The rate is not a single number — it moves with loan type, down payment and whether you have used your VA benefit before. This picks the right one from the official VA schedule and shows the dollar amount.
US Department of Veterans Affairs, effective 7 April 2023.
| Loan type | Down payment | First use | Subsequent use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase | Less than 5% | 2.15% | 3.30% |
| Purchase | 5% to 9.99% | 1.50% | 1.50% |
| Purchase | 10% or more | 1.25% | 1.25% |
| Cash-out refinance | n/a | 2.15% | 3.30% |
| IRRRL (streamline) | n/a | 0.50% | 0.50% |
Note the shape of this table: the first-use versus subsequent-use penalty only exists below 5% down. Put 5% down and both pay 1.50%; put 10% down and both pay 1.25%. This is the detail most funding fee estimates get wrong.
It depends on three things at once, which is why a single headline number is misleading. On a purchase with less than 5% down — by far the most common VA scenario, since the programme allows zero down — it is 2.15% of the loan amount the first time you use your benefit, and 3.30% on any subsequent use. Put 5% or more down and the rate drops to 1.50%; put 10% or more down and it drops again to 1.25%. Refinances follow a separate schedule: a cash-out refinance is 2.15% or 3.30% on the same first-versus-subsequent split, while an Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan is a flat 0.50% for everyone.
On the loan amount. That distinction matters more than it first appears, because a down payment then reduces your fee twice over: it moves you into a lower rate band and it shrinks the balance that rate is applied to. On a $350,000 home, going from 0% down to 10% down cuts the rate from 2.15% to 1.25% and the base from $350,000 to $315,000 — the fee falls from $7,525 to $3,937.50, a saving of $3,587.50 on top of the $35,000 you put in.
You can, but most borrowers finance it into the loan instead, which is why this calculator shows the total with the fee added. Financing it means you pay interest on it for the life of the loan, so the cash cost is higher than the headline fee — on a 30-year loan at 6.5%, financing a $7,525 fee costs roughly $17,000 in total payments. Paying it at closing avoids that, if you have the cash available.
The VA lists five exemption routes: you receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability; you are eligible for that compensation but receive retirement or active-duty pay instead; you receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation as a surviving spouse; you are a service member with a proposed or memorandum rating before your closing date; or you are an active-duty member who provides evidence of a Purple Heart before closing. Exemption is not partial — it removes the fee entirely.
Yes, in one specific case. If you are later granted VA disability compensation with an effective date before your loan closed, the fee you paid becomes refundable. It is not automatic; you apply through the VA or your loan servicer, and the effective date is what governs, not the date the decision arrives.
Worked example: a $350,000 purchase at 0% down, first use of the benefit. The loan amount before the fee is the full $350,000. The rate is 2.15%, giving a funding fee of $7,525, and financing it brings the total loan to $357,525. The same buyer using the benefit a second time would pay 3.30% — $11,550, or $4,025 more for an identical house.
Want the monthly payment with the fee financed in? Use the VA Mortgage Calculator. Comparing against an FHA loan's upfront and annual premiums? See the FHA Loan Calculator. For a conventional loan with a full amortization schedule, try the Mortgage Calculator, and check what you can borrow with the House Affordability Calculator.