For CCs do you use just your income or household?

[redpat]

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@rmduhon wrote:
@Anonymous mine and hubby's SL's aren't that big. Lol.

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Maybe you can leave him for wanderingbuilder, lol!

[Anonymous]

I only claim my own income.

[Anonymous]

I combine because everything we have is combined like mortgage, cars, and bank accounts. Being in six figures and verifiable probably sits better with creditors.

[Anonymous]

I've only been living with my gf for a little over a year, and I absolutely use both. The disclosure reads 'include all income available to you'. She helps by buying household supplies and groceries- If I needed help with rent or other expenses, she'd be there too. I couldn't live where and how I do without depending om her income to help support us. Have you seen the terms and conditions on a credit card? If they didn't want it included, that disclosure would clearly exclude it. (Before doing so, I DID ask her if she'd be comfortable submitting tax documents in the event they were requested- and she agreed.. without that availability- I might reconsider)

[redpat]

I only report mine and it seems my wife only reports mine......Because she tells me what is her's is her's, lol!

I all seriousness we only report mine because it makes no sense to disclose more.

[vanillabean]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I know there isn't really any "right" or "wrong" answer to this question, rather just an opinion or personal preference.  Whn you disclose "income" with a creditor, be it on an application, for a CLI, etc. do you use just your own income or do you include your significant other?  I think we all know that most creditors allow you to include your significant other, assuming that income could be verified if need be ...

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The answer to this question all changed on April 29, 2013, when "the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) updated existing regulations to make it easier for spouses or partners who do not work outside of the home to qualify for credit cards." The amendment allows you to go by income to which you have reasonable access.

[iced]

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@redpat wrote:

I all seriousness we only report mine because it makes no sense to disclose more.

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This is on the right track.

Something that often gets lost in in the discussion is that it can also be wise to under-report your income. If you're responsible wth debt, it won't mean much either way, but if you're not and you let banks extend as much credit as they think you can handle based on what you told them, it might actually be far more than you can really handle. Adding in your SO's income, which may or may not already be spoken for, can exacerbate this problem.

As mentioned, I report individual only, and sometimes I under-report what I actually make to CC banks. I always under-report for loans and mortgages because they'll try to give you an amount based on what you could feasibly pay if you diverted all not-spoken-for funds to them. That way, if my finances change or the bonuses start to dry up, I can just reduce the extra principle I'm paying each month rather than cut out retirement contributions or drain savings to cover a minimum payment.

[jacetx]

The only problem I see with using the household income is that if you are asked for income verification (Amex) and are not married and file taxes together, how do you go about proving that your household makes that much? I requested a CLI on my Amex card and was hit with an income verification request. In the past I used the household income since we deposit the money in the same account; however,  we are not married. Since Amex asks for a specific form, I could not provide the proof so the CLI was denied. 

[Dalmus]

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@jace8602 wrote:

The only problem I see with using the household income is that if you are asked for income verification (Amex) and are not married and file taxes together, how do you go about proving that your household makes that much? I requested a CLI on my Amex card and was hit with an income verification request. In the past I used the household income since we deposit the money in the same account; however,  we are not married. Since Amex asks for a specific form, I could not provide the proof so the CLI was denied. 

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 You should be able to speak to somebody at the executive level and present them with pay stubs and tax returns showing you each live at the same address.  There are plenty of married couples that file separately for various tax-related reasons.

[rmduhon]

I use a base income for us. Hubby works a lot of overtime but I don't use that when reporting income, I just use 40hr weeks. He regularly works 60-112hr weeks