan rate trends and pricing factors.
Read the guide →Internal library
Related mortgage guides across our library
Follow the next relevant guide for your scenario.
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Complete this short request and a Simply Approved Mortgages Loan Officer will personally review your scenario. The form only asks what your program actually needs. Submitting it is not an application for credit and is not a commitment to lend.
Tell us about your scenario
The form below is tailored to VA loan — only the questions and documents your program needs.
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VA loans allow $0 down for eligible service. Purchase price is enough to size the loan.
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Simplify Your Mortgage Journey with These Resources
Talk To A Loan Officer
A Simply Approved Mortgages Loan Officer will personally connect with you to walk through your options.
Mortgage insights & guides
Plain-language articles to help you understand the home loan process, save on closing costs, and make confident decisions.
7 things every first-time homebuyer should know before applying
From credit prep to down payment assistance, here’s how to walk into your first mortgage application with confidence.
Using your VA loan benefit: a step-by-step guide
Eligibility, the Certificate of Eligibility, funding fees, and how to maximize zero-down purchasing power.
Where your closing costs actually go (and where you can save)
A line-by-line breakdown of the Loan Estimate and the fees that are negotiable versus fixed.
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