Exhibit 8.1

MFA Financial, Inc.

One Vanderbilt Ave., 48^th Floor

New York, New York 10017

MFA Financial, Inc.

Qualification as

Real Estate Investment Trust

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel to MFA Financial, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the offer and sale, from time to time, of up to 2,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share, of the Company pursuant to a prospectus dated September 27, 2022 (the “Prospectus”), as part of a Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 27, 2022 (the “Registration Statement”), in connection with the Company’s Dividend Reinvestment and Share Purchase Plan. You have requested our opinion regarding certain U.S. federal income tax matters.

In giving this opinion letter, we have examined the following:

ATLANTA  AUSTIN  BANGKOK  BEIJING  BOSTON  BRUSSELS  CHARLOTTE  DALLAS  DUBAI  HOUSTON  LONDON

LOS ANGELES  MIAMI  NEW YORK  NORFOLK  RICHMOND  SAN FRANCISCO  THE WOODLANDS  TOKYO  TYSONS  WASHINGTON, DC

www.HuntonAK.com

MFA Financial, Inc.

September 27, 2022

Page 2

In connection with the opinions rendered below, we have assumed, with your consent, that:

1.             each of the documents referred to above has been duly authorized, executed, and delivered; is authentic, if an original, or is accurate, if a copy; and has not been amended;

2.             during its taxable year ending December 31, 2022, and future taxable years, the Company has operated and will operate in a manner that will make the factual representations contained in a certificate, dated the date hereof and executed by a duly appointed officer of the Company (the “Officer’s Certificate”), true for such years;

3.             the Company will not make any amendments to its organizational documents after the date of this opinion that would affect its qualification as a real estate investment trust (a “REIT”) for any taxable year; and

4.             no action will be taken by the Company after the date hereof that would have the effect of altering the facts upon which the opinions set forth below are based.

In connection with the opinions rendered below, we also have relied upon the correctness, without regard to any qualification as to knowledge or belief, of the factual representations and covenants contained in the Officer’s Certificate. No facts have come to our attention that would cause us to question the accuracy and completeness of such factual representations. Furthermore, where such factual representations involve terms defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), the Treasury regulations thereunder (the “Regulations”), published rulings of the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”), or other relevant authority, we have reviewed with the individuals making such representations the relevant provisions of the Code, the applicable Regulations and published administrative interpretations thereof.

Based solely on the documents and assumptions set forth above, the representations set forth in the Officer’s Certificate, and the discussions in the Prospectus under the captions “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” and “33. What are some of the tax consequences of my participation in the Plan?” (which are incorporated herein by reference), we are of the opinion that:

(a)           the Company qualified to be taxed as a REIT pursuant to sections 856 through 860 of the Code for its taxable years ended December 31, 2018 through December 31, 2021, and the Company’s organization and current and proposed method of operation will enable it to continue to qualify for taxation as a REIT under the Code for its taxable year ending December 31, 2022 and thereafter; and

MFA Financial, Inc.

September 27, 2022

Page 3

(b)           the descriptions of the law and the legal conclusions in the Prospectus under the captions “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” and “33. What are some of the tax consequences of my participation in the Plan?” are correct in all material respects.

We will not review on a continuing basis the Company’s compliance with the documents or assumptions set forth above, or the representations set forth in the Officer’s Certificate. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that the actual results of the Company’s operations for any given taxable year will satisfy the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT. Although we have made such inquiries and performed such investigations as we have deemed necessary to fulfill our professional responsibilities as counsel, we have not undertaken an independent investigation of all the facts referred to in this letter or the Officer’s Certificate. In particular, we note that the Company has engaged in transactions in connection with which we have not provided legal advice and may not have reviewed. Moreover, we note that we did not represent the Company as tax counsel prior to June 1, 2016.

The foregoing opinions are based on current provisions of the Code, the Regulations, published administrative interpretations thereof, and published court decisions. The Service has not issued Regulations or administrative interpretations with respect to various provisions of the Code relating to REIT qualification. No assurance can be given that the law will not change in a way that will prevent the Company from qualifying as a REIT.

The foregoing opinions are limited to the U.S. federal income tax matters addressed herein, and no other opinions are rendered with respect to other U.S. federal tax matters or to any issues arising under the tax laws of any other country, or any state or locality. We undertake no obligation to update the opinions expressed herein after the date of this letter. This opinion letter is solely for the information and use of the addressees, and it speaks only as of the date hereof. Except as provided in the next paragraph, this opinion letter may not be distributed, relied upon for any purpose by any other person, quoted in whole or in part or otherwise reproduced in any document, or filed with any governmental agency without our express written consent.

MFA Financial, Inc.

September 27, 2022

Page 4

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Prospectus. We also consent to the references to Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP under the captions “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” and “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus. In giving this consent, we do not admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required by Section 7 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the SEC.