VA Loan Calculator

VA loans are available to active-duty servicemembers, veterans, and surviving spouses of qualifying servicemembers. Generally, eligibility requires 90 consecutive days of active service during wartime, 181 days during peacetime, or more than 6 years with the National Guard or Reserves. You must also obtain a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) from the VA.

The VA Funding Fee is a one-time charge required by the Department of Veterans Affairs to help sustain the VA loan program for future veterans. The fee percentage depends on your military category, whether you've used a VA loan before, and your down payment amount. It ranges from about 1.4% to 3.6% of the loan amount. Veterans with a service-connected disability are typically exempt from this fee.

No — one of the biggest benefits of a VA loan is the ability to purchase a home with zero down payment. However, making a down payment of 5% or more can reduce your VA Funding Fee, which lowers your overall loan cost.

An amortization schedule is a table that shows each monthly payment broken down into the portion applied to principal and the portion applied to interest, along with the remaining loan balance. Early payments are mostly interest; over time, more of each payment goes toward reducing the principal.

VA loans offer several advantages: no down payment required, no private mortgage insurance (PMI), typically lower interest rates, limited closing costs, and more flexible credit requirements. These benefits are specifically available to eligible veterans, active-duty servicemembers, and qualifying surviving spouses.

The VA Funding Fee decreases as your down payment increases. For first-time VA loan users, the fee is 2.15% with no down payment, drops to 1.5% with a 5–9.99% down payment, and further to 1.25% with 10% or more down. Making a larger down payment can significantly reduce your total loan cost.

A payment estimate calculator (like this one) tells you what your monthly payments will be for a specific home price you have in mind. An affordability calculator works in reverse — you enter your income and expenses, and it tells you the maximum home price you can comfortably afford.

Property taxes and homeowners insurance are not technically part of the mortgage itself, but most lenders collect them monthly through an escrow account as part of your total housing payment. This calculator lets you include these costs to give you a realistic picture of your full monthly obligation.