VA Loans Washington

Start Your VA Pre-Approval

Find out what you actually qualify for in Pierce, King, Kitsap, or Spokane County, with the real payment.

Who You’re Actually Working With

J.D. Peck — NMLS #314883. 25+ years originating. 3,100+ closed loans. Scotsman Guide Top Originator, 2026. Based in Colorado Springs, in one of the densest military markets in the country. VA files are not a sideline here. They are the practice.

In the Press

“When the underwriting is done correctly, VA loans are one of the most powerful lending solutions for military borrowers.”

— J.D. Peck, quoted in Chrisman Commentary, August 12, 2026, on PRMG’s recognition as a Top VA Lender in Scotsman Guide’s 2026 rankings.

As of Q3 2026 (September 2026): VA sets no minimum credit score. Any score floor is an extra rule a lender adds (VA Pamphlet 26-7, Ch. 4; 38 CFR 36.4340). VA uses 41% as a check point, not a limit, for how much of your monthly income goes to debt payments (your debt-to-income ratio). Above 41%, we take a closer look, unless the money left over each month after your bills is at least 20% above VA’s chart. If not, a supervisor can still approve the loan with a signed note listing your strengths (VA Pamphlet 26-7, Ch. 4). With full entitlement (your full VA home loan benefit), there is no VA loan limit. VA asks for no down payment in most cases, but if the price is above VA’s value for the home, you pay the difference in cash. If part of your benefit is still in use (partial entitlement), it is measured against your county’s 2026 loan limit: $832,750 in most counties and higher in some high-cost counties (VA.gov; FHFA, November 25, 2025). The funding fee (a one-time VA fee) is 2.15% on a first-use purchase with less than 5% down and 3.3% on later use with less than 5% down. On an IRRRL (VA’s refinance to lower your rate), it is 0.5% (VA.gov, effective April 7, 2023).

No state income tax helps you. The West region residual table works against you. If your lender is only looking at debt-to-income ratio, they are not actually underwriting a Washington VA file.

No State-Specific VA Overlay

Washington adds no state-level restriction to VA purchase financing. Federal rules apply as written.

No State Income Tax

Washington levies no personal income tax. On a VA file that matters more than it sounds, because VA measures residual income after taxes. The same gross pay produces a stronger file here than in California or Oregon.

Property Tax Exemption at 80 Percent, Not 100

Washington is one of the few states that opens its property tax relief program at an 80 percent service-connected evaluation rather than requiring 100 percent. Compensation at the 100 percent rate also qualifies. That is a lower bar than Virginia, Georgia, or North Carolina.

Age Does Not Matter for Disabled Veterans

The program is normally for people 61 and older, but a qualifying disabled veteran can claim it at any age. A 34-year-old medically retired veteran can qualify.

It Is Income-Tested, and the Limit Varies by County

This is the part most sites get wrong. Washington sets the income threshold from each county’s median household income, so the cap in King County is not the cap in Yakima County. Check with your county assessor before you count on it.

It Is a Reduction, Not a Full Exemption

The program reduces your property tax. It does not zero it out the way Virginia or Texas does at 100 percent. Budget accordingly and do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

Surviving Spouses of Veterans Have a Separate Program

Washington runs a separate property tax assistance program for widows and widowers of veterans, with its own rules and its own income test. Different form, same county assessor.

File With the County Assessor

Every one of these is filed with your county assessor, not with VA and not with your lender. We will tell you it exists and hand you the form. Filing and deadlines are on you.

No Minimum Credit Score Overlay

VA publishes no score floor. Puget Sound lenders impose one anyway, and they raise it as the loan amount grows. We do not add one at all. A refer from automated underwriting starts a manual underwrite. It does not end the file.

Puget Sound Prices Are Not a Jumbo Problem

With full entitlement there is no VA loan limit in King, Pierce, or Snohomish County. Most lenders treat anything above the county conforming figure as a VA jumbo and add their own rules. We do not.

Residual Income Run Against the West Region Table

Washington carries the highest residual income requirements in the country, and no state income tax to offset them. Running that math correctly is the difference between a real approval and a preapproval that dies at underwriting.

Wildfire Exposure Checked in Eastern Washington

Around Spokane, Yakima, Wenatchee, and Chelan, carrier availability is a live question. We check insurability before you write an offer instead of after you are in escrow.

$0 Down, No Monthly Mortgage Insurance

With full entitlement (your full VA home loan benefit), VA asks for no down payment in most cases, and there is no monthly mortgage insurance. The main exception: if the home appraises below the price, you pay the gap in cash. On a Puget Sound loan amount, skipping mortgage insurance can save you hundreds of dollars a month compared to a conventional loan.

