Education
The 36-month recoupment test
Refinancing costs money up front. Recoupment is the question: how many months of lower payments does it take to earn those costs back?
The VA requires that your recoupable costs be recouped within 36 months. Recoupable costs exclude the funding fee, taxes, and escrow — only your actual closing costs count.
Our calculator shows you this number live, with a pass or fail against the 36-month standard. If it fails, we tell you plainly that an IRRRL probably isn't right for you today, and we can watch rates for you instead.
There's a second honesty check we run: if a lower monthly payment comes from stretching your loan back out to a fresh 30 years, you can pay more in total interest even while the monthly number drops. We show both figures so you can judge for yourself.
Our sources