Current VA cash-out guidelines, updated from one source.
Read the block as VA’s rulebook reduced to what decides a file. The loan stops at the reasonable value, fee included; the fee follows the veteran’s use of entitlement unless an exemption applies; the loan being replaced must be seasoned; the new loan must pass a net tangible benefit test and a ratio guideline that residual income can override. The table beneath carries the fee tiers.
Of the reasonable value, funding fee included, on a principal residence
A VA cash-out may reach 100% of the reasonable value set by the VA appraisal, and the financed funding fee counts inside that figure. The existing first lien, any second lien, and the closing costs are paid from the loan before the remainder becomes cash; the property must be the veteran’s principal residence.
First use; 3.3% after first use; exempt with service-connected disability compensation
The funding fee on a cash-out is 2.15% of the loan for a first use of entitlement and 3.3% for any later use, and it may be financed. Veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability, surviving spouses receiving dependency compensation, and certain others pay no fee at all.
And six payments on the loan being refinanced, whichever comes later
VA will not back the new loan until the loan being refinanced is seasoned: the later of 210 days after its first payment was due and the date its sixth monthly payment was made. The rule protects veterans from refinancing the same loan again and again.
A net tangible benefit test, a debt-to-income guideline, and residual income that decides
580 is the wholesale starting score and 41% the ratio guideline, yet neither decides a VA cash-out alone: residual income by region and family size carries more weight, and a ratio over the guideline passes with residual income comfortably above VA’s table or other justification. One of eight benefit tests must also be met.
| Loan | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cash-out refinance, first use of entitlement | 2.15% | May be financed into the loan; the total may not exceed the cap |
| Cash-out refinance, subsequent use | 3.3% | Any prior VA loan counts as a prior use, including an IRRRL |
| Exempt borrowers | 0% | receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability; eligible to receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability but receiving retirement or active-duty pay instead; surviving spouses receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) |
| Rate-reduction refinance loan (IRRRL), for comparison | 0.5% | An existing VA loan refinanced for a lower rate or a fixed rate; no cash out; no appraisal required by VA |
The line-of-credit alternative: Lendmire’s HELOC program lends to 90% combined loan-to-value on a primary residence while the existing first mortgage stays in place and carries no funding fee. A conventional cash-out reaches eighty percent of value, and one wholesale lane goes higher; FHA cash-out reaches eighty percent with mortgage insurance. Each is compared on the same numbers before a recommendation.
Current VA cash-out snapshot · updated October 1, 2026 · the new loan is sized on the reasonable value with the funding fee financed inside the cap · county figures bear only on remaining entitlement and are confirmed by a Lendmire loan officer · taking cash out raises the balance and may extend the payoff · Lendmire is a broker, never the lender.
Not an offer, not a commitment to lend, not an approval, not a quote. What this page shows are VA program parameters, drawn from 38 CFR 36.4306, VA Circular 26-19-05, and the VA Lenders Handbook, together with wholesale lender overlays, as of the date shown; VA and the lenders change them without notice, and every file is subject to a Certificate of Eligibility, a VA appraisal, and full underwriting on residual income. The calculator’s rate is a published weekly survey average. Lendmire LLC, NMLS #2371349, is a mortgage broker licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages, never the lender, and has no affiliation with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
What a VA cash-out refinance is — and how the file is qualified.
Here is the program in the order it matters: the loan and the disbursement, the entitlement and the fee, the seasoning and benefit tests with the VA appraisal, and the choice between a VA cash-out and its alternatives for a Virginia veteran.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s VA cash-out refinance program; the rules are VA’s, at VA.gov, and the Certificate of Eligibility is requested there.
One new VA loan, cash at closing
A VA cash-out is a brand-new VA-backed first mortgage. The settlement agent pays off the current loan, VA or otherwise, pays off any second lien, pays the closing costs, and sends the veteran what remains once the rescission window has run. The funding fee is financed inside the loan, and the whole loan stays within the reasonable value.
