Estimate your VA home loan monthly cost, including principal and interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA, and the VA funding fee. See two results at once: funding fee financed into the loan vs paid at closing.
Advanced options
How to use this calculator
- Enter the home price and your down payment (enter $0 if you are not putting money down).
- Enter the interest rate you expect for the loan (this is the note rate, not APR).
- Pick the loan term (how many years you will pay the loan).
- Select your VA benefit use (first use or subsequent use) because it can change the funding fee rate for Purchase and Cash-out refinance.
- Open Advanced options and choose the loan purpose (Purchase, IRRRL, or Cash-out refinance).
- If you are exempt from the VA funding fee, switch the exemption to Yes.
- Choose whether you plan to finance the funding fee into the loan or pay it at closing (the calculator will still show both versions side-by-side).
- Fill in property tax rate, yearly homeowners insurance, and optional HOA to estimate your full monthly housing cost.
- Optional: add other closing costs to get a simple cash-needed-at-closing estimate.
- Click Calculate and compare the two monthly totals and the cash needed at closing.
Definitions
Base loan amount: Home price minus down payment. This is the starting loan before any VA funding fee is added.
VA funding fee: A one-time fee many VA borrowers pay. It can often be paid at closing or added to (financed into) the loan. Some borrowers are exempt. [3]
Financed (into the loan): Added to the loan balance so you pay it over time, which usually raises the monthly principal-and-interest payment.
Paid at closing: Paid up front in cash, which usually lowers the loan balance and the monthly principal-and-interest payment.
Principal and interest (P&I): The part of the monthly mortgage payment that repays the loan and interest, not including taxes, insurance, or HOA.
Escrow (for taxes/insurance): Money collected monthly to help pay property taxes and homeowners insurance when they come due (rules vary by lender and location).
Methodology
What this calculator includes
This calculator estimates two monthly payments side-by-side: (1) when the VA funding fee is financed into the loan and (2) when the VA funding fee is paid at closing. It also estimates monthly property taxes, monthly homeowners insurance, optional HOA dues, and a simple cash-needed-at-closing number.
Inputs and basic loan amounts
Base loan amount = max(0, home price minus down payment). If the down payment is larger than the home price, the base loan amount is clamped to $0 and the calculator shows a warning.
Down payment percent = (down payment divided by home price) times 100. If home price is $0 or less, the calculator stops and shows an error.
VA funding fee rate used
If you are exempt, the funding fee rate is 0% and the fee is $0. Otherwise the calculator uses these rates: Purchase: first use is 2.15% with less than 5% down, 1.50% with 5% to less than 10% down, and 1.25% with 10% or more down; subsequent use is 3.30% with less than 5% down, 1.50% with 5% to less than 10% down, and 1.25% with 10% or more down. IRRRL is 0.50%. Cash-out refinance: first use is 2.15% and subsequent use is 3.30%. Funding fee rules and exemptions are described in plain language in VA loan guides. [3]
Funding fee amount and total loan amounts
VA funding fee amount = base loan amount times (funding fee rate divided by 100). Total loan amount if financed = base loan amount plus the funding fee amount. The calculator shows this total even if you select paying the fee at closing, so you can compare both scenarios.
Monthly principal-and-interest payment (fixed-rate)
Monthly interest rate = (interest rate divided by 100) divided by 12. Number of payments = loan term years times 12. Monthly P&I payment uses the standard fixed-rate amortization formula with the chosen loan amount (base loan for the paid-at-closing version, and total loan if financed for the financed version). If the interest rate is 0%, then monthly P&I payment = loan amount divided by number of payments. This is the same type of payment math used in common mortgage explainers. [1]
Taxes, insurance, HOA, and totals
Estimated monthly property taxes = (property tax rate divided by 100 times home price) divided by 12. Estimated monthly homeowners insurance = yearly insurance divided by 12. Total monthly housing cost = monthly P&I plus monthly taxes plus monthly insurance plus HOA dues. These taxes and insurance numbers are simple estimates and can differ from real bills.
Estimated cash needed at closing
Estimated cash needed at closing = down payment plus other closing costs plus (funding fee amount if you selected paying the fee at closing; otherwise add $0). This is not an official cash-to-close number and does not include items like prepaid interest, escrow deposits, or seller credits.
Validation and rounding
The calculator blocks negative values for money fields and interest rate, and it blocks home price of $0 or less. A property tax rate above 10% is allowed but triggers a suggestion to double-check the number. Internally it calculates using full precision, then displays dollars rounded to the nearest $1 and rates to 2 decimals. If a result becomes NaN or Infinity, it stops and shows an error asking you to check your inputs.