Can You Have Two VA Loans at the Same Time?

• The VA loan is not a one-time benefit—many Veterans and service members can use it again without selling their current home.
• Remaining entitlement and county loan limits work together to determine your buying power on a second VA loan.
• PCS moves often make it possible to rent out a first VA home while purchasing a new primary residence with VA financing.

Whether you’re moving across the state or across the country, a PCS often comes with one big housing question: Can I use my VA loan again without selling my current home?

The short answer is yes. But how it works depends on your remaining VA entitlement, local loan limits, and what you plan to do with your current home. Understanding those rules can make the difference between buying confidently near your new duty station and leaving a powerful benefit unused.

Imagine you live near Fort Bragg, and new PCS orders send you to Joint Base Lewis-McChord. You still own your current home, but you want to buy another near your new duty station.

The good news is that you can use your VA loan benefit again. The VA allows eligible service members and Veterans to use their remaining or second-tier entitlement to hold two VA loans at the same time. This flexibility helps military families handle moves and maintain stable housing during transitions.

To qualify for two simultaneous VA loans, you must meet these basic conditions:

• You have enough remaining entitlement to support a second loan.
• Your credit and income meet lender requirements.
• You plan to live in the new home as your primary residence.

A common scenario is a PCS move. You may rent out your current home and use your remaining entitlement to buy a new one near your next duty station.

Note: The VA does not require you to live in the home forever, but you must certify that you intend to occupy the new property as your primary residence within a reasonable time—typically about 60 days, unless your lender approves an exception.

Your entitlement is the amount the Department of Veterans Affairs guarantees for your lender if you do not make your payments. This guarantee allows you to buy a home with no down payment and still receive competitive loan terms.

Typically, the VA will guarantee up to 25% of your loan amount to your bank. The exact dollar amount of the guarantee depends on how much of your entitlement you have available.

There are two types of entitlement: basic entitlement and bonus entitlement, also called second-tier entitlement.

The basic entitlement is $36,000. This is 25% of a $144,000 loan. So your initial entitlement supports a loan of up to $144,000.

Most borrowers also have a bonus entitlement on top of that, which increases the total loan guarantee available. This bonus entitlement kicks in for higher loan amounts or when you have already used up some of your basic entitlement. It’s this bonus entitlement that allows you to have two active VA loans at the same time under specific conditions.

It also kicks in when county loan limits affect your borrowing capacity under your partial entitlement.

If you have bonus entitlement available, it means you may be able to keep your current VA-financed home and use your remaining entitlement to buy another property. This is common, for example, during PCS moves. But you can also use this feature for non-PCS moves, and if you’ve left the service.

You do not always use all of your entitlement the first time you buy a home. The amount you have already used stays tied up in your current mortgage, and the remaining amount allows you to use a second-tier entitlement.

You can view your entitlement amount on your Certificate of Eligibility (COE). Your lender can help you obtain your COE.

To estimate your VA loan entitlement, divide your total loan amount by four. That’s your VA loan guarantee. That is, the VA guarantees up to 25% of the loan amount, subject to the borrower’s available entitlement and, for partial entitlement, applicable county loan-limit rules.

For example:

• You are approved for a home loan of $800,000.
• $800,000 ÷ 4 = $200,000

In this example, the VA loan guarantees up to $200,000, and your lender finances the full $800,000.

The VA’s guarantee gives lenders confidence to offer favorable terms, such as no down payment, since a quarter of the loan is backed by the government.

The 25% itself never changes, but the amount it represents depends on the price of the home and how much entitlement you have already used.

VA loan limits are tied to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) conforming loan limits and vary by county.

For 2026, the baseline loan limit for a 1-unit property in most U.S. counties is $832,750. The VA guarantees 25% of that amount, or $208,187.50, for borrowers with partial entitlement in those areas. Higher limits apply for duplexes, threeplexes, and quads, respectively.

In high-cost counties, the 2026 maximum (ceiling) loan limit for a 1-unit property is $1,249,125, and the VA guarantees up to $312,281.25 (25%).

In Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the baseline loan limit is $1,249,125, with a maximum ceiling of $1,873,675 for 1-unit properties, depending on the county.

If you have full VA entitlement, these county loan limits do not cap your borrowing.

If you have partial entitlement (because you already have a VA loan), county loan limits determine how much of a second VA loan the VA will guarantee without a down payment.

Note: County loan limits only matter if part of your entitlement is already tied up in another VA loan. If you have full entitlement, there is no VA loan limit. If you don’t, the VA uses county limits to calculate how much of a second loan it can guarantee without a down payment.

For example:

In most U.S. counties for 2026, the VA bases partial entitlement calculations on a $832,750 county loan limit.

The VA guarantees 25% of that amount, or $208,187.50, in total entitlement.

You buy your first home for $300,000, which typically uses $75,000 of entitlement (25% of the loan amount).

