Home › Benefits › VA funding fee & loan limits
Direct answer: The VA funding fee in 2026 is 2.15% of the loan on a first-use purchase with less than 5% down, 3.3% after first use, 1.5% with 5% down and 1.25% with 10% down. A VA streamline refinance (IRRRL) is 0.5%. Veterans who get VA disability compensation pay nothing. With full entitlement there's no VA loan limit.
By the numbers: $200,000 home, $10,000 down, first use: 1.5% of the $190,000 loan = a $2,850 funding fee. The rates are set by law for loans closed through June 8, 2034. Source: VA funding fee page (updated Oct. 5, 2026); 38 U.S.C. 3729
“You don't have a loan limit (as long as you can afford the loan amount and the property appraisal supports the purchase price of the home)” — VA: VA home loan entitlement and limits
Updated 2026-10-17
For a purchase or construction loan: 2.15% of the loan on first use with less than 5% down (3.3% after first use), 1.5% with 5% or more down, 1.25% with 10% or more down. Cash-out refinance: 2.15% first use, 3.3% after. IRRRL 0.5%, loan assumption 0.5%, manufactured home (not permanently affixed) 1%, Native American Direct Loan 1.25% purchase or 0.5% refinance, vendee 2.25%. VA's chart has been in effect since April 7, 2023.
You're exempt if you receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability, are eligible for it but get retirement or active-duty pay instead, are a surviving spouse receiving DIC, are a service member with a proposed or memorandum rating before closing from a pre-discharge claim, or are on active duty and show proof of a Purple Heart on or before closing (VA; 38 U.S.C. 3729(c)).
Yes, if VA later awards you service-connected disability compensation with an effective date before your loan closed. A proposed or memorandum rating dated after closing doesn't qualify. Call your VA regional loan center at 877-827-3702, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern (VA).
There's no VA loan limit if you have full entitlement: VA guarantees 25% of any loan over $144,000 and your lender decides what you can afford. If part of your entitlement is still tied up in another VA loan, VA uses the county's 2026 one-unit conforming limit from FHFA: $832,750 in most counties and up to $1,249,125 in high-cost areas.
Multiply your county's one-unit limit by 25%, then subtract the entitlement already charged (on your COE). Most lenders will lend up to 4 times that with no down payment. VA's example: $900,000 x 25% = $225,000, minus $50,000 used = $175,000 remaining, so about $700,000 with $0 down.
No change is scheduled. Under 38 U.S.C. 3729, as amended in January 2025 (Pub. L. 118-210), today's rates apply to loans closed before June 9, 2034. Lower rates (1.40% first-use purchase with less than 5% down, 1.25% after first use, 0.75% with 5% down, 0.50% with 10% down) start June 9, 2034 unless Congress changes the law again.
Yes. You can finance the funding fee into the loan or pay it at closing. On a purchase or construction loan it's the only closing cost you can finance. A seller can pay it as a concession, but seller concessions are capped at 4% of the home's reasonable value (VA).
As of Oct. 17, 2026 · VA funding fee chart (eff. April 7, 2023; page updated Oct. 5, 2026) · FHFA 2026 county limits
If you get VA disability compensation, check that your COE shows you’re exempt: you pay $0. Everyone else pays a one-time fee: 2.15% of the loan on a first-use purchase with less than 5% down (3.3% after first use), dropping to 1.5% with 5% down and 1.25% with 10% down. With full entitlement there’s no VA loan limit; with entitlement tied up in another loan, your county’s 2026 limit decides your $0-down maximum.
The math:
Sources: VA funding fee page · VA entitlement and limits page · 38 U.S.C. 3729
A best fit for the situation described, not financial advice or a buy/sell recommendation. Partner links never change a pick.
