Jacksonville has one of the largest concentrations of Navy families in the country, and the VA loan is the most powerful financing benefit available to any of them. It is also the one most often explained badly.
North Star Mortgage Network has been writing VA loans in Jacksonville since 2000. Nathan Young works your file directly.
There Is No VA Loan Limit If You Have Full Entitlement
This changed on January 1, 2020, under the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, and a surprising number of pages still have it wrong.
If you have full entitlement, there is no county loan limit on your VA loan. VA guarantees 25% of the loan amount with no dollar ceiling. What limits you is what you can afford and what the appraisal supports — not a number set by Duval County.
Partial entitlement is where the county figure comes back. If you already have a VA loan outstanding, VA's guaranty is capped at the lesser of 25% of the new loan or 25% of the conforming limit. For 2026 in Duval, Clay, St. Johns and Nassau counties that reference figure is $832,750.
That matters here more than in most cities, because of a very Jacksonville situation: you buy with VA, you PCS, you keep the house as a rental, and now you want to buy again at the next duty station. That second purchase runs on remaining entitlement, and it often requires a down payment. We calculate exactly how much before you start looking, not after.
The Funding Fee, With the Actual Numbers
VA charges a one-time funding fee instead of monthly mortgage insurance. For purchase and construction loans closing on or after April 7, 2023 and before November 14, 2031:
| Down payment | First use | Subsequent use |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 5% (including zero down) | 2.15% | 3.30% |
| 5% or more | 1.50% | 1.50% |
| 10% or more | 1.25% | 1.25% |
Notice the second row. At 5% down, first use and subsequent use cost exactly the same. If you have used your benefit before, putting 5% down drops the fee from 3.30% to 1.50%. On a $400,000 loan that is $7,200 saved. Most pages bury this.
One correction worth making: you may still read that National Guard and Reserve veterans pay a higher funding fee. That tiering was eliminated on January 1, 2020. It no longer exists.
Who Pays No Funding Fee at All
- You receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability
- You are eligible for disability compensation but receive retirement or active-duty pay instead
- You receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation as a surviving spouse
- You are active duty with a proposed or memorandum rating before closing
- You are active duty and provided evidence of a Purple Heart on or before closing
And if your rating comes through after you close, you may be owed the fee back. Refunds are available when compensation is awarded retroactive to a date before your loan closed. If that describes you, call us — this is real money that goes unclaimed.
Residual Income: Why VA Approves Files Conventional Declines
VA underwrites differently. Alongside a debt-to-income standard of 41%, VA requires residual income — actual dollars left over each month after your mortgage, debts, taxes and estimated maintenance and utilities.
Florida sits in VA's South region. For loan amounts of $80,000 and above, the monthly residual income requirement is:
| Family size | South region requirement |
|---|---|
| 1 | $441 |
| 2 | $738 |
| 3 | $889 |
| 4 | $1,003 |
| 5 | $1,039 |
This is why a veteran with strong residual income can be approved above a 41% ratio while a conventional lender says no. It is a genuinely different test, and it favors people with steady military pay and modest debt.
BAH, and the Form That Trips Files Up
Your Basic Allowance for Housing counts as qualifying income. There is a specific requirement attached to it that causes avoidable delays.
VA regulation requires written authorization from your commanding officer for off-base housing, and states the quarters allowance cannot be counted unless DD Form 1747 is completed correctly. If that form is missing or filled out wrong, your BAH does not count and your approved loan amount drops. We ask for it up front.
Two more pay details worth knowing. Flight pay, hazard pay and combat pay are treated cautiously on a VA loan — they generally offset shorter-term debts rather than counting as ordinary income, unless you can document prolonged receipt. And on the conventional side, because BAH is non-taxable, it can typically be grossed up by 25%, which meaningfully increases buying power. Sometimes conventional beats VA for that reason alone. We run both.
Occupancy
Federal law requires you to certify that you intend to occupy the home as your residence within a reasonable time. VA generally treats 60 days from closing as reasonable.
