What Does – and Doesn’t – Show up on Your Credit Report

Your credit report gives creditors and others who review it a complete picture of your financial situation, right? Actually, it doesn’t. Instead, what shows up on a credit report is a deep dive into just one element of your finances: how much you’ve borrowed and how well you’ve repaid it.^1,2 So what does a credit report show?

Because credit reports are focused on your debt history, they include:

• Identification: Information to ensure creditors have the correct report, such as your name, any previous names you may have used, your address, and your Social Security number.²
• Debts: Details of the credit cards and loans in your name, known as “tradelines” on the report, including account numbers, balances, payment history, and how long you’ve had the account.^2,3
• Defaults: Derogatory tradelines, such as accounts that are “charged off” – meaning the lender has given up hope of payment and has closed the account – or in collections, and public records related to debt, such as bankruptcies.³
• Hard inquiries: A list of creditors that have looked at your report for the purpose of making a lending decision, and when they did so.^3,4 If an inquiry doesn’t factor in a lending decision, such as when you review your own report, it’s considered a soft inquiry and shouldn’t appear on your credit report.⁴

That may sound like a lot of information. And if you have a long credit history, your report may be several pages. Still, there’s plenty of information about your financial health that is not on your credit report, and it helps to know what is – and isn’t – helping you build a positive credit history.

Creditors use your report to determine how risky it would be to lend you money, and having money is no guarantee you’ll use it to pay your bills on time. Therefore, your credit report does not include your:⁵

• Income.
• Net worth.
• Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio.
• Savings, including retirement funds.
• Investments.
• Assets, such as real estate or cars you own outright, jewelry, art, and so on.

While we’re talking about assets, we shouldn’t ignore cash – even though credit reports typically do. The logic is that credit reports are focused on money that you borrow and repay, not money that you already have. Therefore, your credit report does not include:

• Bank account numbers or balances.
• Checking account activity.
• Prepaid card transactions.
• Debit card transactions – even when you use your debit card as you might use a credit card, because you’re still not borrowing money when you do so.

There are a couple of exceptions to note. First, some banks that offer overdraft protection for checking accounts consider the protection a line of credit and may report it as such.⁶ If you have overdraft protection, you may want to check with your bank to find out whether they report it to the credit bureaus.⁶ Second, FICO has dipped its toe in the water to begin tracking cash flow. UltraFICO^®, is an optional program that allows consumers with marginal credit scores or minimal credit history to use a pattern of responsible cash flow management to boost their scores.⁷ Cash-related activity will continue to be invisible to those who do not opt in.

If you pay your rent and utilities on time every month, that can show you’re responsible with your money. So you ought to see the benefits on your credit report, right? Unfortunately, you typically won’t.⁸ That’s because landlords aren't legally required to report your rent to credit bureaus.⁸ Generally, your credit report will not show payments toward your:

• Rent.
• Homeowners association (HOA) dues.
• Utility bills.
• Cell phone bill.
• Cable or streaming service bills.
• Insurance premiums.

Unfortunately, if you fall behind on payments for any of the above, that bad news might show up on your credit report. That’s because collection agencies are members of the credit reporting bureaus and report to the bureaus on the accounts they handle.⁸

There are some ways, though, to get your responsible payment history on these items reported for your benefit. Assuming that your landlord cooperates by verifying your rent, rent-reporting services can arrange to have your rent payments reported to the credit agencies.⁸ Some such services are free, while others charge more than $100 a year, so it’s a good idea to do a bit of research before choosing one.⁹

A final point on the tradelines: Because the report is intended to guide lenders, it focuses on money you owe lenders. Other money that you owe typically does not get reported. For example, a loan from your 401(k) – money that, in effect, you borrow from yourself – will not show up.¹⁰ And medical debt will not be reported either, unless it is assigned to a collection agency.¹¹

Credit reports include enough identifying information to ensure there’s no mistake about whose report it is.¹² Beyond that, most personal information stays personal. For example, your marital status is not on your credit report.⁵ If you and your spouse have several joint accounts, lenders will see the names of both account holders and might make an educated guess that you’re married. Even then, they won’t see any information on accounts belonging only to your spouse. If you don’t have any joint accounts, it’s unlikely a lender can tell from your credit report whether you’re married. Other personal information lenders won’t find on your report include your:⁵

• Race or ethnicity.
• Education.
• Profession.
• Medical conditions.
• Criminal record.