Manual Underwriting Is Routine Here

Bankruptcy, foreclosure, collections, a rough stretch after separation. We run manual underwrites regularly using the compensating factors VA actually recognizes rather than guessing.

Purchase, First-Time Use

2.15% with less than 5% down. 1.5% with 5% or more down. 1.25% with 10% or more down.

Purchase, Subsequent Use

3.3% with less than 5% down. 1.5% with 5% or more down. 1.25% with 10% or more down.

VA IRRRL Streamline Refinance

0.5% flat, regardless of prior use.

Exempt Entirely

Veterans who get VA disability pay for a condition tied to service, at any rating. Veterans who would get that pay but take retirement pay instead. Service members rated for that pay before discharge, or due it but not paid while on active duty. Surviving spouses of those who died in service or from a condition tied to service. Purple Heart recipients on active duty. It shows on your Certificate of Eligibility (COE), VA’s record of your benefit. We check it before you pay anything.

The 4% is not the seller’s limit. It is the limit on one specific bucket. The other bucket has no VA cap at all.

Bucket 1: Your Closing Costs — No VA Cap

The seller can pay all of your normal allowable closing costs. That includes origination (the lender’s fee), appraisal, title, recording, and credit report. VA sets no percent limit on these. Normal, market-rate points for a permanent buydown also sit here, with no cap. Points are a fee paid up front for a lower rate. Prepaid taxes and insurance do not sit here. If the seller prepays them, VA counts them toward the 4% limit.

Bucket 2: Concessions — Capped at 4% of Reasonable Value

Anything of value beyond normal closing costs is a concession, capped at 4% of the VA reasonable value — and stacked on top of Bucket 1, not instead of it.

Paying Off Your Debt

The seller can retire your credit cards, collections, judgments, or an auto loan, and it counts against the 4%. Eliminating a $450 monthly payment can move a debt-to-income ratio from declined to approved without touching your savings. The single most powerful tool in VA structuring, and almost nobody uses it.

Breaking a Lease So You Can Buy Now

This is the one that changes timelines. You are renting and the right home appears six months before your lease ends. Early termination is commonly two months’ rent, and paying that on top of moving costs is what makes most renters wait another year. They do not have to wait. The seller can cover the lease-break penalty inside the 4%. We have structured this hundreds of times.

Prepaying Your Mortgage Payments

A seller can prepay your actual mortgage payments — the full PITI, not just escrows. Inside the 4% that can be several months covered before your first payment out of pocket. In Washington, where the insurance portion of that payment is heavy, the runway matters more than it does elsewhere.

The VA Funding Fee

At 2.15% on a first-use purchase the funding fee eats a real share of the 4%. The seller often pays it.

Debt or a lease standing between you and a house?

Send us the debts, the lease terms, and the purchase price. We will show you exactly what a seller can legally cover, what it does to your ratios, and how to write it so it survives underwriting.

What lenders do instead

They call anything over the county figure a VA jumbo and add a 680 or 700 score minimum, reserve requirements, or a down payment. None of that is a VA rule. It comes from whoever they sell the loan to.

What the county number actually controls

If you already have a VA loan open somewhere, the county limit is used to compute how much entitlement is left, which sets your zero-down ceiling. That is its only job.

Condos around JBLM and Seattle

Condo projects need VA approval, and VA approves the project rather than the individual unit. We check the list before you write, because condos and townhomes are a large share of what a VA buyer can reach in King and Snohomish.

Two to four units

VA allows two to four units with owner occupancy and zero down on full entitlement, and rental income from the other units can help you qualify. In Tacoma, Lakewood, Bremerton, and Spokane this is one of the few structures that still pencils.

South Sound

Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Lakewood, DuPont, Spanaway, Graham, Yelm, Puyallup, Tacoma, and Olympia.

Kitsap Peninsula

Naval Base Kitsap and Bremerton. Silverdale, Poulsbo, Port Orchard, and Gig Harbor. Prices go meaningfully further than across the water.

Everett and Whidbey Island

Naval Station Everett and NAS Whidbey. Everett, Marysville, Lake Stevens, Mukilteo, Oak Harbor, and Anacortes.

Spokane

Fairchild. Spokane, Spokane Valley, Airway Heights, Cheney, and Medical Lake. Eastern Washington prices are a fraction of Puget Sound. Wildfire exposure is the thing to check.

