What impact does paying off student loans have on credit scores? Experts said paying off student loans won't tank your credit score. But it can cause a temporary dip in the number because the effect of that is closing out what is likely one of your oldest credit accounts.
Consistent, on-time payments improve your score, while late payments and defaults work against it. Paying off your student loan may not increase your credit score and could lower it. Changes to credit scores following loan repayment are usually slight and temporary.
Loan forgiveness does not remove accounts from a credit report. Instead, the loans will be paid in full, and a borrower's debt-to-income (DTI) ratio will improve.
Paying off debt might lower your credit scores if removing the debt affects certain factors such as your credit mix, the length of your credit history or your credit utilization ratio.
When you make that final payment on your student loan, you might see a brief drop in your credit score — especially if you don't have any other forms of credit on your report. Your score should recover in a few months. You could also see a small increase after paying it off, according to Experian.
1. You might have little to no savings. If you're putting all your extra cash toward your student loans, you miss out on setting that money aside to build a savings fund. Having an emergency fund is crucial because life happens — as do sudden bills, repairs, and expenses — when you least expect it.
To reach an 800 credit score, you'll want to demonstrate on-time bill payments, have a healthy mix of credit (meaning accounts other than just credit cards), use a small percentage of your available credit, and limit new credit inquiries.
Missed bill payments, high credit utilization, bankruptcy, and a number of other factors can cause your credit score to drop.
Your credit score might rise
For some people, student loan forgiveness could actually lead to a higher credit score. That's because eliminating up to $20,000 in debt could constitute a major decrease in your total debt balance, which accounts for 30% of your FICO score.
It Takes a Long Time. Even if you qualify for federal loan forgiveness, it can take a long time for your loans to be eliminated. Depending on the program, you could be in debt and making payments for up to 25 years before your loans are forgiven.
Typically, such closures occur when the loan is shifted to a new lender or servicer, as in the recent case where Great Lakes transferred loans to Nelnet. This resulted in borrowers receiving notifications from services like Credit Karma about the closure of their USDOE/GLESI account.
A perfect credit score of 850 is hard to get, but an excellent credit score is more achievable. If you want to get the best credit cards, mortgages and competitive loan rates — which can save you money over time — excellent credit can help you qualify. “Excellent” is the highest tier of credit scores you can have.
What is the average credit score? The average FICO credit score in the US is 718, according to the latest FICO data from April 2023. The average VantageScore is 701 as of December 2023. Credit scores, which are like a grade for your borrowing history, fall in the range of 300 to 850.
While older models of credit scores used to go as high as 900, you can no longer achieve a 900 credit score. The highest score you can receive today is 850. Anything above 800 is considered an excellent credit score.
A 620 credit score is typically what you'll need to get a mortgage for a home purchase. Although you can buy a house with a credit score as low as 500, you'll pay a higher rate and make a larger down payment.
An 800 credit score is not as rare as most people think, considering that roughly 23% of adults have a credit score in the 800-850 range, according to data from FICO. A score in this range allows consumers to access the best credit card offers and loans with the most favorable terms.
The lowest score you can get with either model is 300, though past scoring models have gone lower (and aren't used so much today). According to FICO, an estimated 11.1% of Americans have a FICO score ranging between 300 and 549 as of 2019.
Generally speaking, the highest credit score possible is 850, according to the most common FICO and VantageScore credit models. There are several factors that go into determining a credit score, such as payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, credit inquiries and credit mix.
If you're close to maxing out your credit cards, your credit score could jump 10 points or more when you pay off credit card balances completely. If you haven't used most of your available credit, you might only gain a few points when you pay off credit card debt. Yes, even if you pay off the cards entirely.
Taking out a car loan yourself won't raise your credit score, in fact, it's likely to lower it just a little bit at first (you're taking on debt), but making your monthly payments on time will certainly boost it.
Mortgages with a 553 Credit Score
Around 3% to 6% of first mortgages go to borrowers with credit scores below 620, depending on the year. Working to improve your credit score before you apply will make it much easier to get approved and will save you a lot of money.
It's a good idea to pay off your credit card balance in full whenever you're able. Carrying a monthly credit card balance can cost you in interest and increase your credit utilization rate, which is one factor used to calculate your credit scores.