Your credit scores are important numbers that influence everything from which credit cards you can obtain to the interest rate on your next mortgage. While it’s crucial to know which factors affect your credit scores, it’s equally important to know which ones have no impact. To that end, you can rest assured that the things listed below have no direct influence on your credit scores.
Most personal details:
- Race
- Religion
- Age
- National origin
- Sex
- Marital status and history
- Employment status and history
- Education
- Criminal record (excluding certain civil judgements)
- Anything else not listed on your credit reports
Most financial details unrelated to use of credit:
- Income
- Net worth
- Property, assets, account balances, etc.
- Use of public assistance
- Debit card use
- Loan or credit card denials
Most on-time, non-credit-related payments:
- Rent (unless landlord uses a rent-reporting service)
- Insurance
- Utilities
- Subscription services
- Child support
- Alimony
- Bank overdrafts
Missed or late payments (such as for rent, child support or alimony) and bank overdrafts may impact your ability to qualify for a loan, even if they do not impact your credit scores. Accounts that are sent to collections will negatively impact your credit scores.
“Soft pull” credit inquiries:
- You checking your own credit scores or reports
- A lender or creditor checking your credit to prequalify you for an unsolicited offer
- An existing creditor checking your credit for account maintenance purposes
- An employer checking your credit as part of an employee screening
Typically, unless you are authorizing a lender or creditor to check your credit for the purpose of deciding whether to extend financing to you (aka a “hard pull”), a credit inquiry will not impact your credit scores. Exact policies vary by credit score model.
Conclusion
While credit can be a tricky topic, knowing that these factors have no impact on your credit scores should make things a tad simpler. The most important strategy for building strong credit scores is simply to establish a history of making your loan and credit payments on time. For more information on the topic of credit, see our posts on checking your credit scores and checking your credit reports.
This information was deemed current and reliable at the time of publication but is not guaranteed and is subject to change at any time.
