There is always a lot of talk about everything that IS included in credit scores, like how to make them better and what hurts them. But there is a lot of information that is not part of a credit score that some people have always thought were factored in. Here is what is NOT included in a credit score:
- Race, religion, sex, marital status, or receipt of any public assistance funds
- Certain laws prohibit any of these facts from being factored into a credit score.
- Age
- FICO scoring models do not look at age. While younger people may have shorter credit histories on accounts, which is factored in, your actual age is not.
- Salary, occupation or employment
- For example an attorney making a million dollars a year is looked at no differently than a fast food employee making minimum wage. The amount of money you make is never part of the scoring models.
- Where you live
- It used to be thought that the part of the country you lived in could actually cause a lower credit score.
- Interest rates on credit cards or other accounts
- Payment amounts
- While balances are certainly a factor, the payment amount is for any given account is not looked at by the scoring models.
- Child support or family support obligations
- These may appear on a credit report but unless they are derogatory (have late payments or have gone to collections) they are not factored into the scores.
- Certain types of inquiries
- “Soft inquires,” which are inquiries from things like ordering your own credit report, promotional deals from institutions making a “pre-approved” credit offer and employment inquiries. Only “hard inquiries” are factored into the score, which are only made when you actually apply for credit.
- Any information that is not predictive of possible future credit performance.
- Credit counseling companies
- If you are participating in credit counseling, the verbiage may show up under the accounts that are part of the program but the fact that you are in a credit counseling situation is not part of the credit score.
We all know what is factored into a credit score but as confusing as credit scoring can be it is also important to know what is not included in the credit score. So don’t be fooled by some of the information that is floating around out there. None of the things listed above are ever factored into a credit score.