Entitlement, the COE, and the funding fee
Entitlement is the share of a loan VA promises to cover for the lender, earned by service and documented on the Certificate of Eligibility. With full entitlement there is no VA loan limit; with entitlement partly in use on another loan, the lender may need equity or a down payment to reach the guaranty VA requires. The COE is requested at VA.gov, through the lender, or by mail.
Seasoning, the net tangible benefit, and the appraisal
Where the new loan does not exceed the payoff of the old one, VA adds a recoupment test: the fees and costs must be recovered through the lower payment within the stated months. Where the new loan is larger, as it is in nearly every cash-out, the benefit test alone applies. The lender also hands the veteran a written comparison of the two loans at application and again at closing.
VA cash-out or the alternatives
A veteran with an existing VA loan who wants only a lower rate or a fixed rate should look at the streamline refinance first: a smaller fee, no VA appraisal, no cash. A veteran who wants equity out needs the cash-out. A home equity line keeps the first mortgage in place and prices only the new money, which matters when the current loan carries a rate worth keeping.
The fee sits inside the cap, not on top of it, so a subsequent-use fee leaves less cash than a first-use fee on the same value and an exempt veteran keeps the most. Ask for less and the loan shrinks; ask for more and the calculator reports the ceiling for the tier chosen.
Where Virginia’s equity sits — and how VA cash-out fits.
Virginia is many markets: ownership, values, and incomes shift from city to city, and every VA cash-out in the state is sized against its own Notice of Value. The Census figures below describe the state as a whole.
Statewide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. A higher median value puts more equity behind full-value leverage; a higher balance against that value leaves less of it reachable. VA’s cap is fixed; the dollars it releases follow the market.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Where Virginia’s veterans borrow equity — market by market.
Six Virginia markets, six guides. VA’s program is the constant; the equity a typical home holds, the property-requirement questions the local stock raises, and the regional residual-income table are what vary.
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach is one of the larger Virginia owner markets, close to 117,165 households, about 65% of households, and in a metropolitan market that size the veterans among them refinance for cash on VA terms every month: full value, no monthly insurance, the fee financed. Census context: median value near $382,500, median household income near $92,968, population near 456K.
Chesapeake
Near 69,615 households own in Chesapeake (74% of the total), and the veterans and service members in that number carry an entitlement that reaches further than the conventional or FHA cash-out caps in this metropolitan market. Census context: median value near $378,400, median household income near $95,373, population near 253K.
Arlington
With about 46,221 owner households, about 41% of households, Arlington is a metropolitan market where a VA cash-out file is routine: the COE, the appraisal, the seasoning, the fee, and the residual income. Census context: median value near $895,000, median household income near $142,114, population near 236K.
Richmond
Near 45,407 households own in Richmond (44% of the total), and the veterans and service members in that number carry an entitlement that reaches further than the conventional or FHA cash-out caps in this metropolitan market. Census context: median value near $353,000, median household income near $64,587, population near 229K.
Norfolk
With about 44,000 owner households, about 46% of households, Norfolk is a metropolitan market where a VA cash-out file is routine: the COE, the appraisal, the seasoning, the fee, and the residual income. Census context: median value near $289,900, median household income near $66,109, population near 234K.
Newport News
With about 36,655 owner households, about 48% of households, Newport News is a metropolitan market where a VA cash-out file is routine: the COE, the appraisal, the seasoning, the fee, and the residual income. Census context: median value near $260,600, median household income near $69,634, population near 184K.
From the largest Virginia market to the smallest, the sequence is the same: COE, value, fee, seasoning, benefit, appraisal, residual income. Full entitlement carries no VA loan limit, and partial entitlement is where county figures and an equity requirement enter.
Four ways Virginia veterans put equity to work.
Four reasons bring Virginia veterans to a VA cash-out more than any others, and each touches a different part of the review: residual income, the appraisal, the sequence of two loans, or the comparison with a line of credit.
Consolidate higher-cost debt into one VA-backed payment
Retiring a stack of balances with one VA-backed loan changes two things at once for a Virginia household: the monthly outlay falls, and the residual income VA counts rises because the retired payments are gone. The balance runs on a new full term with the fee inside it, which is the part to weigh before signing.
