VA Loan Calculator

A VA loan is a mortgage backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), available to eligible service members, veterans, and some surviving spouses. Its headline benefits are real money. You can usually borrow with zero down payment, and there is no Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), the monthly surcharge conventional lenders add when you put down less than 20 percent. Skipping PMI alone can save a couple hundred dollars a month.

In exchange the VA charges a one-time funding fee, a percentage of the loan that keeps the program self-supporting. The rate depends on your down payment and whether this is your first VA loan. First-time use with nothing down runs about 2.15 to 2.3 percent; later uses are higher, around 3.3 percent; putting 5 or 10 percent down lowers it. Veterans with a service-connected disability pay nothing, so set the fee to zero if that applies to you. Most buyers roll the fee into the loan rather than pay it at closing, which this calculator lets you toggle.

The monthly payment itself is a standard amortized figure: the loan amount, the interest rate, and the term decide your principal and interest (P&I). Enter your numbers and you get that payment, the funding fee in dollars, the financed loan amount, and the total interest over the life of the loan.

One thing to remember. This is P&I only. Your real housing payment also includes property tax, homeowner’s insurance, and any homeowners association dues, none of which a VA loan removes.