8 Credit Score Myths and What's Actually True

By CreditMeadow Editorial Team · Updated October 16, 2026

Most credit score myths come from a reasonable guess about how scoring should work: that checking your score must cost points, that earning more must help, or that carrying a balance proves you use credit. The sources that publish the rules say otherwise. Checking your own credit doesn't lower your score, income isn't part of it, and carrying a balance doesn't help your FICO Scores and will likely cost you interest.

Below are eight common myths, each checked against FICO's own consumer site, myFICO, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, with links to our longer guides where a topic needs more room.

Credit score myths at a glance

Myths about what goes into your score

Myth 1: A higher income means a higher score

Your paycheck isn't in the formula. myFICO says your income is not considered in your credit score: whether you earn $20,000 or $200,000 a year, only the five scoring factors determine your FICO Scores. Our guide to how your credit score is calculated lists what else is left out.

Income still matters when you apply. FICO notes that lenders look at information such as the amount of debt you can reasonably handle given your income, along with your employment history and credit history.

Myth 2: Marriage merges your credit scores

There is no joint score. The CFPB says credit scores are calculated on a specific individual's credit history, so a spouse's bad score will not affect yours. Joint accounts and joint applications are another matter; see marriage and credit scores.

Myth 3: Debit cards build credit

They don't. The CFPB explains that when you use a debit card or cash, you aren't borrowing money you need to repay later, so it doesn't help you prove you can pay off your debts. Prepaid cards don't help you establish a credit history either. myFICO agrees that there's no "credit" factor to debit or prepaid cards.

The CFPB lists products that can help instead, such as secured credit cards and credit builder loans, whose payments are reported to the three nationwide credit reporting companies.

Myths about credit cards

Myth 4: You need to carry a balance to build credit

This one costs money. myFICO says FICO Scores don't take into account whether you carry a balance from month to month; what always counts as positive is making agreed-upon payments. Carrying a balance won't raise your scores and will likely mean paying interest.

Part of the confusion comes from timing. Card issuers generally report your account once a month on the statement closing date, and that reported balance is the one used to calculate utilization. Suppose your statement shows $600 on a card with a $3,000 limit: 20% utilization is reported even if you pay the full $600 by the due date. Paying the full statement balance avoids interest; paying part of it early, before the statement closes, lowers the balance that gets reported. Our guide to credit utilization covers this in detail.

Myth 5: Closing old cards always helps your score

Closing a card removes its credit limit, and that can push your utilization up. myFICO says closing a credit card can hurt more than it helps, and that leaving accounts open, especially ones in good standing, can help your score.

Suppose you have three cards:

Your overall utilization is $1,500 ÷ $10,000 = 15%. If you close Card C, your limits drop to $6,000 and the same $1,500 becomes 25% utilization, though you haven't spent a dollar more.

The opposite habit, never using your cards, isn't a sure win either. myFICO says not using credit cards might hurt your score, because an open revolving credit line with a low balance can help, and a very low utilization ratio could be better than none at all. You can still pay in full each month and avoid interest.

Myths about checking your credit

Myth 6: Checking your own credit lowers your score

It doesn't. The CFPB says checking your own credit report is not an inquiry about new credit, so it has no effect on your score. In myFICO's terms, checking your own credit is a soft inquiry, and soft inquiries don't affect your credit. Hard inquiries, which come from applying for credit, are different; see what counts as a soft inquiry.

Even applying for credit usually costs less than people fear. FICO's myth page says that if your score drops after you apply, it probably won't drop much, and that multiple inquiries from auto or mortgage lenders within a short period are typically treated as a single inquiry.

Myth 7: You have only one credit score

You have many. The CFPB says your score can differ depending on which credit reporting agency provided the information, the scoring model, the type of loan product and even the day it was calculated. It also notes that lenders use different credit scores for different types of loans, so it's normal to see scores that are slightly different.

Scores also move over time. myFICO describes a score as a snapshot of your risk at a particular point in time, which changes as new information is added to your credit files. Two checks a few weeks apart can differ for that reason alone.

Myths about negative items

Myth 8: Paying off a collection erases it right away

Paying a collection can help your score over the long run, but there's no immediate positive effect, and the account doesn't disappear. myFICO notes that late payments, collection accounts, discharges and bankruptcies stay on your credit report for seven to ten years, so paying off a debt won't immediately remove it. A third-party collection account stays for seven years from the original delinquency date.

The score effect depends on the scoring version and the rest of your report. Paying off a collection could raise your score, lower it or have no effect. FICO Score 9 and the FICO Score 10 suite disregard collections reported as paid in full; other versions can treat them differently. If the collection is the only negative item on your report, paying it off could help your score.

Time works in your favor here. FICO notes that past credit problems affect your scores less as time passes, and lenders request a current score when you apply.

How to check a credit claim yourself

When you hear a new rule of thumb about credit, a few questions sort fact from myth:

1. Is it about your report or your score? The CFPB explains that a credit report holds information about your credit activity, while your scores are calculated from that information. A claim about what's "on your credit" may not be about your score at all.
2. Which score? Because you have many scores, a claim about "your score" may hold for one model and not another.
3. What does your own report show? The CFPB says you can review your credit reports online for free once a week from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies, through annualcreditreport.com.
4. Is the information correct? Mistakes in your credit reports can lower your scores, the CFPB notes. A collection that isn't yours or shows the wrong amount is an error you can dispute, not a myth to live with.

Key takeaways

• Checking your own credit is a soft inquiry and doesn't lower your score.
• Income, marital status and debit card use are not part of your credit score.
• Carrying a balance doesn't help your FICO Scores; on-time payments and low reported balances do.
• Closing an unused card can raise your utilization by shrinking your total credit limit.
• You have many credit scores, and they can differ by bureau, model, loan type and date.
• A paid collection can stay on your report for years; how much it counts depends on the score version.