Central Washington

Yakima, Selah, Ellensburg, and Moses Lake. Small markets and very little competent VA lending nearby.

Seattle, the Eastside, and Vancouver

Renton, Kent, Auburn, Federal Way, and Bothell up north; Vancouver, Camas, and Ridgefield in the southwest, where buyers work in Oregon and live in Washington on purpose.

1. Pull your Certificate of Eligibility

We pull it electronically and most come back in seconds. If yours needs manual review because of a discharge upgrade, a Guard or Reserve record, or a prior VA loan never restored, we file the paperwork and follow it.

2. Calculate entitlement, not a loan limit

With full entitlement there is no VA loan limit anywhere in Washington. If you already have a VA loan open, we compute remaining entitlement against the county figure and give you the exact zero-down ceiling.

3. Run residual income against the West region table

This is the step that decides most Washington files. No state income tax lifts your take-home, and the West region table sets the highest requirement in the country. Both have to be run correctly or the answer is wrong in one direction or the other.

4. Confirm the property is insurable

West of the Cascades this is routine. East of them, wildfire exposure can limit carrier availability, and the premium goes straight into your debt-to-income calculation. We check it before you write.

5. Underwrite it, manually if the file needs it

If automated underwriting refers, that is not a denial. VA allows a manual underwrite and we do them. Most Washington retail lenders will not, which is why you were told no somewhere else.

6. Close and handle the funding fee

We usually add the fee to your loan, but you can pay it in cash at closing. You pay no funding fee if VA pays you disability pay for a condition tied to your service. Did you pay the fee on an earlier VA loan while your disability claim was open? If VA later granted disability pay starting before that closing date, you can ask VA for a refund. If you were on active duty and VA had not rated the claim by closing, VA gives no refund.

Credit score

No minimum. VA does not publish one. We have closed VA loans in the 500s. If a Puget Sound lender quoted you 620 or 700 because the loan amount was large, that was their rule.

Down payment

Zero with full entitlement, in King County the same as in Yakima. Not a low down payment. Zero.

Mortgage insurance

None, ever. On a Puget Sound loan size that alone is worth several hundred dollars a month against a conventional structure.

Debt-to-income ratio

No hard cap. VA uses residual income instead, and in Washington that calculation carries more weight than almost anywhere. We have closed well past 50 percent DTI when the residual math supported it.

Bankruptcy, foreclosure, short sale

Chapter 7 at two years. Chapter 13 can work mid-plan with trustee approval and twelve months of on-time payments. Foreclosure and short sale at two years, shorter with documented extenuating circumstances.

Property types

Single family, VA-approved condo, townhome, PUD, manufactured on a permanent foundation, and two to four units if you occupy one. In Tacoma, Lakewood, Bremerton, and Spokane, a duplex where you live in one side is one of the strongest plays available.

PCS to JBLM, Kitsap, Everett, Whidbey, or Fairchild

You have orders and a report date and you may not have arrived. VA allows closing before you physically occupy, with a reasonable window to move in. We build the timeline around your report date.

Buying above the county conforming figure with zero down

Full entitlement in King, Pierce, or Snohomish County, no down payment, no VA jumbo overlay. Other lenders will tell you that requires 10 percent down. VA does not say that.

You already used entitlement at your last duty station

Keep the other house as a rental. We calculate remaining entitlement and give you the exact zero-down ceiling in the Washington county you are buying in.

You are separating into a tech or trades job

A new job with an offer letter is workable. VA lets you qualify with a job offer that starts on or after your closing day, if we can check that it is real. If you leave active duty within 12 months of closing, VA needs one of four things: proof you re-enlisted or extended, your plan to re-enlist plus your commander’s okay, a written local job offer with start date and pay, or other strong points like 10% down or a lot of cash saved. If a job offer is your path, the job has to be local. That matters a lot for JBLM separations into the Seattle job market.

You are self-employed in Washington

Contractors, consultants, and creators get denied constantly over write-offs. We have bank statement and profit-and-loss paths that do not lean on your tax return. See self-employed mortgage options.

You want an investment property in Washington

VA occupancy rules require you to live in the home. For a pure rental, we use DSCR loans that qualify on the property’s rent instead of your personal income.

541 credit score, zero down

A retail lender declined it at a 620 overlay. VA publishes no score minimum. The file went manual, residual income passed with room, and it closed. Full write-up on VA loans with a 541 credit score.

Zero down above the county conforming figure

Full entitlement, Pierce County, no down payment, no VA jumbo overlay. The buyer had been told he needed 10 percent down on anything over the county number. That is not a VA rule.

