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Down payment: $0 (0.0%) — VA loans allow 0% down.
“Subsequent use” means you have used your VA loan benefit before. It carries a higher funding fee when you put less than 5% down.
Your estimated payment
Principal, interest, taxes & insurance
- Principal & interest$0
- Property taxes$0
- Homeowners insurance$0
- Private mortgage insurance (PMI)$0 — VA loans have no PMI
- VA funding fee (one-time)$0
- Funding fee rate applied2.15%
- Base loan amount (price − down)$0
- Total loan amount$0
- Funding fee due in cash at closing$0
Estimates only, for education. This is not a rate quote, a loan offer, or a promise that you qualify. Your actual rate, payment, and funding fee depend on your lender, credit profile, entitlement status, and final loan details.
Funding fee percentages shown are the statutory rates under 38 U.S.C. § 3729 for purchase loans closed on or after April 7, 2023. The fee is calculated on the loan amount — the home price minus your down payment.
What is the VA funding fee?
The VA funding fee is a one-time fee paid on VA-backed home loans. It goes to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and helps fund the VA loan program — it is a big part of why VA loans can offer no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance without costing taxpayers the way other guarantee programs do.
The fee is a percentage of your loan amount (home price minus down payment) — not the purchase price. How much you pay depends on three things: whether this is your first or a subsequent use of your VA benefit, how much you put down, and whether you are exempt.
You can finance the fee into the loan, pay it in cash at closing, or split it. Financing is the most common choice: on a $400,000 purchase with 0% down, financing the $8,600 first-use fee adds roughly $55–$60 a month at typical rates, versus coming up with $8,600 more at the closing table.
Who is exempt from the funding fee?
- Veterans receiving VA disability compensation — exempt on every VA loan, for life. Compensation starts at a 10% disability rating; it is receiving compensation that matters, not a specific percentage.
- Active-duty service members awarded a Purple Heart.
- Surviving spouses receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC).
- Some veterans entitled to compensation who have a pending claim or receive military retirement pay in place of compensation — worth verifying with your lender, because exceptions exist.
No down payment, no PMI, no VA loan limit. VA loans require no down payment and never charge private mortgage insurance. And for veterans with full entitlement, there is no VA loan limit — you can borrow as much as a lender approves you for, based on income, credit, and the appraisal. County limits only come into play when you have partial entitlement.
| Down payment | First use | Subsequent use |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 5% | 2.15% | 3.30% |
| 5% to less than 10% | 1.50% | 1.50% |
| 10% or more | 1.25% | 1.25% |
Purchase and construction loans closed on or after April 7, 2023 (38 U.S.C. § 3729). The row matching your current calculator inputs is highlighted. Cash-out and interest-rate-reduction refinance loans (IRRRLs) use different fee schedules.
Worked example: the same $400,000 home, four ways
Same buyer, same house, same 0% down — the funding fee changes a lot depending on use and exemption status. This is the math the calculator above runs on your own numbers.
$400,000 purchase · 0% down · base loan amount $400,000
Funding fee = fee rate × loan amount (price minus down payment).
2.15% × $400,000. Financed, the total loan amount becomes $408,600.
3.30% × $400,000. Reusing your VA benefit with nothing down is the most expensive fee tier.
Disability compensation, Purple Heart, or DIC surviving spouse — the fee is waived entirely, every time.
Putting $20,000 down drops the rate from 3.30% to 1.50%: 1.50% × $380,000 loan = $5,700 — a $7,500 fee savings for crossing the 5% threshold.
The 5% threshold is the single most useful funding-fee fact for repeat VA buyers: on a subsequent-use loan, getting to 5% down cuts the fee rate by more than half.
VA funding fee questions
Do I pay a funding fee if I have a VA disability rating?
No. Veterans who receive VA disability compensation are exempt from the VA funding fee on every VA loan. The exemption also covers active-duty service members who have received a Purple Heart and surviving spouses who receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). It is based on receiving compensation, not on a specific rating percentage — compensation begins at a 10% disability rating. If you are exempt, the funding fee is $0. Flip the exemption toggle in the calculator to see the difference.
What is the VA funding fee for first vs. second use?
For loans closed on or after April 7, 2023: first use is 2.15% of the loan amount with less than 5% down, 1.50% with 5% to less than 10% down, and 1.25% with 10% or more down. Subsequent use is 3.30% with less than 5% down, 1.50% with 5% to less than 10% down, and 1.25% with 10% or more down. The fee is calculated on the loan amount — the price minus your down payment — not the full purchase price.
Can I roll the funding fee into my loan?
Yes. The funding fee can be financed into the loan amount, paid in cash at closing, or split between the two. Financing it means a slightly higher loan amount and monthly payment; paying cash keeps the loan smaller but requires more money at closing. VA loans are one of the few loan types where the total loan can exceed the purchase price for exactly this reason.
Does a VA loan have PMI?
No. VA loans never require private mortgage insurance, even with 0% down. The one-time funding fee is what supports the program instead of monthly mortgage insurance. On a conventional loan with 5% down, PMI can run well over $100 a month until you reach 20% equity — with VA, that line item is always $0.
Is there a maximum VA loan amount?
Not for veterans with full entitlement — there is no VA loan limit, so you can borrow as much as a lender approves based on your income, credit, and the appraised value, with no down payment. If you have partial entitlement (for example, a currently active VA loan or a prior VA loan that went to foreclosure), county loan limits can affect how much you can borrow with 0% down, and a down payment may be needed above that point.
Want Adam to run your exact VA scenario?
Entitlement status, exemption verification, and lender choice all move the real numbers. Adam shops 175+ wholesale lenders through West Capital Lending — a short call gets you figures based on your actual situation, not a generic estimate.