bills

What Bills Affect My Credit Score?

Put simply, any bill that shows up on your credit report can affect your credit score in a positive or negative way.

The key to knowing which bills affect your credit score is to get your hands on a credit report.

Once you’ve got your credit report in hand, you can see exactly what is being reported by the major credit reporting agencies (CRAs).

Generally, you can count on all credit card accounts affecting your credit score. This includes store credit cards, such as those obtained at a clothing store or an electronics chain.

So long as they are lines of credit, they will be reported regularly to the CRAs, and thus can affect your credit score.

That said, if you miss a minimum payment and don’t catch up within 30 days, there’s a good chance the credit card issuer will report this to the CRAs.

And before long, it’ll show up on your credit report and you’ll have a deflated credit score to go along with that late fee.

Mortgages, home equity loans, auto loans/leases, and any personal loans will also affect your credit score.

So if you miss any payments, expect your credit score to take a hit. Missing a mortgage payment tends to be more severe than missing other payments, so be sure to keep up-to-date on that obligation or your credit score could sink in a hurry.

It can also jeopardize your ability to get a new mortgage in the future, or refinance your existing mortgage, meaning it’s a biggie!

(How much does a missed mortgage payment lower your credit score?)

Any Bill Can Affect Your Credit Score

When it comes down to it, pretty much any bill can affect your credit score if the issuer reports it to the credit bureaus.

Common utility bills, such as gas, electric, phone, water, cable, etc. can all show up on your credit report if the company so chooses.

But typically they’ll only be reported if something negative happened, such as a missed payment. Sadly, this means they don’t really work in your favor (by building credit), but rather only tend to hurt consumers.

The same goes for medical bills. Generally, you won’t see your medical bills on your credit report. But if you fail to pay a bill on time, it won’t be long before the company reports the payment as late.

They could even push it to collection or charge-off status, which will really hurt your credit score.

Even rent is being factored into credit scores nowadays, so nothing is really exempt at this point. And if anything, expect more to be included going forward.

In summary, pretty much any bill that you are obligated to pay can affect your credit score. So as a good rule of thumb, make sure you pay everything you’ve agreed to pay on time, every time!

Read more: Does a credit report show employment history?


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