Suppose you’re buying a $400,000 home in the city of Richmond with a VA loan and no down payment. An illustrative estimate puts cash-to-close items between roughly $8,100 and $15,650, plus a $8,600 first-use VA funding fee that you can finance. With a negotiated seller concession of $10,000, the high-end cash need drops to about $5,650. This guide builds a VA loan closing costs calculator by hand, so you end with a line-by-line estimate you can check against your Loan Estimate. Duane Buziak, NMLS #1110647, walks through each line below.
Before you start, have three things: your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) status, a target price, and a rough sense of your credit profile.
- Step 1: Gather your inputs
- Step 2: Add up the VA-specific fees
- Step 3: Estimate third-party costs
- Step 4: Calculate prepaids and escrow setup
- Step 5: Run the full worked example
- Step 6: Reduce the total
- Step 7: Check against a Loan Estimate
- FAQ
Step 1: Gather Your Purchase Price, Eligibility Status, and Loan Inputs
A VA closing cost calculator needs these inputs:
- Purchase price
- Down payment (often $0 with a VA loan)
- Loan amount
- Interest rate range
- Credit tier
- Loan term
- Property tax and homeowners insurance estimates
If you don’t have a price yet, use a city-wide Richmond median as your default. Pull it from the Zillow home values pages for the city of Richmond or from Virginia REALTORS market reports, and note the month of the figure. Use city-level numbers only. This guide uses $400,000 as a round illustrative price, not a quoted median.
Next, confirm your COE status and funding fee category on the VA funding fee and closing costs page. The category depends on whether this is your first or a subsequent use of the benefit and on your down payment tier. Veterans receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability, and certain other borrowers such as Purple Heart recipients and eligible surviving spouses, are exempt. Check the current 2026 percentages there before you enter them.
VA loans have no VA-set loan limit for full-entitlement borrowers, though lenders set their own. For comparison, the 2026 conforming limit for conventional loans is $832,750, per FHFA.
For credit, a rough tier is enough. A NoTouch Credit Pull lets you get a personalized estimate without a hard inquiry.
Mistake to avoid: treating one rate quote as a promise. Enter a low and a high rate, and use the weekly Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey to see the general rate environment. Write down the “as of” date next to whatever rate you use.
Step 2: Add Up the VA-Specific Fees: Funding Fee and Allowable Charges
The belief that VA loans have no closing costs is false. They have fewer allowable fees, and the veteran can’t be charged certain items at all.
The funding fee
The funding fee is a one-time charge paid to VA that helps keep the program running. Exempt borrowers skip it. Everyone else can finance it into the loan instead of paying cash. For a first-use, zero-down purchase, VA’s published rate has been 2.15% since April 2023. Confirm it on va.gov for 2026. On a $400,000 price that is $8,600, so the loan becomes $408,600.
Fees you can be charged versus fees you can’t
Under VA rules, the veteran may generally pay for:
- The appraisal
- The credit report
- Recording fees
- Title charges
- Survey, where required
- A flat origination fee of up to 1% of the loan amount
The veteran generally can’t be charged separate processing, underwriting, or administrative fees on top of that 1%. They also can’t be charged the lender’s attorney fees or certain other items the VA Lender’s Handbook lists as nonallowable. Confirm the current list in the handbook through va.gov.
The VA appraisal is assigned through VA’s appraiser assignment system. It is not the same as a conventional appraisal, and cost varies by property and location. Enter it as its own line.
Decision for your calculator: many online tools lump “lender fees” into one number. Split it into origination (capped at 1%), appraisal, and credit report, so you can compare each against your Loan Estimate later.
Step 3: Estimate Third-Party Costs: Title, Settlement, Recording, and Transfer Taxes
Third-party costs go to companies other than your lender. Typical items:
- Lender’s title insurance
- Settlement or closing fee
- Title search and examination
- Recording fees for the deed and deed of trust
- Virginia grantor tax and other transfer-related taxes
Under a typical Virginia contract, the seller customarily pays the grantor tax, and the buyer pays recording charges and the lender’s title policy. That is customary practice, not a rule, so verify current rates and local practice against your own contract and the Virginia Department of Taxation and Richmond Circuit Court clerk fee schedules.
Some calculators offer a rule-of-thumb percentage for total closing costs. Use one only if it names its source and year. Otherwise, treat any total as an estimate and build it from line items, which is the point of doing this by hand.
Survey and inspection are optional or contract-driven. List them as add-ons, not as required costs. A home inspection is a smart buyer decision on almost any purchase, and a survey depends on your contract and lender or title requirements.
Tip: the Loan Estimate separates services you can shop for from those you can’t. Where it lets you choose, get quotes from two or three title and settlement providers. Title charges are often the most flexible large line in this step.
Step 4: Calculate Prepaids and Escrow Setup
Prepaids are different in kind from closing fees. Fees pay for services. Prepaids fund costs of owning the home that you owe anyway, just earlier than usual. Three items go in this step:
- Homeowners insurance: usually the first-year premium, paid at or before closing.
- Prepaid interest: interest from your closing date to the end of that month.
- Initial escrow deposit: a starting cushion for property taxes and insurance, held by the servicer.
