VA Residual Income Chart and Calculator by Region
VA residual income is what your household has left each month after taxes, the new housing payment, maintenance and utilities, debts and child care. VA compares it with a guideline set by region, family size and loan amount. Use the chart below, or enter your numbers to see your residual income, your debt-to-income ratio and VA's 41% and 120% checks.
Maintained by Archie Chang · Tables and rules checked against 38 CFR 36.4340 and VA Lenders Handbook M26-7 October 25, 2026 · Methodology & sources
Income and taxes (monthly)
Enter the amounts yourself; this calculator does not work out taxes. VA tells lenders to take federal tax and Social Security from IRS Circular E and state and local taxes from similar state materials, and not only from the pay stub. Use 0 where a line does not apply.
Housing, debts and household
Other monthly debts: list debts with 10 or more months left, and shorter ones whose payments are large enough to strain the family budget (VA calls these "significant" debts; Handbook M26-7 Chapter 4 Topic 5 and 38 CFR 36.4340(g)(9)). VA treats child support as a liability. The lender may treat alimony as a reduction of income instead.
The Handbook says to reduce the figure by 5% for an active-duty or retired servicemember. 38 CFR 36.4340(e)(4) says a minimum of 5% when there is a clear indication that the borrower or spouse will continue to use facilities on a nearby military base. Your lender decides whether it applies.
Maintenance and utilities are estimated at 14 cents per square foot of gross living area (Handbook M26-7). Loans of $80,000 and above use the higher table; enter the loan amount as your lender computes it. The regions cover the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico (38 CFR 36.4340(e)(3)); for another territory, ask your lender. Count every household member, up to 7 for the guideline.
Your estimate
Residual income per month
$2,600.75
- VA guideline (South, loan $80,000+, family of 4)
- $1,003.00
- Surplus
- $1,597.75
- Maintenance and utilities
- $252.00
- Meets guideline
- Yes
- Debt-to-income ratio
- 34% (33.85% before rounding)
- Above 41%
- No
- 120% of guideline
- $1,203.60
- Residual income at least 120%
- Yes
Meets both VA standards
Your debt-to-income ratio is 41% or less and your residual income meets the guideline. That does not approve the loan: the lender still has to review your credit and other factors.
An estimate for education. The lender and VA underwriting decide, and no single number decides a loan.
VA residual income chart
The two tables below come from 38 CFR 36.4340(e) (eCFR), which was last amended on January 10, 2025, with paragraphs (c) to (e) unchanged. VA Lenders Handbook M26-7, Chapter 4, Topic 9 (tables 9 and 10) prints the same figures. Amounts are dollars per month.
| Family size | Northeast | Midwest | South | West |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $390 | $382 | $382 | $425 |
| 2 | $654 | $641 | $641 | $713 |
| 3 | $788 | $772 | $772 | $859 |
| 4 | $888 | $868 | $868 | $967 |
| 5 | $921 | $902 | $902 | $1,004 |
| Over 5 | Add $75 for each additional member up to a family of 7 | |||
| Family size | Northeast | Midwest | South | West |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $450 | $441 | $441 | $491 |
| 2 | $755 | $738 | $738 | $823 |
| 3 | $909 | $889 | $889 | $990 |
| 4 | $1,025 | $1,003 | $1,003 | $1,117 |
| 5 | $1,062 | $1,039 | $1,039 | $1,158 |
| Over 5 | Add $80 for each additional member up to a family of 7 | |||
States in each region
- Northeast:
- Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont
- Midwest:
- Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin
- South:
- Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia
- West:
- Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
Source: 38 CFR 36.4340(e)(3) and the key to regions in VA Lenders Handbook M26-7, Chapter 4, Topic 9. The regions cover the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico; VA lists Alaska and Hawaii in the West and DC and Puerto Rico in the South. Other territories are not listed, so ask your lender.
How to calculate VA residual income
- Gross monthly income: stable, verified income of the borrower and, where it applies, the spouse.
- Subtract federal income tax, state and local income tax, Social Security and Medicare, and retirement contributions withheld (38 CFR 36.4340(f)(13); Handbook Topic 3).
- Subtract the proposed monthly principal, interest, property taxes and homeowners insurance, plus flood insurance if required, special assessments and any HOA or condo fee (Handbook Topic 9, items 15 to 20).
- Subtract maintenance and utilities: 14 cents times the gross living area in square feet from the appraisal (item 19).
- Subtract other monthly debts and obligations. VA treats child support as a liability; alimony may be treated as a reduction in income instead. "Significant" debts are those with 10 or more months left, or whose payments are large enough to strain the family budget (Topic 5).
- Subtract job-related expenses such as child care (up to age 12 the lender decides whether there are child care costs), significant commuting costs and similar items (item 29). These reduce residual income; they enter the debt ratio only if the lender treats them as significant.
- Look up the guideline for your region, family size and loan amount, and compare.