Capitalize a business or an investment
Working capital drawn from a Virginia home arrives as one disbursement after rescission and is repaid on the mortgage regardless of how the venture performs. The review reads the veteran’s personal income and credit, not the business plan, and residual income after the new payment is the figure that decides.
Pay off a second lien or a line in repayment
Two liens become one fixed VA payment on a Virginia home. The ceiling is measured on the total loan, fee included, against the Notice of Value, and the ratio and the residual income are measured on the single new payment, which is usually lower than the two it replaces.
Fund a large expense or a reserve
Borrowing to keep money on hand means paying interest, and the fee unless exempt, on dollars that may sit idle, which is why a line drawn only when needed often wins. A Virginia veteran who is exempt from the fee, or whose current loan should be replaced anyway, tilts the answer back toward the cash-out.
Estimate the cash, the fee, and the new payment on a Virginia home before requesting a quote.
Value, balance, and cash decide most of it, and the fee tier decides how much of the ceiling is fee. The result shows the maximum loan, the maximum cash, the total loan, the payment with no monthly insurance, and whether the ratio clears VA’s guideline. The rate is the current Freddie Mac survey average, not a quote.
Virginia VA cash-out estimate
A Virginia example to start from. Enter your own figures and your fee tier to see your own ceiling and payment.
Editable benchmark: 7.28% as of October 1, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a VA cash-out refinance quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $385,000 home value near Virginia’s median owner-occupied value, a $212,000 current balance, the full-value VA cap with the first-use funding fee financed, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Virginia (U.S. Census Bureau). Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conventional benchmark, a market reference and not a VA cash-out refinance quote; a VA loan is priced by the lender at lock. The total loan, funding fee included, is capped at the program leverage on the reasonable value; the fee follows the tier chosen. The cash available is what the cap allows less the balances paid off and the fee, before closing costs, which are not included. The HELOC line is the line program’s combined loan-to-value ceiling applied to the same value and balance. Taxes and insurance are editable estimates. The debt-to-income figure is a guideline; residual income decides a VA file. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages.
Same equity, three ways to borrow it.
A Virginia veteran can reach the same equity three ways, and the differences are structural: a VA cash-out replaces the first mortgage at full-value leverage with the fee inside; the VA streamline refinances an existing VA loan for a better rate with no cash; a home equity line sits behind the first mortgage and prices only the new money. The cards compare them.
VA cash-out, the IRRRL, or a HELOC.
A new VA-backed first mortgage replaces the old one, VA or not, up to the full reasonable value with the funding fee financed inside the cap and no monthly mortgage insurance. It is a full refinance with a VA appraisal, the seasoning and benefit tests, and a fee unless the veteran is exempt; it delivers the largest lump sum of the three.
The streamline refinances an existing VA loan to a lower rate or from an adjustable to a fixed rate: a small fee, no appraisal required by VA, limited underwriting, and no cash out. It is the right tool for the Virginia veteran whose only goal is a better payment on a VA loan already in place. See Lendmire’s VA loan program for the IRRRL.
The line of credit is a second lien that leaves the first mortgage exactly as it is: drawn as needed during the draw period, repaid over the period that follows, usually at a rate that adjusts, with no funding fee and lighter closing costs. Lendmire’s line program reaches a high combined leverage, and it is the first comparison for any Virginia veteran whose current loan is worth keeping. See Lendmire’s home equity line of credit.
The purpose decides first and the existing first mortgage decides second. Cash wanted points to the cash-out; rate relief on a VA loan points to the streamline; a first mortgage worth keeping points to the line. A Virginia review settles it on the numbers rather than the labels, with the fee tier and the residual income in the figure. Without entitlement, see the conventional and FHA cash-out programs.
What to prepare for a Virginia scenario review.
The documents are the ordinary refinance set plus the ones VA adds, the Certificate of Eligibility and the service record behind it; here is what a Virginia VA cash-out review draws on.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the transaction, the property, the automated finding, and the income picture. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
A loan officer runs this list on every Virginia VA cash-out before quoting, because any item on it can change the loan amount, the cost, or the date.