Separating service member with only an offer letter

Tech job starting in six weeks, no pay stubs yet. VA allows it. The other lender told him to come back after 30 days of employment, which would have cost him the house.

Chapter 13 still in repayment

Twelve months of on-time trustee payments plus written trustee approval. VA allows it. Most lenders will not touch it.

Buyer needed out of a lease to buy now

Seller paid the early lease termination penalty on the rental as a concession. That is an allowable VA seller concession, and at Puget Sound rent levels it is worth serious money. Details on the VA seller concessions page.

Debt paid off by the seller at closing

A seller can retire a buyer’s credit cards or auto loan as a concession, which drops DTI and can turn a denial into an approval on the same contract at the same price. Almost nobody in Washington structures deals this way.

Told No by Another Washington Lender?

Send me the denial. I will tell you within a day whether it was a real VA rule or that lender’s own overlay. No cost, no obligation, no credit pull to find out.

Down payment

VA: zero with full entitlement, at any Washington price point. Conventional: 3 to 5 percent minimum, more on high-balance. FHA: 3.5 percent.

Mortgage insurance

VA: none, ever. Conventional: PMI until you reach 20 percent equity, which on a Puget Sound loan size is a large monthly number. FHA: upfront premium plus a monthly premium that usually runs the life of the loan.

Loan amount ceiling

VA: none with full entitlement. Conventional: high-balance caps at $1,063,750 in King, Pierce, and Snohomish, then true jumbo rules apply. FHA: capped at the county limit.

Credit score floor

VA: no published minimum. Conventional: generally 620, with real pricing pain under 700 on a large loan. FHA: 580 for 3.5 percent down.

One-time fee

VA: the funding fee. You can add it to the loan or pay it in cash. You pay none if VA pays you disability pay for a condition tied to your service. Conventional: none, but you pay monthly mortgage insurance instead. FHA: 1.75 percent up front, plus monthly mortgage insurance.

Seller-paid costs

VA allows unlimited seller-paid closing costs plus up to 4 percent in concessions, and the concession bucket can pay off your debt. Conventional caps at 3 to 9 percent by down payment and has no debt-payoff allowance like VA’s.

Refinancing later

VA: the IRRRL streamline needs no appraisal and no income documentation in most cases. Conventional and FHA require a full refinance. See VA IRRRL.

Myth: There is a VA loan limit in King County

There is not, with full entitlement (your full VA benefit). The $1,063,750 figure is the top limit for conventional high-balance loans in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. It only matters to a VA buyer when part of their VA benefit is still tied up. That can be from a VA loan they still have, a past VA foreclosure or short sale, or a paid-off VA loan whose benefit they have not asked to get back.

Myth: You need 10 percent down above the county limit

A lender overlay, not a VA rule. Full entitlement means zero down above the county conforming figure.

Myth: You need a 100 percent rating for the Washington property tax break

You do not. Washington opens its program at an 80 percent service-connected evaluation, or compensation at the 100 percent rate. That is a lower bar than Virginia, Georgia, or North Carolina.

Myth: The Washington property tax program is only for seniors

Not for disabled veterans. Age does not matter if you meet the disability criteria. A medically retired veteran in their thirties can qualify.

Myth: The Washington exemption wipes out your property tax

It does not. It reduces the bill and it is income-tested against your county’s median household income. Do not budget as if the tax line disappears.

Myth: No state income tax means Washington is automatically easier to qualify in

Not automatically. Washington is scored on the West region residual income table, which sets the highest requirement in the country. The two effects partially cancel, and the answer depends on the file.

Myth: You can only use your VA loan once

Entitlement is reusable and restorable. Plenty of the Washington buyers we work with are on their second or third VA loan.

Is there a minimum credit score for a VA loan in Washington?

No. VA publishes no minimum credit score. Lenders add their own, usually 620. It is often higher in Puget Sound because the loan amounts are larger. The JD.Mortgage Team does not add one. If the computer review sends your file to a person, we review it by hand. We look for strengths that are on VA’s list: money left over each month well above VA’s chart, a good record of house payments, and savings. We also get a letter that explains any past credit problems, since VA asks for one on these files.

Is there a VA loan limit in Washington?

No, if you have full entitlement (your full VA benefit). That includes King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. County limits only matter when part of your VA benefit is still tied up. That can be from a VA loan you still have, a past VA foreclosure or short sale, or a paid-off VA loan whose benefit you have not asked to get back. Then we use the limit to figure the benefit you have left.

What is the 2026 conforming loan limit in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties?