Worked example. A family of 4 in Texas (South) buys a 1,800 square foot home with a $300,000 loan. Income of $6,500 less $700 federal tax, $250 state tax and $497.25 Social Security and Medicare leaves $5,052.75. Subtract a $1,800 housing payment, $252.00 for maintenance and utilities and $400 of other debts, and residual income is $2,600.75. The guideline is $1,003.00, so the surplus is $1,597.75. The debt-to-income ratio is $2,200 divided by $6,500, or 33.8%, which rounds to 34%.
Large families. VA's own example: a family of 8 buying in Georgia with a $150,000 loan uses the family-of-5 figure plus $80 for each of two more members, $1,199.00; the eighth person is not counted.
The 41% ratio and the 120% rule
Ordinarily a veteran must meet both standards, but failing one does not automatically disqualify the loan (38 CFR 36.4340(c)). In the calculator, the ratio uses the housing payment, HOA and condo fees and other debts divided by gross income, rounded to the nearest whole percent (for example 35.6% becomes 36%). Maintenance and utilities and taxes are not in the ratio. Child care and other job-related costs are usually not in it either; if the lender treats them as significant, they count (the calculator has a checkbox for that). VA lets lenders gross up verified tax-free income when figuring the ratio; this calculator does not.
- Ratio of 41% or less and residual income below the guideline: the loan may be approved with a justification signed by the underwriter's supervisor (36.4340(c)(1)).
- Ratio above 41%: the loan may be approved with that same justification, unless the ratio is high only because of tax-free income (36.4340(c)(2)).
- Ratio above 41% and residual income at least 20 percent above the guideline: the second-level review and justification are not required (36.4340(c)(3)).
Compensating factors VA lists include excellent long-term credit, minimal consumer debt, significant liquid assets, little or no increase in shelter expense and high residual income. Meeting the guideline is not a compensating factor by itself.
Related VA calculators
- VA disability calculator for combined rating and monthly compensation.
- VA disability pay chart 2026 for the current monthly rates by rating and dependents.
- VA funding fee calculator for the one-time fee that can be added to a VA loan.
- Mortgage calculator to estimate the principal and interest payment you enter above.
VA residual income questions
What is the VA residual income chart?
It is two tables in 38 CFR 36.4340(e) and VA Lenders Handbook M26-7, Chapter 4: the monthly income VA expects a household to have left after taxes, housing costs and debts. The amount depends on four regions, family size from 1 to 5 (with an add-on above that) and whether the loan is under or at least $80,000. VA bases the figures on Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey data.
How do you calculate residual income for a VA loan?
Start with gross monthly income. Subtract federal, state and local income taxes, Social Security and Medicare, and retirement contributions withheld. Then subtract the proposed housing payment (principal, interest, taxes and insurance), HOA or condo fees, maintenance and utilities at 14 cents per square foot of gross living area, other monthly debts including child support, and child care and other job-related costs. What is left is residual income. Compare it with the chart for your region, family size and loan amount.
Which family members count?
All members of the household count, even a spouse who is not on the loan, children from a spouse's earlier marriage, and anyone who depends on the borrower for support. The lender may leave out people who are fully supported by verified income that is not in the loan analysis, such as child support or foster care payments received regularly. For more than five people the chart adds $75 (loans under $80,000) or $80 (loans of $80,000 or more, with the loan amount as your lender computes it) per extra member, up to 7; members beyond 7 are not counted.
What is VA’s 41% debt-to-income rule?
VA divides the proposed housing payment, HOA and condo fees, and long-term monthly obligations by gross monthly income and rounds the result to the nearest whole percent. The standard is 41% or less. Above that the loan can still be approved if the lender documents compensating factors and the underwriter's supervisor signs a justification, unless the ratio is high only because of tax-free income.
What is the 120% residual income rule?
If the ratio is above 41% and residual income exceeds the guideline by at least 20 percent, 38 CFR 36.4340(c)(3) says the second-level review and statement of justification are not required. This calculator shows 120% of your guideline and whether you reach it.
Does the military get a lower residual income requirement?
The VA Lenders Handbook says to reduce the table figure by 5 percent for an active-duty or retired servicemember, or when a borrower clearly benefits from military facilities near the property (examples include Guard and Reserve retirees, 100 percent disabled Veterans and their family members, and Medal of Honor recipients). 38 CFR 36.4340(e)(4) calls it a reduction of a minimum of 5 percent. For a family of 4 in the South with a $300,000 loan, $952.85 replaces $1,003.00.
Which region are Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico in?
VA places Alaska and Hawaii in the West, and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in the South. All 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico appear in the region list in 38 CFR 36.4340(e)(3).
Is a low residual income an automatic denial?
No. VA calls the minimums a guide, not an automatic trigger for approval or rejection. But the Handbook also says inadequate residual income alone can be a basis for disapproving a loan, and that meeting the guideline is not itself a compensating factor. The lender must weigh credit history and other factors.