Use these checks to keep the Virginia file clean and fundable.
Three checks decide most Virginia files: the fee tier against the cash, the residual income against VA’s table, and the seasoning clock against the current loan. Answer them first and the closing holds few surprises.
- Confirm the fee tier: First use, subsequent use, or exempt: the COE decides, and the fee is financed inside the cap.
- Compute the residual: Family size, loan size, and region move the table; payoffs through the closing lower the obligations.
- Expect the waiting period: The old loans are paid and the cash disbursed together when the period ends.
The funding fee comes out of the cash unless the veteran is exempt
Because the fee sits inside the ceiling, the tier decides how much of the equity reaches the veteran. The review on a Virginia file reads the COE first, applies the tier, and only then sizes the cash; a veteran whose rating is pending at closing may be refunded the fee once the rating is granted with an effective date before closing.
Residual income decides a VA file
VA’s ratio is a guideline; residual income is the rule. After the new payment, every other monthly obligation, taxes and insurance, maintenance and utilities, and federal and state tax, the money left must meet VA’s table for the region, the family size, and the loan size. A Virginia file with a ratio above the guideline passes when residual income runs comfortably past the table.
The rescission period before the money moves
Plan the money from the rescission period backward: the date the cash is needed, the days the period takes, the closing date before that. On a Virginia VA cash-out the window is not negotiable and the disbursement always follows it, with the payoffs to the old lenders and the wire to the veteran leaving together.
Full entitlement or partial entitlement changes the file
A surviving spouse, a Guard or Reserve member with the required service, and a veteran with a discharge VA accepts can each hold entitlement; the COE confirms it, and the service documents behind it differ by category. On a Virginia file the COE is the first document requested and the one most often missing.
The VA appraisal sets the reasonable value and checks the property
Two findings change a Virginia file: a reasonable value under the plan, which shrinks the loan and the cash, and a property finding, which adds repairs before closing. Plan the cash on a cautious value, and walk the house for the obvious items, a bad roof, peeling paint on an older home, a missing handrail, before the appraisal is ordered.
From a Virginia scenario review to cash at closing.
Four stages in a fixed order, review, COE and application, appraisal and underwriting, closing and funding, and the first decides whether the rest are worth starting on a Virginia file.
Scenario review
Bring the value, the balance, the cash wanted, the fee tier or exemption, the income, and the household size. A Lendmire loan officer applies the full-value cap, finds the ceiling and the cash after the fee, the payoff, and the costs, computes residual income on the new payment, prices the streamline and the line of credit beside it, and puts the terms in writing before anything is ordered.
COE, application, and automated finding
Once the COE is in hand and the application is filed, the disclosures go out, the credit report is pulled, and the finding tells the lender what to verify. The Virginia veteran sees the condition list here: statements, the service record, the payoff figures, the insurance, and whatever the finding raises, with the residual income computed on the new payment.
VA appraisal and underwriting
The figures become final here. The appraiser sets the Virginia home’s reasonable value and lists any required repairs; the underwriter measures the file against VA’s rules and the lender’s overlays, computes residual income on the new payment, documents the net tangible benefit, clears each condition, and draws the closing disclosure on the final loan with the fee inside it.
Closing, rescission, and funding
The last step is the shortest: signatures at the table, the rescission period, then the disbursement. The settlement agent retires the old mortgage and any second lien from the proceeds, records the new one, and sends the Virginia veteran the remainder; the old payment stops and the new one, with no monthly insurance, begins.
A brokerage built around equity lending.
What a veteran gets from a broker on a cash-out is a choice made honestly: the VA cash-out, the VA streamline, the home equity line, and the conventional and FHA cash-outs for partial entitlement, each priced on the same figures, with the one that serves the purpose written up and the others explained.
Every route, one review
A veteran is never pushed toward the one loan a lender offers. The cash-out, the streamline, and the line are each run on the same reasonable value, balance, and cash for the Virginia home, each costed to open and to carry, and the one that serves the purpose at the lowest cost is the one recommended.
