LendingTree’s VA loan calculator can estimate your VA mortgage payment — including property taxes and homeowners insurance, as well as your VA funding fee amount. Your results are based on a few simple questions and can be further customized by expanding and filling in the advanced options fields.
Read more about getting a VA loan with bad credit.
To get the most accurate VA loan payment calculations, add the following information to the “Advanced Options” fields:
You’ll see your total monthly payment amount to the right of the calculator results, including principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI), as well as a breakdown of how much each element will cost you.
Principal and interest: This is the amount you’ll pay each month based on the loan term and interest rate you choose. The payment is based on the “total loan amount,” which includes the financed VA funding fee.
Property taxes: Lenders typically collect one-twelfth of your annual property tax bill and make the payments from an escrow account when the tax bill is due.
Homeowners insurance: Like your property taxes, lenders will divide your premium by 12 and collect it monthly, so that the bill is paid when the policy renews each year.
VA funding fee: This amount will range between 1.40% and 3.60% of your loan amount. It’ll also depend on your down payment and whether you’ve used your VA loan benefits before.
VA base loan amount: If you’re not making a down payment, the base loan amount will match your sales price.
Total loan amount: If you’re not exempt from paying the VA funding fee, it will be added to the base loan amount to calculate your total loan amount. Your principal and interest payment is based on this number
A VA loan is a mortgage exclusively for military borrowers to buy and refinance homes. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) guarantees the loans, which allows lenders to offer zero-down-payment mortgages that don’t require the costly mortgage insurance you’d typically pay with a low-down-payment conventional or FHA loan.
Each day of military service builds your VA loan entitlement, which is the dollar amount the VA pays if you default on a VA loan and the lender has to foreclose. You can typically borrow up to four times your VA entitlement without needing to put any money down.
You don’t need a special calculator to figure out how much VA loan entitlement you have — just check out our step-by-step guide to calculating your entitlement. It helps you determine:
You meet the minimum service requirements for a VA loan if you’re an active-duty service member and have served 90 continuous days of active duty, according to the VA. The military will issue a certificate of eligibility (COE) that lists how much entitlement you currently have.
→ If you’re a veteran, National Guard or Reserves member, your eligibility requirements depend on the dates you served. You can look up the rules that apply to you on the VA’s eligibility requirements page.
→ If you’re the surviving spouse of a service member, you may also be eligible. Usually this is only possible if your spouse died while serving, went missing in the line of duty or died from a service-connected disability.
VA loans give military borrowers access to the most flexible underwriting guidelines of any standard loan program. Here are some of the highlights that are unique to VA loan requirements:
Loan feature | How it’s unique |
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No down payment |
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No mortgage insurance | Conventional and FHA loans require you to pay for mortgage insurance, which protects the lender in case you default. |
No minimum credit score requirements |
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No loan limits | Conventional conforming and FHA loan limits change annually, and restrict the amount you can borrow. As long as you have full entitlement, you don’t have to worry about loan limits. |
Residual income vs. DTI ratio |
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Owner occupancy |
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You’ll usually pay 2% to 6% of your loan amount toward VA closing costs, which is on par with how much you’ll pay with other common loan types. However, there are some fees and rules about closing costs that only apply to VA loans:
The VA takes extra care to make sure military borrowers can afford to buy a home. Here are a few rules worth knowing:
If you’re eligible to take advantage of your VA loan entitlement, you should seriously consider a VA loan. They’re a great deal, particularly for borrowers who:
→ Don’t have the cash to make a down payment
→ Need to borrow more than conforming loan limits allow
→ Want to pay off a loan that requires mortgage insurance
→ Want to refinance an existing VA loan, but don’t have a lot of home equity