IRS 4506-C

[frogsage]

BLUF: I just turned 20. I’ve been inflating my income from 13K to 80K. I have multiple cards from AMEX. AMEX is requesting an income check before I go through with the AMEX Gold. Would it be fine to submit a 13K W-2? Do I wait until I’m 21 so I can add my parent’s income or would my account already be closed by then for not responding to AMEX’s request?

[JoeRockhead]

Yes, you would likely face account closures for failing to adequately respond to a 4506 request, submitting a W-2 doesn't qualify as they want to look at your tax returns at this point. It's also fraud, against federal law to lie on a credit application which can come with serious consequences such as substantial fines, Up to 1 million dollars, and/or prison time of up to 30 years. 

In one example, a NY man was convicted of lying (about his income) on a bank loan application and received time served + 5 years probation and a $50k fine

[coldfusion]

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@JoeRockhead wrote:

Yes, you would likely face account closures for failing to adequately respond to a 4506 request, submitting a W-2 doesn't qualify as they want to look at your tax returns at this point. It's also fraud, against federal law to lie on a credit application which can come with serious consequences such as substantial fines, Up to 1 million dollars, and/or prison time of up to 30 years. 

In one example, a NY man was convicted of lying (about his income) on a bank loan application and received time served + 5 years probation and a $50k fine

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^^^ this

You can always call AMEX and try to negotiate providing alternate documentation for proof of income but I'd suggest you keep your expectations tempered.    Insofar as being able to claim your parents income as household income, that comes with the standard of having reasonable access to that income.  Being named on a joint checking account or as an authorized user on a parent's checking account arguably meets that standard,  but if you're planning on a "I can ask them for money when I need it and probably get it" spiel that type of response likely won't.

I don't think I'd worry about legal ramifications but I do suspect you've lined yourself up to have a FAFO moment.  Getting caught making egregious falsehoods on credit applications doesn't lead to good outcomes.

[pizzadude]

What does turning 21 have to do with "adding my parents income" ?

[coldfusion]

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@pizzadude wrote:

What does turning 21 have to do with "adding my parents income" ?

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CARD Act does outline that if you're under 21 you either need independent income or a cosigner to legally apply for an unsecured credit card, but I don't know how that is interpreted if looking to claim household income in addition to valid independent income. 

[tbgothard]

@cpizzo , if over 21, most issuers now follow current guidelines that say you may include other household income as long as you have reasonable access to that income. Typically, it is meant to mean spousal or domestic partner income. Another poster mentioned that a lender probably wouldn't consider parent income as acceptable unless the child in the household was on a joint bank account or had some other way to access the parent income. For the CU I was a loan officer at, our lending guidelines would not allow children to inlcude parent or spousal income. It was always individual income unless it was a joint applicaiton for credit.

[CreditPoor]

Openly admitting to credit card fraud on a public forum probably isn't the greatest idea to begin with.

I would simply close those account's before the issuer does and take todays lesson to heart. Unless your parents are depositing their funds in your bank and you have access to those funds, I wouldn't be trying to claim your parents income either.

[Anonymous]

Just close the accounts, yourself. So it shows closed by consumer, maybe in the future you wont be blacklisted but they MIGHT ask for the forms to approve you again. If you go through with it and they find out the truth, you might actually be demarketed or blacklisted from the bank forever because of the 'fraud'. banks hate lying or fraudulent information. id close and move on. come back to amex in the future with your REAL income. theyll approve you, this way in the future u can submit the forms truthfully without risk of demarket.

[northway]

So there are two things that could be going on.

If it's a Financial Review, you must provide the 4506-C or you'll face account closure across all your cards with AmEx.

If it's just a request with a credit card application, you can safely ignore it and it will just drop if you don't respond.

As far as AmEx is concerned, they want to know YOUR income. Anything that doesn't match your tax transcripts will lead to account closure if it's a Financial Review.

[Anonymous]

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@frogsage wrote:

I’ve been inflating my income from 13K to 80K. I have multiple cards from AMEX. AMEX is requesting an income check before I go through with the AMEX Gold.

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Just curious with 13k (real number) gross income what would you use an Amex Gold $325 AF and a $6000 spend SUB for?