VA Purchase Calculator: Estimate Your Zero-Down Payment
The VA home loan is the strongest purchase program in the market for those who've earned it: no down payment, no mortgage insurance, and no loan limit with full entitlement. This calculator estimates your monthly payment, calculates your funding fee based on your entitlement and down payment, and shows what you'd actually bring to closing.
Why the VA loan beats every other purchase program
Two features do most of the work. First, zero down payment. Conventional financing wants 3% to 20%, FHA wants 3.5%, and on a $400,000 home that's $12,000 to $80,000 you have to have saved. VA asks for nothing down. Second, and this is the one people underestimate, no mortgage insurance. FHA charges an upfront premium plus an annual premium that, on most loans, never goes away. Conventional charges PMI until you reach 20% equity. VA charges neither, for the life of the loan. On a typical payment that difference is often a couple hundred dollars a month, every month, permanently. Our VA loan page covers eligibility and the full benefit set.
The funding fee, and who doesn't pay it
The VA offsets the program's cost with a one-time funding fee instead of ongoing mortgage insurance. The fee is a percentage of the loan amount and depends on two things: whether this is your first time using your VA entitlement, and how much you put down. Putting 5% or 10% down lowers the fee meaningfully, which is worth modeling if you have savings you'd otherwise leave untouched. The fee can be rolled into the loan, which is what most borrowers do, so it doesn't come out of pocket at closing. That's why the calculator's total loan amount can come out higher than the purchase price. If you receive VA disability compensation, you're exempt from the funding fee entirely. So are Purple Heart recipients on active duty and many surviving spouses. Check the exempt box above and the fee drops to zero. This is worth confirming before you close, an exemption found late is a refund fight; found early it's simply a smaller loan.
Entitlement, and what "no loan limit" actually means
With full entitlement, there is no VA loan limit. You can buy at whatever price you qualify for based on income and credit, with no down payment required, whether that's $300,000 or $1.5 million. The county conforming limit does not cap you. The limit only re-enters the picture if your entitlement is partial, meaning you have another VA loan outstanding, or you had a prior VA loan that hasn't been restored. In that case your remaining entitlement determines how much you can borrow with no money down, and the county limit becomes part of that math. If you're not sure which situation you're in, that's a five-minute conversation, and it changes the answer significantly.
What this calculator doesn't include
The result covers principal, interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and HOA dues. It doesn't include other closing costs, title, escrow, appraisal, recording, prepaids, which vary by state and by transaction, and it uses the rate you enter rather than a rate you've been quoted. Treat it as a solid estimate of the monthly number, then let me run the actual one.
