How Personal Loans Affect Your Credit Score (2024)

FAQs

How Personal Loans Affect Your Credit Score? ›

Personal loans can boost your credit score by adding to your credit mix, improving your credit utilization and your payment history. Applying for a personal loan can hurt your credit score temporarily by adding to your current debt, and missing payments can lower it further.

Formally applying for a personal loan triggers a hard credit check, which is a more thorough evaluation of your credit history. The inquiry usually knocks up to five points off your FICO credit score. A hard inquiry typically stays on your credit report for two years but only affects your score the first year.

A personal loan can stay on your credit report anywhere from a few years to up to a decade, depending on how you managed your debt. Missed payments may remain on your report for seven years, while bankruptcies and closed accounts that you've paid in full could stay on your report for a decade.

Your successful payments on paid off loans are still part of your credit history, but they won't have the same impact on your score. When you close the account, you will now have fewer open accounts and less account diversity. If you paid your loan off early, your history will reflect a shorter account relationship.

It is possible to pre-qualify for a personal loan without hurting your credit score. Do some research before you apply. Read reviews and learn what to consider before agreeing to take on a loan.

FAQ: $30,000 Personal Loans

Generally, a score of 670 or higher is recommended to access better interest rates and terms. However, some lenders may accept lower scores but will compensate for the increased risk with higher interest rates and less favorable terms.

Requirements for a $25,000 Personal Loan

Typically, a desirable credit score for a $25,000 personal loan is around 670 and above, but some lenders work with those who have scores from 580 and up.

If you're not careful, it can be tempting to rack up more debt rather than focusing solely on paying it off. Why this matters: Although taking out a personal loan can help you consolidate high-interest debt, it can cause you to go deeper into debt if you don't address any bad spending habits.

Personal loans tend to have lower interest rates than credit cards and are geared toward large, one-time expenses. Taking out a personal loan makes the most sense when you know you can make the monthly payments for the full length of the loan.

You now have fewer types of credit accounts

If you close an account that changes your credit mix, it could hurt your score. For example, if you only have credit cards and one personal loan and pay off your personal loan, you're down to a single type of credit.

Will my credit score drop if I get a personal loan? ›

A personal loan will cause a slight hit to your credit score in the short term, but making on-time payments will bring it back up and can help improve your credit in the long run. A personal loan calculator can be a big help when it comes to determining the loan repayment term that's right for you.

Some lenders may charge a prepayment penalty of up to 2% of the loan's outstanding balance if you decide to pay off your loan ahead of schedule. Additionally, paying off your loan early will strip you of some of the credit benefits that come with making on-time monthly payments.

If you decide that you don't want or need a loan once you have received the funds, you have two options: Take the financial hit and repay the loan, along with origination fees and prepayment penalty. Use the money for another purpose, but faithfully make each monthly payment until the loan is paid in full.

Requirements for a $5,000 loan vary by lender. But in general, you should have at least Fair credit, which is a score of 580 or above. Lenders may also look at other factors, such as your income and your debt-to-income ratio (DTI), during the application process.

Applying for a personal loan can temporarily impact your credit scores if it requires a hard credit inquiry. How a personal loan affects your credit scores is largely dependent on how you manage the loan. A personal loan can positively affect your credit scores if you make consistent, on-time payments.

Personal loans generally aren't taxable because the money you receive isn't income. Unlike wages or investment earnings, which you earn and keep, you need to repay what you borrow. As a result: You don't report the money you borrow.

Hard credit checks temporarily lower your credit score by as much as 10 points. If you have excellent credit, applying for a loan will most likely make your score drop by five points or less.

How do hard inquiries impact your credit score? A hard credit inquiry could lower your credit score by as much as 10 points, though in many cases, the damage probably won't be that significant. As FICO explains, “For most people, one additional credit inquiry will take less than five points off their FICO Scores.”

Personal loans typically have lower interest rates than credit cards, which can help you save money on interest charges and pay off your debt more quickly. Additionally, personal loans usually come with fixed repayment plans, which may help you stay on track with your payments and avoid accumulating more debt.

A personal loan can impact your mortgage application and approval. Like any debt that appears on your credit reports, how you manage a personal loan will impact how lenders view the debt and your creditworthiness.