There is an exception written into the statute itself that matters for deploying service members: if you are on active duty and cannot occupy the home, your spouse occupying it satisfies the requirement. A dependent child can also satisfy it with the proper certification. Deployment does not disqualify you.
Buying Near the Bases
NAS Jacksonville runs seven active P-8A and P-3C squadrons, three reserve squadrons and five helicopter squadrons, plus Naval Hospital Jacksonville and roughly 120 other tenant commands. It is one of the largest employers in the region, with an economic impact above $2 billion a year.
Naval Station Mayport covers 3,409 acres with a harbor for 34 ships and an 8,000-foot runway. It homeports about 20 ships and three helicopter squadrons and supports more than 80 commands — the third largest fleet concentration in the continental United States.
Cecil Field is worth getting right, because a lot of mortgage websites still list it as an active Naval Air Station. It closed in 1999. Today it operates as Cecil Airport and Cecil Commerce Center, and it still hosts Florida Army National Guard aviation and a U.S. Coast Guard air facility. It remains a major Westside employment center — just not an active NAS.
If you are stationed at Kings Bay, our Nassau County VA page covers that commute.
VA Loans by Area
- VA loans in Orange Park and Clay County
- VA loans in Atlantic Beach and the Beaches
- VA loans in Yulee, Fernandina Beach and Nassau County
- VA loans in St. Augustine and St. Johns County
- Our full VA loan guide
Already have a VA loan and want a lower rate? A VA IRRRL needs no appraisal and lets you finance closing costs. See refinancing in Jacksonville or check today's rates.
Start Without a Credit Pull
Tell us your entitlement situation, roughly what you are looking to spend, and whether you have used the benefit before. We will tell you where you stand. No Social Security number needed for the first conversation.
VA Loan Questions from Jacksonville Buyers
Is there a VA loan limit in Jacksonville?
Not if you have full entitlement. Since January 1, 2020, VA guarantees 25% of the loan amount with no county ceiling, so your limit is what you can afford and what the appraisal supports. If you have partial entitlement because another VA loan is outstanding, the guaranty is capped at the lesser of 25% of the loan or 25% of the conforming limit, which is $832,750 in Duval, Clay, St. Johns and Nassau counties for 2026.
How much is the VA funding fee on a purchase?
For loans closing on or after April 7, 2023, it is 2.15% for first use with less than 5% down and 3.30% for subsequent use. At 5% or more down it is 1.50% regardless of whether you have used the benefit before, and 1.25% at 10% or more down. Veterans receiving compensation for a service-connected disability are exempt.
Can I use a VA loan again if I keep my Jacksonville house as a rental?
Often yes, using remaining entitlement. Because your first loan still ties up part of your entitlement, the second purchase may require a down payment. The amount depends on your remaining entitlement and the price of the new home, and it is worth calculating before you start looking.
Does BAH count as income on a VA loan?
Yes, with documentation. VA regulation requires written authorization from your commanding officer for off-base housing, and the quarters allowance cannot be counted unless DD Form 1747 is completed correctly. Missing or incorrect forms are a common cause of delays.
What is VA residual income?
It is the dollars left each month after your mortgage, debts, taxes and estimated utilities and maintenance. Florida is in VA's South region, where the requirement for loans of $80,000 and above ranges from $441 for a household of one to $1,003 for a household of four. It is why some VA borrowers qualify above a 41% debt ratio when conventional underwriting declines.
How soon do I have to move in?
Federal law requires you to certify that you intend to occupy the home within a reasonable time, and VA generally treats that as 60 days from closing. If you are on active duty and cannot occupy it, your spouse occupying the home satisfies the requirement.
All figures are estimates based on information provided and are not a commitment to lend. VA program rules, funding fee schedules and residual income requirements are set by the Department of Veterans Affairs and are subject to change; individual lenders may apply stricter requirements than VA allows. North Star Mortgage Network, Inc. is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. All loans subject to credit approval. North Star Mortgage Network, Inc., Company NMLS #356789 · Nathan Young NMLS #325206 · 12058 San Jose Blvd, Suite 404, Jacksonville, FL 32223 · 904-880-6741. Equal Housing Lender.
