VA Funding Fee Calculator and 2026 Chart
The VA funding fee is a one-time fee on a VA home loan, from 0.5% to 3.3% of the loan for most loan types. Pick your loan type and down payment to see your fee, whether you are exempt, and how much more you would pay each month and in interest if you roll the fee into the loan.
Maintained by Archie Chang · Rates checked against 38 U.S.C. 3729 and VA October 25, 2026 · Methodology & sources
Your VA loan
If the only VA loan you have used was a manufactured home loan under 38 U.S.C. 3712, VA’s page says you still pay first-use rates; 38 U.S.C. 3729(b)(4)(D) counts only loans under sections 3710 and 3711 as prior use.
The fee is a percentage of the loan, which is the price minus your down payment. 5% down and 10% down count exactly, with no rounding up. The subsequent-use rate applies only to purchase loans with less than 5% down and to cash-out refinances.
If you finance the fee
Enter the rate and term from your loan estimate. Payments are principal and interest only, from the same amortization math as our mortgage calculator.
Your funding fee
$8,600
2.15% of $400,000
- Loan before the fee
- $400,000
- Loan with the fee financed
- $408,600
- Monthly P&I, fee paid in cash
- $2,528.27
- Monthly P&I, fee financed
- $2,582.63
- Monthly increase
- $54.36
- Extra interest over the term
- $10,968.83
Paying in cash means $8,600 due at closing. The fee is rounded half-up to the cent; VA publishes no rounding rule. Estimate only; your lender calculates the fee in VA's funding fee system.
VA funding fee chart 2026
These percentages are in the loan fee table of 38 U.S.C. 3729(b)(2) and match the chart on VA's funding fee page (last updated October 5, 2026). They apply to loans closed on or after April 7, 2023 and before June 9, 2034. Veterans, active-duty members and Reservists pay the same rates.
| Purchase or construction | Under 5% down | 5% to under 10% down | 10% or more down |
|---|---|---|---|
| First use | 2.15% | 1.5% | 1.25% |
| Subsequent use | 3.3% | 1.5% | 1.25% |
| Cash-out refinance | Fee |
|---|---|
| First use | 2.15% |
| Subsequent use | 3.3% |
| Loan type | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Interest rate reduction refinance (IRRRL) | 0.5% | Same fee for first and subsequent use |
| Loan assumption | 0.5% | Based on the unpaid principal balance on the transfer date |
| Manufactured home (not permanently affixed) | 1% | Section 3712 loan other than an IRRRL |
| Native American Direct Loan, purchase | 1.25% | Section 3762 loan other than an IRRRL |
| Native American Direct Loan, refinance of an existing NADL (IRRRL type) | 0.5% | Section 3762(h)(1) refinance, treated as an IRRRL; VA lists “Refinance 0.5%” |
| Native American Direct Loan, other refinance | 1.25% | Section 3762(h)(2) or (h)(3) refinance: 1.25% under the statute; VA’s page lists only 0.5%, so confirm with VA |
| Vendee loan (VA-acquired property) | 2.25% | Section 3733(a) loan |
| Direct loan under 38 U.S.C. 3711 | 1% | In the statute; not on VA’s page |
Down payment tiers follow 38 U.S.C. 3729(b)(4): under 5% is 0-down, at least 5% but under 10% is 5-down, and 10% or more is 10-down, measured against the purchase price or construction cost. Circular 26-23-06 says 5% is not rounded to the nearest whole percentage. The subsequent-use rate matters only below 5% down. Loans closed before April 7, 2023 fall under the earlier schedules in the statute.
When the funding fee drops
Current law lowers the purchase and cash-out refinance fees for loans closed on or after June 9, 2034. Public Law 118-210, section 503 (January 2, 2025) moved that date from November 29, 2031. Other loan types do not change in the table.
| Purchase or construction | Under 5% down | 5% to under 10% down | 10% or more down |
|---|---|---|---|
| First use | 1.4% | 0.75% | 0.5% |
| Subsequent use | 1.25% | 0.75% | 0.5% |
| Cash-out refinance | Fee |
|---|---|
| First use | 1.4% |
| Subsequent use | 1.25% |
Congress has changed these dates more than once, so confirm the date in the statute when you plan a closing near it. The calculator above uses only the current schedule.
VA funding fee exemptions
You do not pay the funding fee if one of these is true:
- You receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability, or you would be entitled to it but receive retirement pay or active-duty pay instead (38 U.S.C. 3729(c)(1)).
- You are a surviving spouse of a veteran, including a person who died in active service, who died from a service-connected disability (statute); VA’s page words this as receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) as a surviving spouse.