The per-diem interest formula is loan amount × rate ÷ 365 × days. With a $408,600 loan at an illustrative 6.25%: $408,600 × 0.0625 ÷ 365 = about $69.97 per day. Close with 20 days left in the month and prepaid interest is about $1,399. Close with 5 days left and it is about $350. Your cash needs shift by over $1,000 depending on the closing date, so enter the actual date once your contract has one.
For taxes, pull the City of Richmond’s current published real estate tax rate from rva.gov and note the “as of” date. Don’t guess it. Multiply the assessed value by the rate per $100 of value, divide by 12, and multiply by the number of months your lender collects at closing. Your Loan Estimate will show the exact count.
Step 5: Run the Full Worked Example With Richmond Median Pricing
Illustration: $400,000 purchase, zero down, financed funding fee
Assume a first-use borrower, a $400,000 price, and an illustrative 6.25% rate on a 30-year loan. The funding fee is 2.15%, or $8,600, financed into a $408,600 loan.
The monthly principal and interest on $408,600 is about $2,516. Without the financed fee, $400,000 would be about $2,463. Financing the fee adds roughly $53 a month. Taxes, insurance, and any escrow are extra.
The table below shows illustrative line items. It is not a quote.
| Line item | Low estimate | High estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Origination (1% cap) | $2,000 | $4,000 |
| VA appraisal | $700 | $1,000 |
| Credit report | $50 | $150 |
| Title, settlement, and search | $1,800 | $3,000 |
| Recording and related fees | $500 | $900 |
| Prepaid interest | $350 | $1,399 |
| First-year homeowners insurance | $1,200 | $2,200 |
| Initial escrow deposit | $1,500 | $3,000 |
| Total cash items | $8,100 | $15,649 |
| VA funding fee (financed, not cash) | $8,600 | $8,600 |
The delta: if you pay everything yourself, cash to close runs $8,100 to $15,649. If the seller agrees to $10,000 in concessions, the same range becomes $0 to $5,649, because concessions can only cover costs that exist.
To replace these placeholders with real numbers, ask for a NoTouch Credit Pull estimate. It gives you a personalized figure without a hard credit inquiry.
Step 6: Reduce the Total With Seller Concessions and No-Out-of-Pocket Closing Options
VA caps seller concessions at 4% of the loan’s value. Concessions in VA’s definition include seller payment of your funding fee, prepaids, and debt payoffs, and can include certain discount points. Customary closing costs the seller pays, such as the grantor tax, do not count toward the cap. Confirm the exact definition in the VA Lender’s Handbook on va.gov.
A second lever is a lender credit. You accept a slightly higher interest rate, and the lender applies the credit to your costs. The trade-off is plain: less cash now, a larger payment every month for as long as you keep the loan. This is one of the no-out-of-pocket closing options Duane Buziak can model side by side with a lower-rate, higher-cash version.
To negotiate, put the request in the financing and concessions section of your Virginia purchase contract, stated as a dollar amount or percentage the seller will contribute toward buyer closing costs. Include it in the initial offer or in a counteroffer, and have your agent confirm the wording matches your lender’s limits.
| Feature | VA Loan | FHA Loan | Conventional Loan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum down payment | 0% for eligible borrowers | 3.5% with qualifying credit | As low as 3% on certain programs |
| Mortgage insurance or fee | No monthly MI; one-time funding fee unless exempt | Upfront and annual mortgage insurance premiums | Private mortgage insurance, typically when down payment is under 20% |
| Seller concession limit | 4% cap | Up to 6% | 3% to 9%, depending on down payment |
Verify each limit at va.gov, hud.gov, and fanniemae.com before relying on it. Then Dare to Compare: ask for Loan Estimates for each program, line against line.
Step 7: Check Your Calculator Result Against a Real Loan Estimate
A calculator is an estimate. The Loan Estimate is the document that counts. Lenders must deliver it within three business days of your application, per the CFPB’s Loan Estimate explainer. Read it in this order:
- Section A: origination charges. Compare to your origination, which is capped at 1%.
- Section B: services you cannot shop for, such as the appraisal and credit report.
- Section C: services you can shop for, often title and settlement.
- Cash to Close table: the number your whole calculator was built to predict.
Prepaids and escrows appear further down in the same closing cost detail, so check Step 4’s numbers there too.
Tolerance rules explain which numbers can move. Under the CFPB’s categories, a lender’s origination charges and transfer taxes can’t increase. Recording fees and shoppable services chosen from the lender’s list can rise by no more than 10% in total. Prepaid interest, insurance premiums, escrow deposits, and services you choose outside the list can change without limit. Confirm the categories on consumerfinance.gov.
If your hand-built total and the Loan Estimate differ by more than a few hundred dollars, find the line that moved. Request your Loan Estimate from Duane Buziak at Richmond Home Loans by Duane Buziak, (804) 212-8663.
Closing Costs Are Only Final in Writing
Compare your calculator total to a written Loan Estimate before you make decisions. Whether you’re a veteran ready to use your hard-earned benefits or a homebuyer exploring your financing options, your path to homeownership starts with expert guidance you can trust. Connect with Duane today for a personalized consultation and discover the mortgage solution tailored to your unique goals in the Stafford County and Richmond area.