Is the funding fee charged on the price or the loan?

The loan. This catches people out because the two are close when the down payment is small, and far apart when it is not. VA's worked example uses a $200,000 home with $10,000 down and a fee of $2,850 — 1.5% of the $190,000 loan.

Should I finance the fee or pay it at closing?

Financing it keeps cash in your pocket at closing and raises the payment slightly for thirty years. Paying it costs cash now and nothing later. The calculator shows both sides: the amount due at closing, and the interest a financed fee accrues over the full term. Which is better depends on what the cash is worth to you now.

Why does a bigger down payment cut the fee?

Because VA's schedule has three bands — under 5%, 5% or more, and 10% or more. Crossing into a band lowers the rate. At 5% and above, the rate is the same whether or not you have used the benefit before, which is why a down payment matters most to a repeat user.

Where is the mortgage insurance line?

There isn't one. VA loans carry neither private mortgage insurance nor an FHA-style annual premium. That absence is deliberate and is the main structural reason a VA payment can beat a conventional one at the same rate.

Does this tell me whether I qualify?

No. It is arithmetic on figures you supplied. Eligibility runs through a Certificate of Eligibility and then through a lender's underwriting of your credit, income, debts, assets and the property itself.

Calculator

VA loan cost calculator

The funding fee is the part a general payment calculator misses. This one applies VA's published rates to your down payment and your use of the benefit, and shows what financing the fee costs across the whole term.

Your figures

Change anything. The funding fee recalculates from your down payment and whether you have used the benefit before.

Purchase price

Down payment

A VA loan allows none. Putting 5% or 10% down lowers the funding fee.

Interest rate

Loan term

Using the VA benefit

Your Certificate of Eligibility says which applies.

Funding fee exemption

Some borrowers pay no fee. Exemption normally shows on the COE — confirm it there rather than assuming.

Funding fee

Property taxes (yearly)

Home insurance (yearly)

Association dues (monthly)

Estimated monthly payment

$3,283per month

Principal and interest
$2,583
Funding fee
$8,600
Loan amount
$408,600

The funding fee

VA's published rates, effective 2023-04-07. The fee is a percentage of the loan, not of the purchase price.

Rate applied: 2.15%
Down payment: 0.0%
Fee amount: $8,600
Due at closing: $0
Interest on the financed fee, over the full term: $10,969

Monthly breakdown

Taxes, insurance and dues are your assumptions, not amounts quoted by anyone.

Principal and interest: $2,583
Property taxes: $400
Home insurance: $300
Association dues: $0
Total: $3,283

Over the full term

Interest assumes every payment is made on schedule and the rate never changes.

Total interest: $521,147
Loan written: $408,600

No mortgage insurance, by design

There is no mortgage insurance line above because a VA loan has none — neither private mortgage insurance nor an FHA-style annual premium. That is a feature of the program rather than an omission from this estimate, and it is the main structural reason a VA payment can beat a conventional one at the same rate.

Method

How the funding fee is worked out

The fee is a percentage of the loan amount, not of the purchase price. VA’s own example makes the point: a $200,000 home with $10,000 down carries a fee of $2,850, which is 1.5% of the $190,000 loan.

Which percentage applies depends on two things — how much you put down, and whether you have used the benefit before. The rates used here are VA’s published schedule, effective 2023-04-07.

Financing the fee rolls it into the loan, so it accrues interest for the life of the loan. The calculator reports that separately from the fee itself, because the two together are what it actually costs.

Some borrowers are exempt and pay no fee at all. The criteria are VA’s and are not reproduced here — exemption normally appears on the Certificate of Eligibility, which is where to confirm it. The calculator takes it as an input rather than guessing.

Assumptions and limits

What this does not account for

Your entitlement. With full entitlement there is no county loan limit; where entitlement has been used and not restored, the county figure drives what remains. That is a Certificate of Eligibility question and this calculator does not model it.
Whether a lender will approve the loan. VA guarantees part of it, but credit, income, debts, assets and the property are all underwritten, and VA sets no minimum credit score — lenders do.
The appraisal. The maximum VA loan on a property is the appraised value or the purchase price, whichever is lower.
Closing costs other than the funding fee, which vary by lender and by transaction and are often partly negotiable with the seller.
Flood insurance where it is required, and any special assessments.
Any rate you will actually be offered. The rate here is an assumption you typed, not a quote.

About this calculator

Is the funding fee charged on the price or the loan?: The loan. This catches people out because the two are close when the down payment is small, and far apart when it is not. VA's worked example uses a $200,000 home with $10,000 down and a fee of $2,850 — 1.5% of the $190,000 loan.
Should I finance the fee or pay it at closing?: Financing it keeps cash in your pocket at closing and raises the payment slightly for thirty years. Paying it costs cash now and nothing later. The calculator shows both sides: the amount due at closing, and the interest a financed fee accrues over the full term. Which is better depends on what the cash is worth to you now.
Why does a bigger down payment cut the fee?: Because VA's schedule has three bands — under 5%, 5% or more, and 10% or more. Crossing into a band lowers the rate. At 5% and above, the rate is the same whether or not you have used the benefit before, which is why a down payment matters most to a repeat user.
Where is the mortgage insurance line?: There isn't one. VA loans carry neither private mortgage insurance nor an FHA-style annual premium. That absence is deliberate and is the main structural reason a VA payment can beat a conventional one at the same rate.
Does this tell me whether I qualify?: No. It is arithmetic on figures you supplied. Eligibility runs through a Certificate of Eligibility and then through a lender's underwriting of your credit, income, debts, assets and the property itself.

Where these rates come from

Program rules are set by these organizations and are updated periodically. Where this page and an official source disagree, the official source is correct.

VA funding fee and closing costs (opens in a new tab) — U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
VA home loan entitlement and limits (opens in a new tab) — U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
VA-backed purchase loan (opens in a new tab) — U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
How to request a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) (opens in a new tab) — U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

If VA changes the schedule, the effective date on its own page moves with it. The rates in this calculator carry that date, so a stale table is visible rather than silent. For how a VA loan works in a particular Florida market, see VA loans.

Where this leads

What the fee buys you

The funding fee is the price of a program with no down payment and no mortgage insurance. Whether that trade is worth it depends on the alternative, which is what these pages set out.

Terms used on this page

Also on this site

Numbers only go so far. If you want these checked against your own situation, that conversation starts here — no documents at this stage.

Homebuyers: start a conversation

Check your entitlement before you shop

What you can offer on depends on your Certificate of Eligibility as much as on your income. It is worth resolving early rather than mid-contract.

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