Purchase and construction loans, for Veterans, active-duty service members, and National Guard and Reserve members (same rates for all):
| Down payment (share of the price) | First use | After first use |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 5% | 2.15% | 3.3% |
| 5% or more | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| 10% or more | 1.25% | 1.25% |
| Other VA loans | Funding fee |
|---|---|
| Cash-out refinance | 2.15% first use · 3.3% after first use |
| Interest rate reduction refinance (IRRRL) | 0.5% |
| Loan assumption (of the unpaid balance) | 0.5% |
| Manufactured home (not permanently affixed) | 1% |
| Native American Direct Loan (NADL) | 1.25% purchase · 0.5% refinance |
| Vendee loan (buying a VA-acquired home) | 2.25% |
| Situation | Funding fee |
|---|---|
| First use, $0 down ($400,000 loan) | $8,600 |
| After first use, $0 down | $13,200 |
| 5% down ($20,000; $380,000 loan) | $5,700 |
| 10% down ($40,000; $360,000 loan) | $4,500 |
| County | One-unit limit |
|---|---|
| Kalawao County, HI | $1,299,500 |
| Maui County, HI | $1,299,500 |
| Alameda County, CA | $1,249,125 |
| Contra Costa County, CA | $1,249,125 |
| Los Angeles County, CA | $1,249,125 |
| Marin County, CA | $1,249,125 |
| Orange County, CA | $1,249,125 |
| San Benito County, CA | $1,249,125 |
| San Francisco County, CA | $1,249,125 |
| San Mateo County, CA | $1,249,125 |
| Santa Clara County, CA | $1,249,125 |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | $1,249,125 |
123 counties are high-cost areas with a limit above their baseline: California (17), Colorado (20), Connecticut (3), District of Columbia (1), Florida (1), Hawaii (2), Idaho (1), Maryland (5), Massachusetts (7), New Hampshire (2), New Jersey (12), New York (10), Pennsylvania (1), Tennessee (14), Utah (4), Virginia (18), Washington (3), West Virginia (1), Wyoming (1). Look up any county in the calculator above. Sources: VA entitlement and limits page · FHFA 2026 county limits · FHFA Nov. 25, 2025 release.
Facts and arithmetic only. VaultRubric isn’t VA or a lender, and this isn’t advice. VA decides your entitlement and exemption; your lender decides your loan and your Loan Estimate is the final number.
For a purchase or construction loan: 2.15% of the loan on first use with less than 5% down (3.3% after first use), 1.5% with 5% or more down, 1.25% with 10% or more down. Cash-out refinance: 2.15% first use, 3.3% after. IRRRL 0.5%, loan assumption 0.5%, manufactured home (not permanently affixed) 1%, Native American Direct Loan 1.25% purchase or 0.5% refinance, vendee 2.25%. VA's chart has been in effect since April 7, 2023.
You're exempt if you receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability, are eligible for it but get retirement or active-duty pay instead, are a surviving spouse receiving DIC, are a service member with a proposed or memorandum rating before closing from a pre-discharge claim, or are on active duty and show proof of a Purple Heart on or before closing (VA; 38 U.S.C. 3729(c)).
Yes, if VA later awards you service-connected disability compensation with an effective date before your loan closed. A proposed or memorandum rating dated after closing doesn't qualify. Call your VA regional loan center at 877-827-3702, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern (VA).
There's no VA loan limit if you have full entitlement: VA guarantees 25% of any loan over $144,000 and your lender decides what you can afford. If part of your entitlement is still tied up in another VA loan, VA uses the county's 2026 one-unit conforming limit from FHFA: $832,750 in most counties and up to $1,249,125 in high-cost areas.
Multiply your county's one-unit limit by 25%, then subtract the entitlement already charged (on your COE). Most lenders will lend up to 4 times that with no down payment. VA's example: $900,000 x 25% = $225,000, minus $50,000 used = $175,000 remaining, so about $700,000 with $0 down.
No change is scheduled. Under 38 U.S.C. 3729, as amended in January 2025 (Pub. L. 118-210), today's rates apply to loans closed before June 9, 2034. Lower rates (1.40% first-use purchase with less than 5% down, 1.25% after first use, 0.75% with 5% down, 0.50% with 10% down) start June 9, 2034 unless Congress changes the law again.
Yes. You can finance the funding fee into the loan or pay it at closing. On a purchase or construction loan it's the only closing cost you can finance. A seller can pay it as a concession, but seller concessions are capped at 4% of the home's reasonable value (VA).
Estimates, not financial advice. Taxes, insurance, PMI and fees vary by lender, county and city; confirm with your lender, dealer and state agency before acting.
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