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What counts as income?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What counts as income?


@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

To answer OP's question - yes, scholarships and grants can be included. According to the amenment to the CARD act, borrowers over 21 can list any income which they have "reasonable expecation of access" and those 18-21 can report only independent income which still includes both scholarships and grants.

 

With that being said, I agree with what others have mentioned your low SL and CLI issues are more than likely not the result of low income stated on your application but the result over your overall profile.


I wouldn't think that this is true.  I don't think the OP has access to that money.  When I received scholarships and grants, they went to the school, not me.  That money is allotted to school expenses.  Creditors want to know what you have access to in order to pay the bill.  OP does not have that money to pay on a credit card bill. 

 

I do think that income can limit how much a person gets as far as credit.  I don't know why someone who makes $30000 working part time needs a lot of credit.  As income increases, I would think that credit will.


I agree with Em71. Many schools run student accounts, and any aid goes into the account and is routed toward institutional educational expenses first, as it should be. Once the student exits the school, they will receive what is left over. If your school disburses the aid directly to you, and you apply it to your expenses, then I would say you can count it.

 

Having said that, I also agree with sarge that the income probably isn't the reason you are getting lower SLs than you'd like.

Message 11 of 26
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What counts as income?


@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

To answer OP's question - yes, scholarships and grants can be included. According to the amenment to the CARD act, borrowers over 21 can list any income which they have "reasonable expecation of access" and those 18-21 can report only independent income which still includes both scholarships and grants.

 

With that being said, I agree with what others have mentioned your low SL and CLI issues are more than likely not the result of low income stated on your application but the result over your overall profile.


I wouldn't think that this is true.  I don't think the OP has access to that money.  When I received scholarships and grants, they went to the school, not me.  That money is allotted to school expenses.  Creditors want to know what you have access to in order to pay the bill.  OP does not have that money to pay on a credit card bill. 

 

I do think that income can limit how much a person gets as far as credit.  I don't know why someone who makes $30000 working part time needs a lot of credit.  As income increases, I would think that credit will.


I agree with Em71. Many schools run student accounts, and any aid goes into the account and is routed toward institutional educational expenses first, as it should be. Once the student exits the school, they will receive what is left over. If your school disburses the aid directly to you, and you apply it to your expenses, then I would say you can count it.

 

Having said that, I also agree with sarge that the income probably isn't the reason you are getting lower SLs than you'd like.


Yes you are correct, in many cases the scholarship or grant goes to the school and not you. However it is your money for your expenses. They are simply acting as the trust. You however are the beneficiary.  Your income. 

 

If at this point I still haven't convince you think of it this way. The IRS is the law when it comes to income. Yes? Well if they didn't think that was income, your school would not need to send you a 1098-T each year listing your scholarships and grants.

 

Of course it goes it should go without saying that student loans or any loan for that matter is not income.

 

 

Message 12 of 26
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What counts as income?

Your school may be required to send documentation of where scholarships and grants go, but no one has to claim them on taxes as income.  Your income on credit card should be money that, as you stated, you have access to.  Scholarships and grants do not qualify unless they are distributed directly to the person.

Message 13 of 26
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What counts as income?

I would not worry about starting limits... Most if not all of the cards in my siggy started at around $200-$500 look where they are now... My Amex from Elan started at $4,800 which is more than I'll ever need at $19,000 in income... Synchrony is generous with CLIs that's why I have two $10,000 limits one started at $280 in July the other at $2,000 in July.... Pay on time and your limits will grow... I know how hard it is I hated when I started out last year with a $200 Disco $300 Kohls $225 cap1 $200 Von Maur and Fingerhut Freshstart.
Message 14 of 26
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What counts as income?


@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

To answer OP's question - yes, scholarships and grants can be included. According to the amenment to the CARD act, borrowers over 21 can list any income which they have "reasonable expecation of access" and those 18-21 can report only independent income which still includes both scholarships and grants.

 

With that being said, I agree with what others have mentioned your low SL and CLI issues are more than likely not the result of low income stated on your application but the result over your overall profile.


I wouldn't think that this is true.  I don't think the OP has access to that money.  When I received scholarships and grants, they went to the school, not me.  That money is allotted to school expenses.  Creditors want to know what you have access to in order to pay the bill.  OP does not have that money to pay on a credit card bill. 

 

I do think that income can limit how much a person gets as far as credit.  I don't know why someone who makes $30000 working part time needs a lot of credit.  As income increases, I would think that credit will.


I agree with Em71. Many schools run student accounts, and any aid goes into the account and is routed toward institutional educational expenses first, as it should be. Once the student exits the school, they will receive what is left over. If your school disburses the aid directly to you, and you apply it to your expenses, then I would say you can count it.

 

Having said that, I also agree with sarge that the income probably isn't the reason you are getting lower SLs than you'd like.


Yes you are correct, in many cases the scholarship or grant goes to the school and not you. However it is your money for your expenses. They are simply acting as the trust. You however are the beneficiary.  Your income. 

 

If at this point I still haven't convince you think of it this way. The IRS is the law when it comes to income. Yes? Well if they didn't think that was income, your school would not need to send you a 1098-T each year listing your scholarships and grants.

