VA Mortgage Calculator 2025: See Your VA Loan Payment, Funding Fee & Real Savings
If you’re a veteran, active-duty service member, or eligible surviving spouse, the VA home loan program is one of the most powerful tools you have for buying a home. The challenge is that the numbers can feel confusing: funding fees, taxes, insurance, and “no down payment” promises all mixed together. That’s where a dedicated VA mortgage calculator helps. It lets you see, in plain numbers, what your monthly payment will look like and how much money you’re really saving compared to a conventional mortgage.
With this tool, you can test different home prices, interest rates, and loan terms, then layer in property tax, homeowners insurance, and HOA fees. You’ll also see how the VA funding fee is added to your loan and how it changes your payment. If you just want to compare with a non-VA loan, you can also try our standard mortgage calculator or our flexible loan payment calculator.
Why VA Loans Usually Beat Conventional Loans for Eligible Buyers
The thing that makes VA loans special is simple: they reduce or remove the biggest upfront and monthly costs of homeownership. You can often buy with 0% down, skip PMI entirely, and still get a competitive interest rate. On a $350,000 home, that can mean:
- No need to save $70,000 for a 20% down payment.
- No PMI charge that might add $150–$300+ every month.
- A lower interest rate that quietly cuts thousands of dollars in interest over the years.
If you’re just starting your research, it’s also worth checking a basic affordability estimate with our budget calculator or running long-term comparisons with our APR calculator to see the difference in borrowing costs.
Conventional Loan (5% down):
• Down Payment: $17,500
• PMI: about $150–$250/month until you reach 20% equity
• Total monthly payment: higher because of PMI + slightly higher rate
VA Loan (0% down):
• Down Payment: $0
• No PMI at all
• Competitive VA interest rate and a one-time funding fee
Even with the VA funding fee rolled into the loan, many borrowers still come out far ahead when they compare total monthly costs and lifetime interest.
How the VA Funding Fee Works in 2025
The VA funding fee is a one-time fee the VA charges to keep the program sustainable. The percentage depends on things like whether this is your first VA loan, whether you’re putting money down, your service category, and whether you’re doing a purchase, cash-out refinance, or IRRRL (streamline) refinance.
For many first-time VA buyers with 0% down, the funding fee is around 2.3% of the loan amount. On subsequent uses with no down payment, it can be around 3.6%. If you put at least 5% or 10% down, the percentage drops. The good news is that most borrowers simply roll the funding fee into the loan, so they don’t have to pay it out of pocket at closing.
Veterans with a qualifying service-connected disability rating are often exempt from this fee entirely. If that applies to you, make sure to select the disability option in the calculator so you can see the impact of a $0 funding fee on your payment.
How to Use the VA Mortgage Calculator Step by Step
- Enter your target home price. This can be a listing you’re watching or just a ballpark number you want to test.
- Add a down payment amount (if any). Remember, a down payment is optional with VA but can reduce your funding fee and monthly payment.
- Set the interest rate and loan term. 30-year VA loans are most common, but 15-year terms often come with lower rates and huge interest savings.
- Choose your service type and loan type. This helps estimate the correct funding fee percentage for purchase vs refinance scenarios.
- Enter property tax, homeowners insurance and HOA fees. These turn your “loan payment” into a realistic “total housing payment.”
Once you click “Calculate VA Loan”, the tool shows your full monthly payment and breaks it into principal & interest, taxes, insurance, HOA, and funding fee impact. If you’re also comparing car financing or other debts while budgeting, our auto loan calculator can help you see the bigger picture.
Who Qualifies for a VA Home Loan?
In general, VA loans are available to eligible veterans, active-duty service members, National Guard and Reserve members with enough service time, and some surviving spouses. Your lender will confirm this with a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). While the VA itself doesn’t set a strict minimum credit score, most lenders look for something in the 580–620+ range, with better terms often available above 640–660.
Keep in mind that the VA also uses a concept called residual income to be sure you have enough money left over each month after housing and debts to cover normal living expenses. That’s one reason VA loans have historically performed very well, even with low or no down payment.
Make the Most of Your VA Benefit
Your VA home loan benefit is something you earned through service, and it can easily be worth tens of thousands of dollars over your lifetime. Use this VA mortgage calculator to play with scenarios, understand your monthly payment, and compare options before you talk to lenders. Then, when you’re ready, you’ll be able to ask smarter questions and negotiate from a position of confidence.
If you’re still mapping out broader financial goals, you might also like our APR calculator for comparing loan offers and our compound interest calculator for long-term savings and investment planning.
The numbers you see here are estimates, not a formal loan offer, but they’re an excellent starting point. Run your scenario now, adjust a few sliders, and see how using a VA loan in 2025 can help make homeownership more affordable for you and your family.