VA benefits resource center
Every link a Veteran, service member or surviving spouse needs, from your COE and funding fee waiver to disability claims and California benefits. Official sources only.
Home loans · Funding fee · Disability · Housing grants · Payment help · Other benefits · California · Your LES
Links go to official VA, Department of Defense and State of California pages, checked November 10, 2026.
Your VA home loan benefit
Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
Your COE shows a lender you qualify for a VA-backed loan. Request it online, by mail, or let your lender pull it.
Our step-by-step guide: see below. Page updated September 22, 2026.
Buy a home
No down payment as long as the price isn’t higher than the appraised value, no private mortgage insurance, and the home must be your residence.
Lower your rate (IRRRL)
A streamline refinance of a VA-backed loan you already have. Funding fee is 0.5%.
Cash-out refinance
Replace your current loan with a new VA-backed loan, take cash from equity, or move a non-VA loan into VA.
Surviving spouses
A surviving spouse may qualify for the home loan benefit, and a surviving spouse receiving DIC pays no funding fee.
Native American Direct Loan
A VA direct loan to buy, build or improve a home on federal trust land. NADL coordinators: 888-349-7541.
Funding fee exemptions and refunds
Who pays no funding fee
Veterans receiving VA disability compensation, those eligible for it but receiving retirement or active-duty pay instead, surviving spouses receiving DIC, service members with a pre-discharge rating dated before closing, and active-duty Purple Heart recipients who show proof by closing.
VA: funding fee and closing costs
Page updated October 5, 2026.
Already paid, then got a rating?
If VA later awards compensation with an effective date before your closing date, you may get the funding fee back. Call the VA Regional Loan Center at 877-827-3702.
Our guide
How to make sure your exemption shows up before closing, and how to ask for a refund. Read the guide.
Apply for VA disability
File a disability claim
File online on VA.gov, by mail with VA Form 21-526EZ, in person, or with an accredited representative. Starting online protects your effective date.
VA: how to file a disability claim
Page updated November 6, 2026.
Leaving the military soon?
Benefits Delivery at Discharge lets you file 180 to 90 days before you separate.
Intent to file
An intent to file sets your potential start date. You then have 1 year to finish the claim.
Ratings and pay
VA combines ratings using its own table, not simple addition. Current compensation rates took effect December 1, 2025.
Check a claim
Track disability, pension, DIC, burial and housing grant claims online.
Our guide
How a rating can lower your costs as a homeowner. VA disability and your home.
Housing grants and mortgage life insurance
Specially Adapted Housing (SAH)
Helps buy, build or change a home for certain serious service-connected disabilities. Fiscal year 2026 maximum: $126,526.
FY2026 amounts; page updated November 18, 2025.
Special Home Adaptation (SHA)
For other qualifying disabilities, such as loss of use of both hands. Fiscal year 2026 maximum: $25,350.
Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA)
Adapts a family member’s home where you live for a while. FY2026: up to $50,961 (SAH-eligible) or $9,100 (SHA-eligible).
Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance
Up to $200,000 of mortgage life coverage, paid to your lender, for Veterans with an SAH grant. Apply before your 70th birthday.
If you’re having trouble paying
Behind on payments?
Call your servicer first. VA loan technicians can help too: 877-827-3702, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. VA counsels Veterans and surviving spouses even on non-VA loans.
Page updated September 23, 2026.
Options VA lists
Special forbearance, repayment plans, loan modifications, and the VA partial claim, where VA pays missed payments to bring the loan current.
Watch for scams
VA warns against offers that sound too good to be true, and against companies that charge a fee to help you avoid foreclosure. Report problems to the CFPB at 855-411-2372.
Other VA benefits
Health care
Apply with VA Form 10-10EZ online, by phone, by mail or in person.
Veteran Readiness and Employment
Career help, education and training when a service-connected disability limits your ability to work.
Burial and memorial benefits
Burial in a VA national cemetery and memorial items.
California benefits and free local help
Free claim help near you
County Veteran Service Offices help with VA and state benefits at no cost. Find yours or call 844-737-8838.
Accredited VA representatives
VA says an accredited VSO representative’s help with your claim is always free. Attorneys and claims agents can charge.
Disabled Veterans’ property tax exemption
For 2026, lowers your home’s assessed value by $180,671, or $271,009 with household income of $81,131 or less, for qualifying 100% rated Veterans and surviving spouses.
Military retirement pay
For tax years 2025 through 2029, California lets qualified taxpayers exclude up to $20,000 of military retirement pay, with income limits. VA disability benefits aren’t included in income.
College fee waiver for dependents
Waives system-wide tuition and fees at California community colleges, CSU and UC for eligible dependents of disabled or deceased Veterans.
Disabled Veteran license plates
Exempt one vehicle from registration and license fees for qualifying Veterans.
CalVet Home Loans
California’s own veteran home loan program. We’re happy to compare it with a VA-backed loan.
Your Leave and Earnings Statement
Your LES and your mortgage
Lenders use your LES to verify active-duty income. How to read it and what lenders look for.
Need to talk to someone now?
Veterans Crisis Line
Dial 988, then press 1, or text 838255. You don’t have to be enrolled in VA. Military OneSource is available 24/7 at 800-342-9647.
Good to know
Where do I get my VA Certificate of Eligibility?
Online on VA.gov, by mail with VA Form 26-1880, or through your lender. We can request it for you.
How do I get the VA funding fee waived?
If you receive VA disability compensation, your exemption should show on your COE. If it doesn't, give your lender your award letter before closing.
Can I get a funding fee refund?
Yes, if VA awards compensation with an effective date before your closing date. Call the VA Regional Loan Center at 877-827-3702.
Who helps with VA disability claims for free?
Accredited Veterans Service Organization representatives and California's County Veteran Service Offices.
Is MTG Wholesale part of VA?
No. We're a private mortgage broker that arranges VA-backed loans. This page links to official VA and California sources.
Funding fee exemption and refund · Get your Certificate of Eligibility · VA disability and your home · Your LES and your mortgage
MTG Wholesale is a private mortgage broker. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense or any branch of the military. VA-backed loans are subject to eligibility, lender approval and appraisal. Not an offer of credit.