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- VA Purchase Loan Origination Fees
VA Purchase Loan Origination Fees
A VA loan's origination fee lives in Section A of the Loan Estimate, alongside any points and any other charge the lender names. HMDA reports that section as one borrower-paid total per loan. For 2024 the public record holds 309,454 VA purchase loans, and in every loan-size band at least a quarter of them reported $0 there.
Source: HMDA public loan data, 2024, national, VA purchase, Section A total, points included.
VA purchase loans, Section A total, HMDA 2024 data
| Loan size | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | Loans |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $150,000 | $0 | $300 | $1,430 | 10,170 |
| $150,000 to under $300,000 | $0 | $653 | $2,445 | 99,297 |
| $300,000 to under $500,000 | $0 | $1,095 | $3,664 | 136,098 |
| $500,000 and up | $0 | $1,507 | $5,455 | 64,044 |
| All sizes | $0 | $1,015 | $3,313 | 309,454 |
Source: HMDA public loan data, 2024, national, VA purchase, Section A total, points included. Slide the table sideways to see every column.
The typical range for a band starts at its 25th percentile and ends at its 75th. For VA purchases that means every band's range starts at zero.
VA purchase loans, Section A total, HMDA 2024 data25th to 75th percentile, median marked
Typical range, 25th to 75th percentileMedianIllustrative total from the worked reading
Why the 25th percentile is $0
A $0 is a real figure. HMDA pulls the origination charges number from the borrower-paid column of Section A on the Closing Disclosure, and when the borrower paid the lender nothing upfront, the field reads zero.
How can a lender make a loan and charge nothing in that box? The rule behind the form answers part of it. Under Regulation Z, compensation a loan originator receives from the lender through the interest rate is not itemized on the Loan Estimate. A lender can set the rate so that it covers its costs and leave Section A empty, and the public record will show $0 for that loan. The record does not say which of these loans were priced that way and which simply had no charges, so the explanation stops there.
The funding fee is a different charge in a different box
Most VA borrowers pay a funding fee to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The CFPB's Loan Estimate explainer puts it in Section B, Services You Cannot Shop For, and the official commentary to Regulation Z lists a government funding fee among the examples for that section. The VA sets the amount based on service type, down payment, disability status, purpose and whether it is a first VA loan, and some borrowers are exempt. None of that passes through Section A, so the funding fee is absent from every figure on this page.
A cap the VA places on the lender
VA regulation 38 CFR 36.4313(d)(2) allows a lender to charge a flat fee of up to 1 percent of the loan amount in place of other origination costs not listed in the VA's schedule. That rule shapes what can appear in Section A on a VA loan. The table shows the result in dollars, with the 75th percentile reaching $5,455 for loans of $500,000 and up.
VA purchases beside FHA and conventional purchases
The all-sizes median in the same HMDA 2024 data was $2,075 for conventional purchase loans and $3,089 for FHA purchase loans, compared with $1,015 for VA. Only the VA purchase group has a $0 25th percentile among the three purchase programs. These are the reported totals.
A worked reading
Consider a $400,000 VA purchase with two illustrative Section A lines: a flat origination charge of $1,000 and an underwriting fee of $450. The Section A total is $1,450.
That loan sits in the $300,000 to under $500,000 band, with a typical range of $0 to $3,664. A total of $1,450 is within the typical range for the band. The comparison is to the total only. No individual line is judged, because no public benchmark exists for one.
Common questions
Does a $0 Section A mean a quarter of VA buyers paid no closing costs?
No. Section A is only the lender's own charges. The funding fee, appraisal, title work, recording and prepaids are all outside it, and a loan can show $0 in Section A while carrying thousands of dollars in those other sections.
Can a VA loan have points in Section A?
Points, when charged, are a Section A item on every Loan Estimate, and the HMDA total includes them. The table does not separate loans that paid points from loans that did not.
Does the 1 percent rule mean every VA loan shows a similar total?
The data says otherwise. The spread runs from $0 at the 25th percentile to $5,455 at the 75th in the largest band, so the cap sets a ceiling on one type of charge without flattening the range.
Your total against this range
The inspection reads your Loan Estimate, confirms the loan size and purpose, and grades your Section A total and your rate against this public data. If a funding fee exemption may apply to you, the report states the assumption it used. The method is published at /methodology.
Reviewed on October 2026.
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Sources
- FFIEC, HMDA Loan Application Register, 2024 data year: https://ffiec.cfpb.gov/data-publication/ (LoanInspection percentiles at /data/mortgage-fees)
- Official comment 37(f)(1)-2 to 12 CFR 1026.37 (originator compensation paid through the rate is not itemized on the Loan Estimate): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1026/37/
- Official comment 37(f)(2)-2 (government funding fee as a Section B example): same page
- CFPB Loan Estimate explainer (funding fee appears under Services You Cannot Shop For): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/owning-a-home/loan-estimate/
- CFPB, What is mortgage insurance and how does it work (what sets the VA funding fee): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-mortgage-insurance-and-how-does-it-work-en-1953/
- 38 CFR 36.4313(d)(2) (flat charge not exceeding 1 percent): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/chapter-I/part-36/subpart-B/section-36.4313
- 12 CFR 1003.4(a)(18) (HMDA origination charges, borrower-paid): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1003/4/