- You are a service member with a proposed or memorandum rating from a pre-discharge claim before your loan closes. 38 U.S.C. 3729(c)(2) treats you as receiving compensation as of the date of that rating.
- You are on active duty and give evidence of a Purple Heart on or before the closing date.
If you receive disability compensation, see our VA disability calculator and the 2026 VA disability pay chart.
VA funding fee refund
If you paid the fee and VA later awards you compensation for a service-connected disability with an effective date before your loan closed, VA says you may be eligible for a refund. A proposed or memorandum rating that reaches you after closing does not qualify. A retroactive award often comes with back pay; our VA back pay calculator estimates that amount.
VA's funding fee page covers how to request the refund.
Financing the VA funding fee
38 U.S.C. 3729(a)(2) lets the fee be included in the loan. Circular 26-23-06 works the fee on the loan before it is added, so financing it makes the loan bigger and you pay interest on the fee for the whole term. VA also says you can pay it in full at closing instead.
Example. A first-use buyer with a $400,000 home and no down payment owes $8,600 (2.15%). Financed at 6.5% over 30 years, the loan is $408,600. Principal and interest rise from $2,528.27 to $2,582.63 a month, which is $54.36 more, and you pay $10,968.83 more interest over the term. The rate is an example, not a quote.
With 5% down on the same home, the fee drops to $5,700 (1.5% of $380,000). To see the rest of your payment, use the mortgage calculator.
VA funding fee questions
What is the VA funding fee?
The VA funding fee is a one-time fee that 38 U.S.C. 3729(a) requires from each person getting a VA-guaranteed, insured or direct housing loan, unless an exemption applies. It is a percentage of the loan, set by the loan fee table in 3729(b)(2). VA’s circular describes it as helping reduce the government’s cost of running the VA home loan benefit.
How much is the VA funding fee in 2026?
For a purchase with less than 5% down, it is 2.15% of the loan for first use and 3.3% for subsequent use. With 5% down it is 1.5%, and with 10% or more down it is 1.25%, for both first and subsequent use. A cash-out refinance is 2.15% for first use and 3.3% for subsequent use, and an IRRRL is 0.5%. These apply to loans closed from April 7, 2023 through June 8, 2034.
Does the fee depend on whether I am in the National Guard or Reserve?
Not for loans closed since January 1, 2020. The statute’s loan fee table lists the same percentage for veterans and Reservists for those loans, and VA’s page lists one set of rates for veterans, active duty and Guard or Reserve members.
When is the VA funding fee waived?
The fee may not be collected from a veteran receiving VA compensation (or entitled to it but receiving retirement or active-duty pay), from a surviving spouse of a veteran who died from a service-connected disability, or from an active-duty service member who shows a Purple Heart on or before closing. A pre-discharge rating counts if it is issued before closing.
Can I get a funding fee refund?
VA says you may be eligible for a refund if you are later awarded compensation for a service-connected disability and the effective date of that award is before your loan closed. A proposed or memorandum rating you receive after closing does not qualify. VA’s funding fee page explains how to ask.
Can I roll the funding fee into my loan?
Yes. 38 U.S.C. 3729(a)(2) says the fee may be included in the loan and paid from the proceeds. On a purchase or construction loan, VA says the funding fee is the only cost you can finance into the loan amount. In the example above, financing $8,600 raises a $400,000 loan to $408,600.
Is the fee based on the price or on the loan amount?
On the loan. Circular 26-23-06 works its examples as a percentage of the price minus the down payment, for example $4,653 (1.65%) on a $282,000 loan from a $300,000 price with $18,000 down. For an assumption the fee is based on the unpaid principal balance on the transfer date.
What counts as subsequent use?
Under 38 U.S.C. 3729(b)(4), a subsequent loan is a VA loan to a veteran who has already obtained a VA-guaranteed or direct loan, other than an IRRRL. The higher subsequent-use rate then applies only to purchase loans with less than 5% down and to cash-out refinances. With 5% or more down, or on an IRRRL, the first-use and subsequent-use fees are the same. If your only earlier VA loan was a manufactured home loan under section 3712, VA’s page says you still pay first-use rates, because the statute counts only loans under sections 3710 and 3711. If a disaster destroyed or badly damaged the home, a repair or rebuild loan within three years can be treated as an initial loan.
Will the fee change in 2027 or later?
Not under current law until closings on or after June 9, 2034. Congress moved that date from November 29, 2031 in Public Law 118-210, section 503. From then the statute lists 1.4% for first use under 5% down, 1.25% for subsequent use, 0.75% with 5% down and 0.5% with 10% down. Congress has changed these dates several times, so check the statute.
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