Bank of America SCRA: 4% Only If BofA Owns Your Mortgage

Bank of America holds pre-service debt to the SCRA’s 6%, and cuts a home loan to 4% only when it both owns and services that loan. That ownership detail is the most valuable fact about Bank of America’s program, and it is decided by who bought your mortgage, not by you.

Everything below was read on Bank of America’s military banking pages and its Military Benefit Request form on October 5, 2026.

What ownership is worth

Here is rough first-year interest on the starting balance. Real dollars run a little lower as the balances pay down.

The same loan, at the same bank, with the same payment address, is worth $5,600 more a year if Bank of America kept it on its books. The statute also requires your monthly payment to drop by the forgiven interest (§ 3937(a)(3)), so you see the savings every month instead of only at payoff. Run your own numbers in the savings calculator.

What Bank of America publishes

Checked October 5, 2026.

Find out who owns your mortgage

Your servicer is the company you pay. The owner is whoever holds the loan, and that is often Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac even when every statement says Bank of America. Two ways to check before you count on 4%:

1. Freddie Mac runs a public loan lookup that tells you whether it owns your mortgage.
2. Ask Bank of America directly. Its benefits page invites you to contact the Military Benefits Unit about “the ownership of your home loan” to find out whether the 4% or 6% cap applies.

If an investor owns the loan, you still get 6% under federal law, for your service plus one year. The mortgage servicer guide covers how the cap works when the owner and the servicer are different companies.

The 180-day deadline is the law, not the bank

You will often read that Bank of America gives you 180 days after service to file. Its own military pages and request form do not mention 180 days (read October 5, 2026). The deadline comes from the statute: you must give the lender written notice and a copy of your orders “not later than 180 days” after you are released from service (§ 3937(b)(1)(A)). Once you do, the cap applies back to the date you were called up (§ 3937(b)(2)). Filing late in your tour still recovers the overpaid interest. The deadline checker works out your date.

How to file

File your SCRA request with Bank of America

1. Get a copy of your orders, or a letter from your commanding officer, covering your active duty dates.
2. List every Bank of America account you opened before active duty: cards, lines of credit, auto and other installment loans, and any home loan or home equity line.
3. Fill out the Military Benefit Request form. In the refund section, choose account credit unless you need cash, since a credit lowers your principal and future interest.
4. For a home loan, check who owns it with the Freddie Mac lookup or by asking the Military Benefits Unit, so you know whether to expect 4% or 6%.
5. Send the form and orders to the Military Benefits Unit by fax at 866.696.0292 (collect from overseas: 302.525.5889) or by mail to PO Box 673026, Dallas, TX 75267-3026. Questions go to 877.345.0693, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Do not email your SSN unencrypted. Bank of America warns against it.
6. Watch the next statements for a lower rate, a lower payment, and the refund. If nothing changes, follow up in writing. The letter generator drafts a follow-up that cites § 3937.

Claim the extras on the way out

The statute counts fees and service charges on a covered debt as interest (§ 3937(d)(1)), so card fees above the cap are already off the table while you serve. Bank of America’s extra is what happens after: select card fees waived for life and reduced card rates continued into your transition. Neither switches on by itself. When you separate, ask in writing which fees stay waived and what rate continues, and keep the answer. The card fee waiver guide compares what other issuers do.

If you fall behind during service

Bank of America’s FAQ says that for a loan you had before service, the SCRA “usually requires the lender to have a court order before foreclosing or repossessing during military service,” and the court has to protect your SCRA rights (read October 5, 2026). It also says plainly that foreclosure or repossession “can still happen if a court decides it’s appropriate,” and that missed or late payments may still be reported to the credit bureaus. The rate cut lowers the payment. It does not pause it. The foreclosure and repossession guide explains what a court has to find, and the credit impact guide covers what can and cannot show up on your report.

Where Bank of America says no

Guard members on state duty ordered by the governor are not eligible. The FAQ requires federal orders from the President or the Secretary of Defense. Debt you took on after you went active is not covered by the SCRA cap at all. New credit during service falls under the Military Lending Act instead.

Comparing banks? The bank comparison shows which lenders publish a rate under 6% on cards and loans, where Bank of America does not.

The law behind this: 50 U.S.C. § 3937

Maximum rate of interest on debts incurred before military service: read the statute , or see where it sits in the whole Act .