Enter your home price, down payment, rate, and term to see the total loan amount and monthly payment — with the VA funding fee financed in and no PMI required.
A $350,000.00 home with 0% down and a first-time-use funding fee of 2.15% adds $7,525.00 on top of the $350,000.00 base loan, for a total loan of $357,525.00. At 6.5% over 30 years that comes to a monthly principal-and-interest payment of $2,259.80.
| Down payment | First use | Subsequent use |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 5% | 2.15% | 3.30% |
| 5% or more | 1.50% | 1.50% |
| 10% or more | 1.25% | 1.25% |
Putting down at least 5% drops the fee to the same 1.50% regardless of prior use — the steep 3.30% subsequent-use rate only applies below that threshold, which makes a small down payment the single most expensive combination for a repeat VA borrower specifically.
Rolling the $7,525 funding fee into the loan means it is never paid in cash — but it is not free, since it now accrues interest for as long as the mortgage runs. That $7,525, financed at 6.5% over 30 years, adds $47.56 to the monthly payment and totals $17,122.72 paid over the life of the loan — more than double the fee itself. Paying the fee in cash at closing instead, where affordable, avoids that compounding entirely — the Loan Calculator runs the same amortization math for any principal if it helps to see the fee-financed and fee-paid-upfront scenarios side by side. Against a conventional loan of the same size and rate but with PMI added instead of a funding fee, the Mortgage Calculator prices that alternative directly.
The VA funding fee is a one-time charge on VA-backed home loans that helps offset the program's cost to taxpayers, since the VA doesn't require a down payment or monthly mortgage insurance. It's usually financed directly into the loan rather than paid in cash at closing, and the rate depends on your down payment size and whether it's your first or a subsequent use of a VA loan benefit — subsequent use with little or no down payment typically carries a higher rate than a first-time use.
Private Mortgage Insurance exists to protect lenders against default risk on low-down-payment conventional loans. VA loans are partially guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs itself, which replaces the need for PMI entirely — the one-time funding fee, rather than an ongoing monthly premium, is how that guarantee is funded instead. This is a meaningful advantage over both conventional loans with PMI and FHA loans, which charge both an upfront and an ongoing annual premium — see the FHA Loan Calculator for that comparison.
Veterans receiving VA disability compensation, and some surviving spouses of veterans, are generally exempt from the funding fee entirely. Eligibility rules are set by the VA and can change over time, so confirm your specific exemption status directly with the VA or your lender rather than assuming it applies — if you are exempt, simply set the funding fee field above to 0.
If you're granted VA disability compensation after closing on a loan where you already paid the funding fee, you may be eligible for a refund of that fee. This isn't automatic — it typically requires an application through the VA. Check va.gov/housing-assistance or contact the VA directly for the current process and required documentation.
Worked example: a $350,000 home with 0% down (a common VA scenario) gives a base loan of the full $350,000. A 2.15% funding fee adds $7,525, financed into the loan for a total loan amount of $357,525. At 6.5% over 30 years, the monthly payment comes to about $2,259.80 — with no PMI added on top, unlike an equivalent conventional or FHA loan at the same 0%-down scenario.
Need your exact funding fee rate rather than typing one in? Use the VA Funding Fee Calculator. Comparing against an FHA loan? See the FHA Loan Calculator. Want the full amortization schedule for a conventional loan? Try the Mortgage Calculator.