$1,063,750 for a one-unit property, against a national baseline of $832,750 that applies in most other Washington counties including Kitsap, Thurston, Island, Spokane, and San Juan. Neither number caps a VA buyer with full entitlement.

Can I buy above the county conforming limit in Washington with zero down?

Yes, with full entitlement. Lenders who require 10 percent down above the county figure are applying their own overlay, not a VA rule. We close zero-down VA purchases above the county number regularly.

Do disabled veterans get a property tax break in Washington?

Yes, and Washington opens the door earlier than most states. A veteran with a service-connected evaluation of at least 80 percent, or receiving compensation at the 100 percent rate, can qualify for the property tax exemption program regardless of age.

Is the Washington veteran property tax exemption income-tested?

Yes. Each county sets its own income threshold based on that county’s median household income, so the cap in King County is not the cap in Yakima County. Check your specific number with your county assessor before you build it into a budget.

Does the Washington exemption eliminate my property tax?

No. It reduces the bill rather than zeroing it out. Virginia and Texas exempt the entire homestead at 100 percent disability. Washington does not, so budget for a reduced tax line rather than none.

Is there help for surviving spouses of Washington veterans?

Yes. Washington runs a separate property tax assistance program for widows and widowers of veterans, with its own eligibility rules and its own income test. It is filed with your county assessor.

Does Washington having no state income tax help me qualify?

It helps your take-home pay, which feeds the residual income calculation VA weighs hardest. The offset is that Washington is scored against the West region residual income table, which carries the highest requirements in the country. Both have to be run correctly, and most lenders only look at debt-to-income ratio.

Can I buy a duplex or fourplex in Washington with a VA loan?

Yes. VA allows two to four units as long as you occupy one, with zero down on full entitlement, and rental income from the other units can help you qualify. In Tacoma, Lakewood, Bremerton, and Spokane this is one of the few structures that still pencils.

Can I buy a condo near JBLM or Seattle with a VA loan?

Yes, as long as the condo project is on the VA approved list. VA approves the project, not the individual unit. We check approval status before you write an offer, which matters in King and Snohomish counties where condos and townhomes are a large share of what a VA buyer can reach.

Do I need to worry about wildfire insurance in Washington?

East of the Cascades, yes. Around Spokane, Yakima, Wenatchee, and Chelan, carrier availability can be a live question and the premium goes straight into your debt-to-income calculation. We check insurability before you write an offer.

Can I get a VA loan before I start my new job in Washington?

Usually yes. VA lets you qualify with a job offer that starts on or after your closing day, if we can check that it is real. You may not have a pay stub yet. If you leave active duty within 12 months of closing, VA needs one of four things: proof you re-enlisted or extended, your plan to re-enlist plus your commander’s okay, a written local job offer with start date and pay, or other strong points like 10% down or a lot of cash saved. If a job offer is your path, the job has to be local. That is exactly the situation for a service member separating out of JBLM into the Seattle job market. Most lenders will not use the rule and tell you to wait for pay stubs.

Do I pay the VA funding fee in Washington?

The funding fee is a federal fee, and it is the same in every state. You pay no funding fee at all if VA pays you disability pay for a condition tied to your service. This is true at any rating that pays. If you do owe the fee, you can pay it in cash when you close or add it to your loan. If your disability claim is still open when you close, you pay the fee. If VA later grants disability pay that starts before your closing date, you can ask VA for a refund. On active duty with a claim before discharge? If VA has not rated it before you close, VA gives no refund.

Can a seller pay off my debt at closing on a Washington VA loan?

Yes. VA allows a seller to pay off your credit cards, auto loan, or other debt as part of the 4 percent concession allowance, stacked on top of unlimited seller-paid closing costs. Retiring a high monthly payment lowers your debt-to-income ratio and can turn a denial into an approval on the same contract.

Can a seller pay to break my lease so I can buy now?

Yes. Paying an early lease termination penalty on a rental or on-post housing is an allowable VA seller concession. At Puget Sound rent levels that is worth serious money, and it is how a buyer stops paying rent and closes now instead of waiting for a lease to run out.

Can I get a VA loan in Washington after bankruptcy or foreclosure?

Yes. Chapter 7 is generally two years from discharge. Chapter 13 can work while you are still in the repayment plan with twelve months of on-time payments and trustee approval. Foreclosure and short sale are generally two years, and shorter is possible with documented extenuating circumstances.

Get a Real Washington VA Preapproval

Residual income run against the West region table and the actual county numbers, so the letter you carry holds up under scrutiny.