 

Of course it goes it should go without saying that student loans or any loan for that matter is not income.

 

 


Yes, it is your money for your educational expenses,not just anything. If those funds are in a school account, you do not have immediate access to those funds, so you can't just take them out to pay a credit card bill, which is what a lender considering your application is interested in. Regarding the 1098-T, it is meant to be used for qualifying for educational credits available on your tax return. The 1098-T reports qualified educational expenses, NOT the totality of financial aid and scholarships.

 

Student loans are financial aid just like grants and scholarships. They will be looked at the same way in this regard.

 

And, just a note, any financial aid that is not used on educational expenses should be reported as taxable income when you file, but that is another discussion.

 

Message 15 of 26
sarge12
Senior Contributor

Re: What counts as income?


@jamesdwi wrote:

@sarge12 wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

I have been getting low credit limits on new cards and having a hard time with CLI's, and I think that may partially be because of a low income. ($30k) I am a student and I work a little more than part time as a well paid server, but all of my school costs are covered through financial aid (grants and scholarships, minimal loans). So my question is, it the amount of scholarship and grant eligible to be counted as income on applications for credit?

 

It totals about $27k/year, and pays for tuition, housing, and a meal plan. 


If it helps, I put down 30K as my income and my average credit card limit is 10K and I have 15 cards. I doubt it is the income that is causing your problem...Are you at or near your credit limit on any card? In my experience it is often those that are at too high utilization, or balances reporting on too many cards that have low credit limits.


 

You are doing awesome to have  a 10k average and 15 cards. My stated income is 100k and my average currently is only 7k  accross 32 cards, and my AAoA is 4 years 7 months and my oldest account is 18 years. Give it some time, your limits will grow as you get new cards and your income grows. With only a 30k income, your lenders are probably concerned about how you will pay them back  in a timely manner if you even use 30% of your total limits (guesstimated at  150k) which would be about 50k is more than 1.5x of your yearly income not including interest. 

 


It is about here that this thread went off the rails, my post was written to let the OP know that his 30k of income should not cause low limits, I do not know what his credit limits are....but mine are quite high with the same income. I could care less if my limits grow, and the thoughts of having 30% utilization on these cards is terrifying...I am a transactor my balances ore usually 0. Now how someone got my answer post mixed up with  the OP's is a mystery. Thanks for highliting my credit limit in red, and calling it awesome though.

TU fico08=812 07/16/23
EX fico08=809 07/16/23
EQ fico09=812 07/16/23
EX fico09=821 07/16/23
EQ fico bankcard08=832 07/16/23
TU Fico Bankcard 08=840 07/16/23
EQ NG1 fico=802 04/17/21
EQ Resilience index score=58 03/09/21
Unknown score from EX=784 used by Cap1 07/10/20
Message 16 of 26
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What counts as income?


@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

To answer OP's question - yes, scholarships and grants can be included. According to the amenment to the CARD act, borrowers over 21 can list any income which they have "reasonable expecation of access" and those 18-21 can report only independent income which still includes both scholarships and grants.

 

With that being said, I agree with what others have mentioned your low SL and CLI issues are more than likely not the result of low income stated on your application but the result over your overall profile.


I wouldn't think that this is true.  I don't think the OP has access to that money.  When I received scholarships and grants, they went to the school, not me.  That money is allotted to school expenses.  Creditors want to know what you have access to in order to pay the bill.  OP does not have that money to pay on a credit card bill. 

 

I do think that income can limit how much a person gets as far as credit.  I don't know why someone who makes $30000 working part time needs a lot of credit.  As income increases, I would think that credit will.


I agree with Em71. Many schools run student accounts, and any aid goes into the account and is routed toward institutional educational expenses first, as it should be. Once the student exits the school, they will receive what is left over. If your school disburses the aid directly to you, and you apply it to your expenses, then I would say you can count it.

 

Having said that, I also agree with sarge that the income probably isn't the reason you are getting lower SLs than you'd like.


Yes you are correct, in many cases the scholarship or grant goes to the school and not you. However it is your money for your expenses. They are simply acting as the trust. You however are the beneficiary.  Your income. 

 

If at this point I still haven't convince you think of it this way. The IRS is the law when it comes to income. Yes? Well if they didn't think that was income, your school would not need to send you a 1098-T each year listing your scholarships and grants.

 

Of course it goes it should go without saying that student loans or any loan for that matter is not income.

 

 


Yes, it is your money for your educational expenses,not just anything. If those funds are in a school account, you do not have immediate access to those funds, so you can't just take them out to pay a credit card bill, which is what a lender considering your application is interested in. Regarding the 1098-T, it is meant to be used for qualifying for educational credits available on your tax return. The 1098-T reports qualified educational expenses, NOT the totality of financial aid and scholarships.

 

Student loans are financial aid just like grants and scholarships. They will be looked at the same way in this regard.

 

And, just a note, any financial aid that is not used on educational expenses should be reported as taxable income when you file, but that is another discussion.

