How Much Is the VA Funding Fee for a Home Purchase in Georgia?
The VA funding fee runs from 1.25% to 3.3% of your loan amount, depending on your down payment and whether this is your first time using your VA home loan benefit. On a $400,000 purchase with no down payment, that is $8,600 for a first-time user and $13,200 for a veteran using the benefit again. Some veterans, including those receiving VA disability compensation, pay no funding fee at all.
TL;DR
- The VA funding fee has three down payment tiers: under 5% down, 5% to 9.99% down, and 10% or more down, and the rate changes based on your down payment and whether you have used a VA loan before.
- The fee is calculated on your loan amount, not your home's purchase price, so a bigger down payment lowers both the loan amount and the rate tier.
- You do not have to pay it in cash. Most VA buyers finance the funding fee into the loan itself.
- Veterans receiving VA disability compensation, eligible surviving spouses, and currently serving Purple Heart recipients are exempt and pay $0.
- The funding fee has nothing to do with the VA loan limit. A veteran with full entitlement has no county loan limit in Cobb County.
With Dobbins Air Reserve Base sitting right in Marietta, I work with a steady stream of veterans and active duty buyers looking in Marietta, Kennesaw, and Acworth. The VA loan is one of the strongest benefits available to a home buyer in this country, and almost every veteran I talk to has heard of the VA funding fee. Far fewer know how it is actually calculated, or that some of them will not pay it at all.
Here is what the fee actually costs in this market, and how to tell early whether you qualify for an exemption.
What the VA Funding Fee Actually Costs
The VA funding fee is a one-time charge the VA uses to help fund the loan guaranty program, since VA loans do not require mortgage insurance. It applies to most VA purchase loans, and it is calculated as a percentage of your loan amount, not your home's sale price. That distinction matters once a down payment enters the picture.
The rate you pay depends on two things: how much you put down, and whether you have used your VA entitlement before.
| Down payment | First-time use | Subsequent use |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 5% | 2.15% | 3.3% |
| 5% to 9.99% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| 10% or more | 1.25% | 1.25% |
These rates have been in effect since April 2023 and apply through 2026. A couple of worked examples make this concrete.
Example 1: No down payment, first-time use. On a hypothetical $400,000 home in Kennesaw with zero down, the loan amount is also $400,000. At the 2.15% first-use rate, the funding fee comes to about $8,600.
Example 2: No down payment, second VA loan. The same $400,000 loan amount, but for a veteran who has used VA financing before, lands at the 3.3% subsequent-use rate. That funding fee comes to about $13,200, a difference of roughly $4,600 from Example 1 for the identical loan amount.
Example 3: 10% down. Put $40,000 down on that same $400,000 home and the loan amount drops to $360,000. At the 1.25% rate (which applies the same way whether it is your first or a later VA loan), the fee comes to about $4,500, roughly $4,100 less than Example 1.
These numbers are illustrative only. Your actual fee depends on your exact loan amount, which your lender will confirm on your Loan Estimate.
How Veterans in Cobb County Actually Pay the Fee
You do not need to bring the funding fee to the closing table in cash. The VA allows it to be rolled into your total loan amount, which is how most buyers I work with in Marietta and Kennesaw choose to handle it. That keeps the zero-down benefit intact: you are not writing a separate check for the fee, you are financing it along with the rest of the loan.
One thing the funding fee is not: a stand-in for the VA loan limit. Those are two completely separate pieces of the VA loan program. A veteran with full entitlement has no county-specific loan limit at all in Cobb County, which is different from the conforming and FHA limits that apply to conventional and FHA buyers. If you want the full breakdown on how those limits work in this market, I cover it in a separate post on 2026 conforming and FHA loan limits in Cobb County.
Who Pays Nothing: VA Funding Fee Exemptions
Several categories of veterans and surviving spouses are exempt from the funding fee entirely, meaning the fee is $0, not reduced. Based on VA guidance, exemptions generally apply to:
- Veterans receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability.
- Veterans who would be entitled to disability compensation but are receiving retirement pay or active-duty pay instead.
- Surviving spouses of a veteran who died in service, or from a service-connected disability, who are receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC).
- Service members currently serving who have been awarded the Purple Heart.
Here is the part that trips people up: exemption status is not something you self-certify on an application. It is confirmed through your VA Certificate of Eligibility (COE), which your lender requests directly from the VA. If your disability claim is still pending when you close, your lender generally has to collect the funding fee anyway, since the exemption has not been confirmed yet. If the VA later approves your claim with an effective date before your closing, a refund of the fee may be available. It is worth asking your lender about this timeline if you have a disability claim in process and a closing date approaching.
Only the VA can make the final exemption determination, so if you believe you qualify, the right move is to request your COE early and let your lender confirm it, rather than assuming either way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all VA loans in Georgia require the funding fee?
No. Most VA purchase loans do include a funding fee, but veterans receiving VA disability compensation, eligible surviving spouses receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, and currently serving Purple Heart recipients are exempt and pay $0. Your lender confirms your status through your VA Certificate of Eligibility, not through a self-reported answer on an application.
Can I finance the VA funding fee instead of paying it in cash at closing?
Yes. Most VA buyers roll the funding fee into their total loan amount rather than paying it out of pocket. This is standard practice and keeps the no-down-payment benefit intact for buyers who are not putting money down.
Is the VA funding fee the same thing as the VA loan limit?
No, and this is a common point of confusion. The funding fee is a one-time cost tied to your down payment and loan use history. The loan limit question is separate: a veteran with full entitlement has no county-specific VA loan limit in Cobb County at all. Reduced-entitlement veterans are the ones who need to account for a county limit on their remaining guaranty.
Does the VA funding fee differ between Marietta, Kennesaw, and Acworth?
No. The funding fee percentage is federal and does not change by city or county. What changes by community is your likely loan amount, since home prices and typical down payments vary between Marietta, Kennesaw, and Acworth, and the fee is a percentage of that loan amount.
What happens if my disability claim is still pending when I close?
Your lender will generally still collect the funding fee at closing, since your exemption has not been confirmed by the VA yet. If the VA later approves the claim with an effective date before your closing, you may be eligible for a refund. Talk to your lender early if you have a claim in process, and you can read more buyer-side financing guidance on Path2Sold.com.
If you are using a VA loan to buy in Marietta, Kennesaw, or Acworth, the funding fee is one number on your Loan Estimate you should not be surprised by. It depends on your down payment and your VA loan history, it can be rolled into the loan instead of paid in cash, and it has nothing to do with the separate loan limit question. Some veterans will not pay it at all, and the only way to know for sure is to get your Certificate of Eligibility confirmed early.
I work with a lot of veterans and active duty buyers around Marietta, and I'm always happy to be a resource as you sort out what your actual numbers look like. Schedule a consultation with me, Robert Masoudpour, and we will walk through your VA benefit, your target budget, and what homes in this market actually look like at that price point. Schedule a 15-minute consultation
This post is for general information only and is not legal, tax, or lending advice. Confirm your exact VA funding fee, exemption status, and loan terms with your VA-approved lender before relying on any figure in this post.