That leaves $133,187.50 of remaining entitlement:

• $208,187.50 − $75,000 = $133,187.50

Because the VA guarantees 25% of each loan, multiplying the remaining entitlement by four shows what it can support:

• $133,187.50 × 4 = $532,750

That means your remaining entitlement could support a second VA loan of up to approximately $532,750 with no down payment (assuming lender approval and primary-residence occupancy.)

Note: In this example, you are not receiving a new benefit—you are using the portion of your original VA entitlement that is still available while keeping your first VA-financed home.

Since 2020, most Veterans with full entitlement have no VA loan limits.

That means your maximum loan amount depends on your income, credit, and what your lender is willing to approve. This change came from the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, which removed VA loan limits for borrowers with full entitlement.

If you still have an active VA loan, your situation is a little different: When part of your entitlement is tied up in another home, county loan limits come back into play. These limits determine the maximum amount the VA will guarantee without requiring a down payment.

Note: If you already have a VA loan, the VA looks at how much of your entitlement is still available. For a second VA loan, lenders start with 25% of your county’s loan limit, subtract the entitlement already tied up in your first loan, and then see how much home price that remaining amount can support.

In practice, most lenders want 25% coverage on the new loan. That coverage can come entirely from your remaining VA entitlement, or from a combination of entitlement and a down payment if needed.

When you sell your home or pay off your VA loan, you can restore your entitlement and use the benefit again.

Here’s how the process works:

1. Sell your home and repay the VA-backed loan in full.
2. Submit VA Form 26-1880 to request restoration.

If you have completely paid off your VA loan but still own the home, you can apply for a one-time restoration of your entitlement. This allows you to keep that home and use your VA loan benefit again to buy another property. It is called a one-time offer because you can only accept it once without selling the original house.

If you want to use your VA loan benefit again after that, you must sell the first property to restore your entitlement a second time.

Restoring your entitlement gives you back your full benefit amount, which means you can take advantage of a new VA-backed loan as if you were using the program for the first time.

This flexibility supports long-term homeownership by making it easier for military families to buy, sell, and move between duty stations without losing access to their VA loan benefits.

Frequent moves can make housing complicated, but they can also create opportunities to build equity and long-term wealth. Here are some viable strategies that have been successfully employed by military members and veterans:

• Keep your first home as a rental property.

If your PCS orders take you to a new duty station, you may choose to rent out your current home instead of selling it. This approach helps you build equity over time while earning rental income that can offset your mortgage.

In some limited cases, rental income can also support your application for a second VA mortgage. However, you should be prepared to show documentation of your experience as a landlord, and show that the rental income you are claiming is stable and reliable.

• Use your second-tier entitlement to buy near your new duty station.

If you plan to buy another home while still owning your first, your remaining entitlement can make that possible. This strategy enables you to secure a new primary residence near your next duty station without having to sell your previous home.

It can be a good fit during quick or back-to-back PCS moves when selling the first home is not realistic or when the housing market is slow.

• Restore entitlement later for future purchases.

When you eventually sell a VA-financed home and pay off the loan, you can restore your entitlement and use the full benefit again.

That means you can continue to buy, sell, and move without losing access to your VA loan privileges.

Renting out a property can strengthen your financial future by building equity and creating an income stream, but it also comes with added responsibilities. As a landlord, you will need to manage tenants, handle maintenance, and plan for potential vacancies. That means you should have some cash reserves to handle emergencies, vacancies, non-paying or slow-paying tenants, evictions, and other setbacks.

Net rental income rental is generally taxable. However, unlike owner-occupied properties, rental properties qualify for a variety of deductions, such as depreciation and accelerated depreciation, which can substantially lower your current tax bills and increase your cash flow.

Tax rules differ substantially based on whether you qualify as a real estate professional. If you’re considering becoming a landlord, you should work closely with an experienced tax advisor who works a lot with real estate investors.

Not all lenders understand how second-tier entitlement, PCS moves, or rental conversions affect your eligibility. A lender who specializes in VA loans can help you calculate your remaining entitlement, estimate potential loan limits, and ensure your plans align with VA occupancy requirements.

It is possible to have two VA loans at the same time if you meet the eligibility, entitlement, and occupancy requirements. This option helps service members and Veterans relocate, invest, and manage housing between duty stations.

For the best results, work with a VA-approved lender who understands entitlement rules and PCS transitions, and use trusted military housing resources like AHRN to help you plan your next move. Your VA loan benefit is one of the strongest financial tools available through military service, so use it wisely to support your long-term goals.

Can You Have Two VA Loans Simultaneously?

Yes, you can hold two separate VA-backed loans on two different homes if you still have entitlement left and meet the occupancy and credit requirements. This is most common for service members who receive PCS orders and want to keep their current home while buying another near their new duty station.

How Can I Restore My Full VA Entitlement?

After selling your home and paying off your loan, submit a restoration request using VA Form 26-1880.

Can I Rent Out My First VA-Financed Home?

Yes, once you move to a new duty station, you can rent out your old home and use your remaining entitlement to buy another. However, make sure to consult your lender about occupancy requirements first.