 


I think we are going to have to agree to disagree Bella. A loan is something you have to pay back so it is not looked at in the same regard. As for the scope of scholarships and grants, they often include room and board which means your cost of living is cheaper than someone who has to pay for their rent and meals. It would make no sense to list your monthly rent and fail to include the income used to pay it even if it is in some cases it's done automatically through the school.

 

Income and assets are two different things, so you don't need immediate access to your entire scholarship. Same as you don't have access to an entire trust or an annual salary from employment. As for using the scholarships/grant to pay a bill that depends on the type. I personally purchased a laptop and other school supplies on my credit card and paid myself with my scholarship. But that doesn't matter. The fact that they cover things like transportation, food, rent, etc. means many of your expenses are paid and can use your other income to pay credit card bills and the like.

 

I'm really not trying to argue here and of course no one has to list it if they don't want to, but you can if you do. No need to take my word for it, Gabe an account manager from Discover said you can Smiley Wink. I'm trying to resolve an unrelated issue with them that unfortunately has taken several calls so I asked them while they were on the phone.

Message 17 of 26
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What counts as income?


@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

To answer OP's question - yes, scholarships and grants can be included. According to the amenment to the CARD act, borrowers over 21 can list any income which they have "reasonable expecation of access" and those 18-21 can report only independent income which still includes both scholarships and grants.

 

With that being said, I agree with what others have mentioned your low SL and CLI issues are more than likely not the result of low income stated on your application but the result over your overall profile.


I wouldn't think that this is true.  I don't think the OP has access to that money.  When I received scholarships and grants, they went to the school, not me.  That money is allotted to school expenses.  Creditors want to know what you have access to in order to pay the bill.  OP does not have that money to pay on a credit card bill. 

 

I do think that income can limit how much a person gets as far as credit.  I don't know why someone who makes $30000 working part time needs a lot of credit.  As income increases, I would think that credit will.


I agree with Em71. Many schools run student accounts, and any aid goes into the account and is routed toward institutional educational expenses first, as it should be. Once the student exits the school, they will receive what is left over. If your school disburses the aid directly to you, and you apply it to your expenses, then I would say you can count it.

 

Having said that, I also agree with sarge that the income probably isn't the reason you are getting lower SLs than you'd like.


Yes you are correct, in many cases the scholarship or grant goes to the school and not you. However it is your money for your expenses. They are simply acting as the trust. You however are the beneficiary.  Your income. 

 

If at this point I still haven't convince you think of it this way. The IRS is the law when it comes to income. Yes? Well if they didn't think that was income, your school would not need to send you a 1098-T each year listing your scholarships and grants.

 

Of course it goes it should go without saying that student loans or any loan for that matter is not income.

 

 


Yes, it is your money for your educational expenses,not just anything. If those funds are in a school account, you do not have immediate access to those funds, so you can't just take them out to pay a credit card bill, which is what a lender considering your application is interested in. Regarding the 1098-T, it is meant to be used for qualifying for educational credits available on your tax return. The 1098-T reports qualified educational expenses, NOT the totality of financial aid and scholarships.

 

Student loans are financial aid just like grants and scholarships. They will be looked at the same way in this regard.

 

And, just a note, any financial aid that is not used on educational expenses should be reported as taxable income when you file, but that is another discussion.

 


I think we are going to have to agree to disagree Bella. A loan is something you have to pay back so it is not looked at in the same regard. As for the scope of scholarships and grants, they often include room and board which means your cost of living is cheaper than someone who has to pay for their rent and meals. It would make no sense to list your monthly rent and fail to include the income used to pay it even if it is in some cases it's done automatically through the school.

 

Income and assets are two different things, so you don't need immediate access to your entire scholarship. Same as you don't have access to an entire trust or an annual salary from employment. As for using the scholarships/grant to pay a bill that depends on the type. I personally purchased a laptop and other school supplies on my credit card and paid myself with my scholarship. But that doesn't matter. The fact that they cover things like transportation, food, rent, etc. means many of your expenses are paid and can use your other income to pay credit card bills and the like.

 

I'm really not trying to argue here and of course no one has to list it if they don't want to, but you can if you do. No need to take my word for it, Gabe an account manager from Discover said you can Smiley Wink. I'm trying to resolve an unrelated issue with them that unfortunately has taken several calls so I asked them while they were on the phone.


I don't think we totally disagree with each other. Smiley Happy

 

And I don't think me starting this is helping the OP, so I apologize for that. 

Message 18 of 26
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What counts as income?

If this helps, when my app was approved under manual review, I told the analysis at Barclaycard that I had a money market IRA in savings and he used that too in approving me.
Message 19 of 26
Isacking97
Regular Contributor

Re: What counts as income?


@Anonymous wrote:
What do you consider low limits purely out of curiosity? We all have different versions of low...

Then I may be able to provide some personal experience with my limits related to income... As always YMMV...

Exatly I have a income of 7.3K and have a Amex of 5K plus a discover 2.5K and a Visa in $600 TCL: $8,400,  so 30K is not that low 



Starting Score:EX: 713 EQ: 698
Message 20 of 26
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