True Vet Value

VA funding fee rates hold steady for 2026. Full table inside

Ryan — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:18:04 +0000

The Facts

The funding fee schedule set in 2023 carries into 2026 without change. Purchase and construction loans: first use 2.15% under 5% down, 1.50% at 5–10%, 1.25% at 10% or more; subsequent use 3.30% under 5% down, with the same reduced tiers above that. Cash-out refinance: 2.15% first use, 3.30% after. The IRRRL streamline stays flat at 0.50%.

What It Means For You

The fee is charged on the loan amount and can be financed. Exemption still saves the most money of any line item: a 10%+ service-connected rating, DIC surviving spouses, and active-duty Purple Heart recipients pay $0 — commonly a $4,300–$10,000 difference.

The VA owes funding fee refunds it never sent . You can check if you’re one of them

Ryan — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 02:38:26 +0000

The Facts

Veterans with a service-connected rating of 10% or more are exempt from the VA funding fee. When a rating is granted retroactively — effective before the loan closed — the fee already paid becomes refundable. The VA’s own Office of Inspector General reported in 2025 that this refund process failed a group of veterans who were owed money and never claimed it, because the system does not reliably initiate refunds on its own.

What It Means For You

If you closed a VA loan while your claim was pending and the rating later came through with an earlier effective date, assume nothing happened automatically. The paperwork burden is on you — and the amount at stake is the full fee you financed or paid.

California’s expanded veteran property tax exemption is not law yet

Ryan — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 17:21:29 +0000

The Facts

SB 296 proposes a significantly expanded property tax exemption for disabled veterans in California. As of this writing it remains in the Assembly Appropriations suspense file — a holding stage where bills wait on fiscal review. Bills in suspense frequently stall for a full session or die there.

What It Means For You

Nothing changes today. County assessors are still applying the existing exemption amounts, and filing as if the new bill passed can delay or invalidate your claim. Our California exemption page tracks the current rules and will be updated the day the law changes.

2026 VA disability COLA set at 2.8%. The new monthly math

Ryan — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:53:35 +0000

The Facts

The 2026 cost-of-living adjustment for VA disability compensation is 2.8%, matching the Social Security COLA as required by law. The increase applies to payments effective December 1, with the first adjusted deposit arriving at the start of January.

What It Means For You

Every rating band moves up 2.8%. At 100% with no dependents, that is roughly $107 more per month. Dependents, SMC, and other add-ons scale by the same percentage. The adjustment is automatic — there is no form, no application, and no phone call required.

What The Brief is and the rules we write by

Ryan — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 14:34:01 +0000

The Facts

Everything evergreen lives in our Benefit Registry and guides. The Brief covers what changes: rates and numbers, policy in motion, deadlines and windows, and accountability reporting on the system itself.

The Standing Rules

BLUF first. Every brief opens with the bottom line. What happened, who it affects, what to do. Sourced or it doesn’t ship. Claims trace to primary documents: statute, VA.gov, OIG and GAO reports. No politics. We critique processes, never parties. A confusing form gets called confusing; a party never gets named. Headlines contain the fact. No bait. Corrections are public. When we update or supersede a brief, the banner says so.