Built for the whole household. Combine active duty pay, military retirement, tax-free BAH and BAS, and VA disability compensation with a spouse or co-borrower's income, then see the real qualifying income, VA residual income, and how much house it supports. The BAH tool looks at one allowance by itself. This one looks at everything.
Tax-free counts for moreBAH, BAS and disability comp get grossed up
VA residual incomeThe test that actually decides VA approvals
$0 downSame VA math as the payment toolkit
Lawton median is $199,500
Freddie Mac survey, 9/10/26
$0 out of pocket
Most buyers here take 30
Exempt if a veteran on the loan draws service-connected disability compensation, or holds a Purple Heart
Total monthly payment
$1,829
VA, zero down, 6.76%, 30 year
Principal & interest
$1,323
Property tax
$185
Insurance
$321
Funding fee financed
$4,289
Print or save this as a PDF and I'll email you a copy of the exact scenario on screen, then follow up with anything I'd want a lender to look at first.
Who's on the loan, and where the money comes from
Borrower 1 is the veteran using entitlement. Add a spouse or co-borrower if the loan will be joint. Households where one spouse is retired and rated disabled and the other is still serving or working a civilian job are common here.
Kids or other household dependents
Fixes which residual minimum applies
Borrower 1 Veteran · entitlement holder
Taxable
Tax-free
Tax-free
Taxable, unless it's CRSC
Side work, rental, etc.
Tax-free. Also drives the funding fee exemption
Borrower 2 Spouse or co-borrower
Taxable
Tax-free
Tax-free
Taxable, unless it's CRSC
Side work, rental, etc.
Tax-free. Also drives the funding fee exemption
Why two incomes can look this different
A household where one spouse is retired and rated disabled and the other is still serving can have a tax-free disability check, taxable retirement pay, and a full active-duty pay and allowance package, all at once. None of that shows up if you only run one person's BAH. Hit "Load an example household" above to see it filled in with sample numbers. Swap in your real LES and award letter figures before you take it to a lender.
Prepared by Dustin Ray, Buyer Specialist. 580-351-4683. dustin@homes-lawton.com
What a lender actually counts
BAH, BAS and VA disability compensation are federal tax-free, so VA guidelines let a lender gross them up before applying the debt-to-income ratio. It's the reason two households with the same take-home pay can qualify for very different loan amounts.
What "grossed up" means
The debt-to-income ratio is figured on gross pay, before taxes. BAH, BAS and disability compensation never get taxed, so a $1,000 disability check is worth more than $1,000 of wages. To keep the comparison fair, the lender bumps tax-free income up by a percentage, usually 15% to 25%. At 25%, $1,000 tax-free counts as $1,250 on the ratio. It's a paper adjustment for qualifying only. Your check does not change, and it does not apply to the residual income test, which uses real take-home dollars.
VA allows up to 25%, ask the lender
Monthly income by borrower
Borrower
Taxable
Tax-free
Grossed up tax-free
Qualifying income
Total qualifying income$0
Taxable income plus tax-free income grossed up. This is the number used against the debt-to-income ratio.
Approx. net take-home$0
Taxable income after an estimated withholding rate, plus tax-free income at face value. Used for the VA residual income test on the next tab.
Tax-free share of income0%
How much of qualifying income is BAH, BAS, or disability compensation rather than taxable pay.
Gross-up is an estimate, not a guarantee
Lenders vary between 15% and 25%, and some use the buyer's actual marginal tax rate instead of a flat percentage. Confirm the number your lender is using before you count on a qualifying income figure.
The two tests that actually decide a VA approval
VA loans don't have a hard debt-to-income ceiling, but 41% is the line most underwriters want compensating factors to justify past. Residual income is the harder test: real dollars left over after the house payment and other debts, checked against a minimum that depends on family size and region.
Car, credit cards, student loans, child support
Above this, VA wants compensating factors
Debt-to-income ratio0%
House payment plus other debts, divided by qualifying income.
VA residual income$0
Approx. net income minus the house payment and other debts.
Residual income required$0
Family size and region minimum.
Verdict
Estimated max purchase price this household supports
Test
Max monthly payment
Max purchase price
Supportable purchase price$0
The lower of the two ceilings above. The safer number to shop with.
What's under the hood
These are the local defaults and VA program rules this calculator runs on. Change them here and every tab updates. A real quote from a lender always beats an estimate.
Lawton median effective rate
Lawton, per year of coverage
Of purchase price
Rare in most of SWOK
Applied to taxable pay only, for residual income
Where these numbers come from
Property tax, 1.11%, and insurance, $19.28 per $1,000 of coverage. Same Lawton and Comanche County defaults as the payment toolkit. Pull the real numbers off the assessor site and an actual insurance quote before quoting a payment.
VA funding fee. 2.15% first use with less than 5% down, 1.5% at 5% to 9.99% down, 1.25% at 10% or more down; 3.3% on a subsequent use with less than 5% down. Exempt if a veteran on the loan draws service-connected disability compensation or holds a Purple Heart on the closing date. One qualifying veteran on the loan is enough for the exemption. A non-veteran spouse's status doesn't matter for this.
Tax-free gross-up, up to 25%. BAH, BAS, and VA disability compensation are exempt from federal income tax, so VA guidelines let a lender add back a percentage before running the debt-to-income ratio. This calculator applies the gross-up to the qualifying-income number only, not to the residual income number, since residual income is meant to reflect real take-home dollars.
Estimated withholding, 22%. A placeholder for the tax bite on taxable pay, used only to approximate net take-home for the residual income test. Tax-free income (BAH, BAS, disability compensation) is already counted at full face value with no withholding, because none is withheld from it. The real number is whatever's on the LES or paystub. Use that once you have it.
Military retirement pay. Treated as fully taxable here. A retiree rated 50% or higher generally keeps both retirement pay and disability compensation under concurrent retirement and disability pay; below 50%, VA disability compensation typically offsets retirement pay dollar for dollar unless Combat-Related Special Compensation applies. Don't assume both figures stack without checking the award letter and retiree account statement.
VA residual income table, families of 1 to 5, loan amounts of $80,000 and up. Northeast $450 / $755 / $909 / $1,025 / $1,062. Midwest and South (Oklahoma) $441 / $738 / $889 / $1,003 / $1,039. West $491 / $823 / $990 / $1,117 / $1,158. Add $80 per family member beyond five, in every region. Loans under $80,000 use a lower table; check with the lender if that applies.
41% DTI ceiling. Not a hard VA cap. There is no maximum ratio in VA guidelines, but past 41% underwriters usually want documented compensating factors: residual income well above the minimum, strong credit, real cash reserves.
What this tool is not
This is an estimate for shopping, not a loan estimate, a pre-approval, a credit decision, or tax advice. Qualifying income, gross-up, residual income, taxes, insurance, and the funding fee are all set by your lender and the VA. Confirm every number here against real pay stubs, your VA award letter, and the lender's own worksheet before it goes in an offer.
