Can I pay my real estate agent's commission on a VA loan?

By Kyle Melvin · NMLS #1486450 · REV Mortgage · Answered Sep 17, 2026

Short answer

Yes. Since August 10, 2024, VA Circular 26-24-14 lets a VA buyer pay their own agent's commission — a reasonable and customary amount, paid at closing from the buyer's own funds, never financed into the loan. The rule exists because the 2024 real estate settlement stopped listing brokers from advertising what they will pay a buyer's agent, and VA's older rule had barred veterans from paying it themselves. In practice most sellers still agree to cover it in the offer, and VA does not count that as a seller concession, so ask for it first and treat paying it yourself as the fallback that keeps you competitive.

For most of the VA program's history the answer was a flat no. VA's fee rule, 38 C.F.R. § 36.4313, lists what a veteran can be charged on a VA loan, and real estate brokerage fees were not on it — the seller's side paid the buyer's agent out of the listing commission, so the question never came up. Then the 2024 settlement in the real estate commission lawsuits changed how agents get paid: listing brokers can no longer advertise buyer-agent compensation through the MLS, and in a lot of markets the buyer is now expected to negotiate and pay their own agent. A VA buyer who could not legally do that would have been the one buyer in the room whose offer came with a problem attached.

What the circular allows

VA Circular 26-24-14, published June 11, 2024 and effective August 10, 2024, is the fix. Under the authority the regulation gives the Under Secretary for Benefits to approve "local variances," VA authorized a temporary variance that lets a veteran pay reasonable and customary buyer-broker charges — commissions and any other broker-related fees — anywhere listing brokers are barred from setting buyer-broker compensation through the MLS, or where that compensation cannot flow through the listing broker. After the settlement that describes essentially every market.

The conditions are short:

Not financed. Buyer-broker charges are not included in the loan amount. You pay them at closing from your own funds.
Counted as cash to close. Whatever you agree to pay your agent is added to the money the lender confirms you have available to close.
Documented, not invoiced. No invoice is required. The amount you paid goes in section H ("Other") of the Closing Disclosure (Change 1, August 5, 2024, simplified the line placement), and your signed buyer-broker representation agreement goes into the loan file — VA treats it as part of the sales contract package and expects the lender to upload it when the appraisal is ordered.
Negotiable. VA says so directly: it encourages veterans to negotiate the amount, whether the veteran or the seller ends up paying it.

Why the seller usually still pays

The circular changes what you can do, not what you should lead with. Two things make asking the seller the better opening move:

The seller can still pay it. The circular says in plain terms that it does not prevent the seller from paying the veteran's buyer-broker charges. Most sellers in most markets still do, because it is the price of keeping every buyer — VA, FHA, conventional — in the running.
It is not a concession. Under M26-7 Chapter 8, Topic 5, a seller paying the buyer's agent is not a seller concession, so it does not eat into the 4% cap that governs the seller paying your funding fee, your prepaids beyond the norm, or your debts. The closing-costs answer walks through what does count.

So the shape of a well-written VA offer since 2024 is: ask the seller to pay the buyer-broker fee in the contract, and if the seller will not, know that you may pay it yourself — which is exactly the position a conventional buyer is in, and one a listing agent can no longer use against a VA offer. That last point belongs on the myths page alongside the other things listing agents believe about VA.

What to do before you sign a buyer-broker agreement

Read the compensation clause. Since the settlement, buyer-broker agreements state what the agent is owed and by whom; on a VA purchase that number has to be reasonable and customary for the market, and it has to be a number you can cover from your own funds if the seller declines. Give a copy to your loan officer at pre-approval, not at closing — the lender needs it in the file and needs to count it in your cash to close from the start. The VA loan guidelines page covers the rest of what goes into the file.

What could change

The circular is a temporary variance, "valid until rescinded," and VA has said it will replace it with a permanent rule through notice-and-comment rulemaking once the brokerage market settles. As of September 2026 it has not been rescinded. If VA finalizes a rule, the conditions above may change; this page will say so.

Questions people also ask

Can the buyer's agent fee be rolled into my VA loan?

No. The circular is explicit that buyer-broker charges are not included in the loan amount. If you pay it, it comes from your own funds at closing, and the lender counts it when checking that you have enough cash to close.

Does the seller paying my agent count against the 4% concession cap?

No. VA does not treat the seller's payment of the buyer's agent as a seller concession, so it sits outside the 4% cap that limits things like the seller paying your funding fee or your debts.

Is this permanent?

Not yet. The circular is a temporary variance, valid until rescinded, and VA has said it will write a permanent rule through notice-and-comment once the brokerage market settles. As of September 2026 it has not been rescinded or replaced.

What paperwork does my lender need?

The signed buyer-broker representation agreement. VA treats it as part of the sales contract package, expects the lender to upload it when ordering the appraisal, and keeps it in the loan file. No invoice is required; the amount you pay goes in section H (Other) of the Closing Disclosure.