Placed across wholesale programs
VA sets the program; each wholesale lender layers its own overlays and its own cost on top. The Virginia file goes to the lender where the score, the leverage, and the property fit best, and the veteran’s terms come from that placement, not from the only desk in the building.
Terms in writing, before any fee
Written first, ordered second, paid third: that is the order on every Virginia file. The veteran sees the loan, the fee, the cash after costs, the payment, and the residual income on a value with room beneath it before any fee is charged, so a plan that cannot close never costs an appraisal.
Trusted by veterans & families alike.
Virginia VA cash-out refinance FAQs
Before you apply in Virginia: how much, what the fee costs, how seasoned the current loan must be, and when the streamline or a line of credit is the better instrument.
What is a VA cash-out refinance, and who can use it?
A complete new VA-backed mortgage for more than the old balance, with the difference paid to the veteran; the Notice of Value sets the ceiling, the fee rides inside it, and the proceeds are unrestricted. Lendmire arranges it beside the streamline and the home equity line so a Virginia veteran sees all three.
How much cash can I take out with a VA refinance?
Up to the full reasonable value shown in the snapshot, with the funding fee counted inside that ceiling, less the current balance, any second lien being retired, and the closing costs. The fee tier therefore moves the answer: a first use of entitlement leaves more cash than a subsequent use, and an exempt veteran keeps the most. The calculator above runs the figures for a Virginia value and balance by tier, and the VA appraisal has the final say on the value.
How much is the VA funding fee on a cash-out, and who is exempt?
Two tiers and an exemption, all in the snapshot: first use, subsequent use, and none at all for the exempt groups VA lists, led by veterans compensated for a service-connected disability. The fee is financed in nearly every file, so it reduces the cash rather than requiring money at closing.
How long do I need to have had my current loan before a VA cash-out?
VA’s seasoning rule protects veterans from repeated refinancing: the existing loan must be old enough, measured by days since the first payment was due and by payments made, before a cash-out can replace it. A Virginia file a month short waits a month.
What credit score do I need for a VA cash-out refinance?
The score decides the cost tier more than the eligibility. A Virginia veteran near the wholesale floor should expect it to show in the price of the loan, while the approval itself rests on residual income, the seasoning of the current loan, and the benefit the new one delivers.
Does the home have to be my primary residence?
VA’s occupancy rule is strict for a cash-out: the veteran, or a spouse under the deployment exception, must occupy the Virginia home as a principal residence. Investment property and vacation homes take the conventional route.
What is different about the VA appraisal?
VA assigns the appraiser and the lender orders the appraisal; the veteran cannot substitute an estimate. If the Notice of Value disappoints, a reconsideration of value with better comparable sales is possible where they exist, and otherwise the loan is resized to the cap at the new value.
What is residual income, and how does it affect my file?
Residual income is what is left of the household’s net income each month after the new mortgage payment, every other monthly obligation, taxes and insurance, maintenance and utilities, and federal and state tax. VA publishes tables of the minimum by region, family size, and loan size, and a file must meet the table; where the ratio runs above VA’s guideline, residual income must run comfortably past the table or other justification must be documented. For a Virginia household it is the figure that decides the approval.
When do I actually get the money?
Not at the closing table. The window runs after signing, the disbursement follows it, the payoffs and the cash leave together, and the old lenders release their liens afterward.
Would a HELOC be better than a VA cash-out?
A line when the first mortgage should stay; a refinance when it should go. The line costs less to open, reprices only the draw, and carries no fee; the VA cash-out gives a fixed payment, a larger sum, and no monthly insurance, but reprices the whole balance and adds the fee unless the veteran is exempt.
Equity in a Virginia home, reached on the terms service earned.
Three questions open a Virginia VA cash-out: what the home is worth, what is owed, and what the COE shows. Lendmire answers them, places the file, and writes up the route that fits, or says plainly when the streamline or a line of credit fits better.
This guide covers Virginia — for the program overview, see Lendmire’s VA cash-out refinance program.
All Virginia city guides (6): Arlington · Chesapeake · Newport News · Norfolk · Richmond · Virginia Beach
Related programs: Cash-Out Refinance · VA Loans · HELOC