VA Funding Fee

What does the VA funding fee cost you?

See the one-time fee the VA charges on your home loan, whether you qualify to skip it, and how it compares with the monthly mortgage insurance on a conventional loan. You’ll need the price (or loan amount), your down payment, and whether you’ve had a VA loan before.

A one-time fee instead of monthly insurance
Most loans with less than 20% down add monthly mortgage insurance (). VA loans don’t. Instead you pay a one-time , a percentage of the loan that helps keep the VA program running.
Three things set the rate
The kind of loan (buying a home, a , or a ), whether this is your of the benefit, and on a purchase, your down payment. Putting 5% or 10% down lowers the rate.
Some borrowers pay nothing
Veterans who receive VA compensation for a and a few others are exempt. Everyone else can pay the fee in cash at closing or add it to the loan, which most borrowers do. Adding it means you pay interest on it.

Your lender can check with the VA whether you’ve used the benefit before and whether you’re exempt. The complete VA loan guide covers eligibility and entitlement.

Your VA situation

These three answers decide which row of the VA fee table applies to you.

Loan type

Used a VA loan before?

Exempt from the fee?

Exempt: veterans receiving (or entitled to receive) VA compensation for a service-connected disability, active-duty Purple Heart recipients, and surviving spouses receiving . A 0% rating with no compensation does not qualify.

The loan

The home price and how much you plan to put down. Most VA buyers put 0% down.

Purchase price

Down payment

Finance the funding fee?

Most VA borrowers finance the fee. You pay interest on it but keep your cash.

Your funding fee

$9,675(2.15% of $450,000)

Charged once and added to your loan, so you'd owe $459,675.

Loan before the fee

$450,000

$450,000 price − $0 down (0.0%)

Funding fee rate

2.15%

purchase, under 5% down, first use

Funding fee amount

$9,675

added to your loan

Total loan (with fee)

$459,675

what you’ll owe

Cash at closing

down payment + any fee paid in cash; closing costs extra

What this means

With 0% down you borrow $450,000, and the fee is 2.15% of that: $9,675. Added to the loan, you'd owe $459,675 and pay interest on the fee over time. For comparison, a with 5% down would charge PMI of about $249/mo for about 11.3 years (until the balance is paid down to 78% of the price, when PMI must end automatically), roughly $33,666 in total. The VA fee is charged once.

The PMI comparison assumes 0.7% a year PMI and a 6.5% rate on a 30-year loan. Real PMI depends on your credit score. The funding fee is separate from regular , which you’ll pay either way.

What would lower your fee

Put 5% down$22,500 cash; fee rate 1.50%−$3,263

Put 10% down$45,000 cash; fee rate 1.25%−$4,613

Counts the fee only. A larger down payment also means a smaller loan and payment, but uses more of your cash.

2026 VA funding fee table (effective Apr 2023)

Every fee is a percentage of the loan amount. Find your loan type, then the column for whether you’ve used the VA benefit before.

Loan type	First use	Subsequent use
Purchase, under 5% down	2.15%	3.30%
Purchase, 5% to 9.99% down	1.50%	1.50%
Purchase, 10%+ down	1.25%	1.25%
	2.15%	3.30%
(streamline)	0.50%	0.50%

Funding fee exemptions (no fee at all):

Veterans receiving (or entitled to receive) VA compensation for a service-connected disability, including those rated eligible before discharge (a 0% rating with no compensation does not qualify)
Surviving spouse of a veteran who died in service or from a service-connected disability, receiving
Active duty member who has received a Purple Heart

Reserve / National Guard borrowers: rates were equalized with regular military effective January 1, 2020 (Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019). The 0.25% surcharge no longer applies.

See the full VA loan guide for entitlement (how much of the VA guarantee you have available), streamline refinance eligibility, assuming a VA loan, and the VA’s Minimum Property Requirements (the condition standards a home must meet).

Results are estimates based on your inputs and the assumptions on this page, not quotes or advice. A lender, servicer, or tax advisor will give you different numbers. Disclaimer

Something look off? Report it

Terms used on this page

The VA names for loan types and fee rules, plus the PMI terms used in the comparison.

VA loan: A mortgage guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs for eligible veterans, service members, and surviving spouses. It allows 0% down and has no monthly mortgage insurance. More
VA funding fee: A one-time fee, a percentage of the loan, that takes the place of monthly mortgage insurance on a VA loan. It ranges from 0.50% to 3.30% depending on the loan type, your down payment, and prior VA loan use. More
First use vs subsequent use: First use means you’ve never had a VA-backed home loan. Subsequent use means you have, even if it’s paid off. It raises the fee on purchases with under 5% down and on cash-out refinances.
Funding fee exemption: Veterans receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability, active-duty Purple Heart recipients, and surviving spouses receiving DIC pay no funding fee.
Financing the fee: Adding the funding fee to your loan balance instead of paying it in cash at closing. It saves cash upfront, but you pay interest on the fee.
IRRRL (streamline refinance): The Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan replaces an existing VA loan with a new one, usually at a lower rate. Its funding fee is a flat 0.50%.
Cash-out refinance: A refinance where the new loan is larger than what you owe, and you receive the difference in cash. On a VA loan the fee is 2.15% for first use and 3.30% after.
PMI (private mortgage insurance): A monthly charge on conventional loans with less than 20% down. It protects the lender and ends automatically once the balance is scheduled to reach 78% of the original home value. More
Conventional loan: A mortgage not backed by a government agency like the VA or FHA. It’s the main alternative to a VA loan, and it charges PMI instead of a funding fee when you put down less than 20%.

Keep learning

Next steps

Mortgage calculator: see the monthly payment with the fee included in the loan
Closing cost estimator: cash you’ll need beyond the fee and down payment
Affordability calculator: how much home your income supports
Refinance calculator: whether a streamline or cash-out refi pays off