If my spouse has a bad credit score, does it affect my credit score? | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2024)

FAQs

If my spouse has a bad credit score, does it affect my credit score? | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? ›

Marrying a person with a bad credit history won't affect your own credit record. You and your spouse will continue to have separate credit reports after you marry. However, any debts that you take on jointly will be reported on both your and your spouse's credit reports.

Marrying someone with poor credit doesn't affect your credit scores, but your spouse's low credit scores could hinder your ability to borrow money jointly. While each person's debts from before marriage remain their own, credit applied for jointly takes both credit histories into account.

Credit histories and scores don't combine when you get married. Your credit history and scores are yours and yours alone, and your marital status is not included in your credit reports. But if you have a shared account or you're an authorized user of your spouse's account, you could affect each other's scores.

Lenders use both partners' credit scores, but a common myth is that they take the scores and average them, which isn't the case.

Your credit history is tied to your social security number and is unique to you. The only time your spouse's credit becomes relevant to you is when you engage in joint financing, such as a shared mortgage or car loan. The creditor will pull both credit reports whenever you apply for joint financing.

Lenders determine what's called the "lower middle score" and usually look at each applicant's middle score. For example, say your credit scores from the three credit bureaus are 723, 716 and 699, and your partners are 688, 657 and 649. Lenders will then use the lower of the two middle scores, which is 657.

Any debt each party may have before marriage remains separate unless the spouse is added as a co-signer. In this case, the so-signer may be liable if the debt is not repaid.

You are not responsible for your future spouse's bad credit or debt, unless you choose to take it on by getting a loan together to pay off the debt. However, your future spouse's credit problems can prevent you from getting credit as a couple after you're married.

Make your spouse an authorized user on your credit card

By someone as an authorized user on your credit card account adds your credit history to their credit report. The effect is most powerful when you add someone to an account with a great record of on-time payments.

Joint mortgage loans don't impact the ownership of the home, which is dictated by the names on the property title. When applying for a joint mortgage, lenders consider the credit score of all parties who are part of the mortgage application.

What is the lowest credit score to buy a house? ›

You'll typically need a credit score of 620 to finance a home purchase. However, some lenders may offer mortgage loans to borrowers with scores as low as 500. Whether you qualify for a specific loan type also depends on personal factors like your debt-to-income ratio (DTI), loan-to-value ratio (LTV) and income.

Your credit score is an independent score based on your financial history. If you live with your partner and they have debt or bad credit, this shouldn't affect your score. Equally, if you marry someone or are married to someone with bad credit, this won't affect your score.

However, with a 716 credit score, you should qualify for rates on-par with national averages. Also, even though your score qualifies you for a mortgage, it's important to know that the lower your score is, the stronger the rest of your qualifications are generally expected to be.

Pros of having your spouse cosign on a loan

If your spouse has a better credit score than you, you may qualify for a better interest rate and be able to access more generous payment terms than you would if you were able to secure the loan by yourself.

Any active joint accounts will see the other person named as a 'financial associate' on your credit report. If they have bad credit it could work against you further, making things harder than they need to be. It's best to check your credit report and remove yourself from any accounts that you don't need.

Buying a car with someone, or co-owning a car, may make sense for several reasons. It can be a convenient option for you and your partner, lessen the financial burden of a down payment and increase your chance of loan approval.

If you're worried about the effect that your debt might have on the people you live with, it's worth knowing that credit files are independent of each other unless there is, or has been in the past, a specific financial link such as a joint loan.

Will my credit score affect my partner? Because there is no such thing as a joint credit score, whether you are legally hitched or not, the only time your credit score will impact your partner's finances is if you decide to open a joint account or collectively take on a debt.

However, if one of you has a poor credit history then opening a joint account or creating a financial association means the other person will be co-scored, potentially lowering their credit score.