VA entitlement is the amount VA promises to pay your lender if the loan goes bad. It's not cash, and it's not a cap on what you can borrow. If you have full entitlement, VA doesn't set a loan limit at all: your income, credit and the appraisal decide how much you can borrow, usually with no down payment. If part of your entitlement is still tied to another VA loan, you have remaining entitlement, and the county's conforming loan limit is used to work out how much you can borrow before a down payment is needed. You can also get used entitlement back, called restoration, usually when the old loan is paid off and the home is sold.
VA explains it in two tiers (VA, Home loan entitlement and limits):
"$36,000" isn't how much you can borrow. It's just the first tier of the guaranty.
Since January 1, 2020, under the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, a veteran with full entitlement has no VA loan limit. VA's guaranty is 25 percent of the loan, so lenders can lend above the county limit without a down payment, as long as you qualify and the appraisal supports the price (38 U.S.C. 3703(a)(1)). The VA loan amount still can't be more than the lower of the price or the appraised value, plus the funding fee if it's financed.
You generally have full entitlement if you've never used your benefit, if you used it and the loan was paid in full and the home sold, or if you had a foreclosure or compromise claim and VA was repaid in full.
If you still have a VA loan, or you lost entitlement to a foreclosure that hasn't been repaid, you have remaining entitlement. Here's VA's own method:
Above that amount, lenders usually want your remaining entitlement, plus your own funds if the entitlement falls short, to cover 25 percent of the loan. For 2026, FHFA's one-unit limit for Tarrant, Dallas, Johnson and Parker counties is $832,750 (FHFA 2026 conforming loan limits). FHFA announces new limits each year, usually in late November for the following year, so check the current list before you calculate.
Federal law lets VA restore used entitlement in these situations (38 U.S.C. 3702(b)):
You request restoration with VA Form 26-1880, the same form used to request a COE (VA Form 26-1880). If you're selling and buying at the same time, I can help you time it so the restored entitlement shows up for the new purchase.
Yes, you can have more than one VA loan at once if you have enough remaining entitlement and you qualify for both payments. The common case is moving: you keep the old home as a rental and buy a new primary home with remaining entitlement. Occupancy still matters. The new loan has to be for a home you'll live in, not a second home or pure investment. See VA occupancy rules.
VA loans can be assumed, which can be a selling point. But if the buyer who assumes your loan isn't a veteran who substitutes their entitlement, your entitlement stays tied to that loan until it's paid off. That can limit how much you can borrow on your next VA loan without a down payment. Think about that before agreeing to an assumption. See assumable mortgages.
Entitlement and the funding fee are separate, but they connect. As of VA's fee charts effective April 7, 2023, the funding fee on a purchase where the loan is more than 95 percent of the price, including no down payment, is 2.15 percent of the loan for first use and 3.3 percent after first use. When the loan is 95 percent of the price or less, first and later use are the same. Veterans receiving VA disability compensation are generally exempt. See VA funding fee and closing costs and who pays the VA funding fee.
This example is made up to show VA's math.
Sam still has a VA loan on a home in San Antonio that he'll keep as a rental, and his COE shows $60,000 of entitlement charged. He's buying a home in Keller, in Tarrant County. Using the 2026 one-unit limit of $832,750, 25 percent is $208,187.50. Subtract the $60,000 he's used, and his remaining entitlement is $148,187.50. Times four, that's $592,750, roughly the most a lender would usually lend him with no down payment. If he buys at $650,000, the lender would typically want him to cover a quarter of the amount above that figure with his own funds. If he sold the San Antonio home and paid off that loan first, he could have his full entitlement restored and buy at that price with no down payment. Either way, approval comes down to underwriting his income, credit and the appraisal.
Have a VA loan already, or used your benefit before? Let me pull your COE and run the entitlement math for the county you're buying in. Schedule a call, or when you're ready, start an application.
Links checked Oct 21, 2026.
About the author: McKade Lively, NMLS 2704474, American Pacific Mortgage Corporation dba True North Home Loans, NMLS 1850.
Equal Housing Opportunity.
Last reviewed: Oct 2026