Can I call this income?

[Anonymous]

I have a signed offer letter for a new job. Does anybody allow me to claim it as income now for a CLI, or do I need to wait for my first stub? Thanks!

[digitek]

I'll let you in on a little secret...  I've never had to verify income before.

Bank won't call you a liar, but if your spending doesn't fit your limit they might reduce it.  They can always request tax returns (which is how I think they verify income), but only if you get in over your head and start owing them a lot of money and asking for too big CLI.  If your taxes don't match what you told them they can reduce or cancel your card.

This is actually a topic I haven't seen discussed on here before.  It is kind of strange that for all credit cards your initial limit and whether you will even be approved or not are based on a self-test with no verification about income and mortgage/rent payment.  I've never lied when asked those questions before, but not sure what is stopping you from doing it.

Congratulations on the new gig with what I suspect is an increase in income =D

[simplynoir]

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@digitek wrote:

This is actually a topic I haven't seen discussed on here before.

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Variations of this question have been asked before on this board just not in this particular part of the forum. This is more suitable for the Credit Card Applications part of the board. To answer your question no matter the bank I would still like to have verifiable income on hand just to cover my bases even if it is a pay stub or bank statements showing the deposits but as digitek alluded to very rarely do they ask for verification on initial apps you would see that more from a CU than anything.

[xaximus]

Personally, I would wait until your first paycheck/stub before updating your income information on CC lender sites. If anything, atleast you have proof when updating income. Also, it may only take a few weeks to get your first paycheck stub. If it's bi-weekly, then 2-3 weeks isn't too long to wait. I would suggest waiting till you atleast have one paycheck/stub in hand.

[Anonymous]

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@digitek wrote:

I'll let you in on a little secret...  I've never had to verify income before.

Bank won't call you a liar, but if your spending doesn't fit your limit they might reduce it.  They can always request tax returns (which is how I think they verify income), but only if you get in over your head and start owing them a lot of money and asking for too big CLI.  If your taxes don't match what you told them they can reduce or cancel your card.

This is actually a topic I haven't seen discussed on here before.  It is kind of strange that for all credit cards your initial limit and whether you will even be approved or not are based on a self-test with no verification about income and mortgage/rent payment.  I've never lied when asked those questions before, but not sure what is stopping you from doing it.

Congratulations on the new gig with what I suspect is an increase in income =D

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I think many people would be surprised if they actually understood how much lenders/credit card companies know about their customers.  Lenders don't need to immediately verify the income and housing information your provide because once you agree to the conditions of the Credit Card Disclosure document, they can access and verify information through data brokers/secondary consumer reporting companies  that provide specific information on individual consumers that isn't collated by Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

For example, lenders use data sources like The Work Number - a service owned by Equifax - to verify your employment and salary information.  Also, lenders are significant users of geo-location services.  Once they have your stated address, the can cross-reference it in databases and see if its a single family, apartment building, etc.  They can also get estimates of what rents are in that location and compare against what you state.  Once you apply online or by phone they capture your IP address and or phone number and can determine exactly where you're calling or applying from.

Secondary consumer reporting companies like LexisNexis, SageStream, Innovis, etc. aren't often discussed on these forums but in some instances they play a greater role than the big three since they collect and distribute consumer information that isn't as regulated as what is included on your credit reports.

[Anonymous]

The income you report may influence your starting limit but it's more of a legal cover for the bank to take action against you should they need to. I think if the income you report isn't unreasonable for your profile the bank wouldn't care unless you start carrying high balances and the risk of you defaulting gets rather high.

Also i find it rather funny that of all the well known lenders AMEX is the only that consistently gets reported asking for verification of income from customers yet they hand out charge cards like it's candy.

[Anonymous]

I really don't get the caution from some of the responders here.  Unless this is a limited time seasonal job or something, a signed offer letter is, IMO, absolutely OK to use to report for income.    It's what OP is expecting to get.   Just as, with an existing job, you report your expected annual salary, although you could lose your job, become disabled etc at any time and not end up with that income.   The idea of waiting for the first paycheck seems unnecessary.

[Cred4All]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I really don't get the caution from some of the responders here.  Unless this is a limited time seasonal job or something, a signed offer letter is, IMO, absolutely OK to use to report for income.    It's what OP is expecting to get.   Just as, with an existing job, you report your expected annual salary, although you could lose your job, become disabled etc at any time and not end up with that income.   The idea of waiting for the first paycheck seems unnecessary.

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I'll second this just based on personal experience.  I've signed for a new vehicle before simply based on a job offer letter, and the bank was more than happy to accept an offer letter in that situation.  Granted it was a substantial increase from the previous role, an offer letter is just as substantial as a stub as it shows a specific income amount, job title, company name, and contact information.

[SBR249]

I think I would throw in a caveat that you actually intend to or have already accepted the offer and everything is all lined up for you to start. 

[yapsalot]

I think the safest thing to do is not use a promise of future income from a job that you are not actually earning now in any credit app. Then you can never be accused of making false representations to a federally insured financial institution like Paul Manafort.