Do closed accounts count towards utilization?

[Anonymous]

I made mistake of closing accounts a year ago and now I am still paying them down.    Do the balances count as utilization?    Or is it only open accounts?

Thanks!!!

[Anonymous]

No they do not.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the quick response!!    That was awesome and it was the answer I wanted!  

That would explain a 50+ point jump in my score by paying down the active accounts I have!!    

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I made mistake of closing accounts a year ago and now I am still paying them down.    Do the balances count as utilization?    Or is it only open accounts?

Thanks!!!

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Welcome to the forums.

Closed revolving accounts will factor into utilization if both the credit limit and balance are reporting. If either of these is missing then the account is excluded from utilization.

[llecs]

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@MarineVietVet wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I made mistake of closing accounts a year ago and now I am still paying them down.    Do the balances count as utilization?    Or is it only open accounts?

Thanks!!!

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Welcome to the forums.

Closed revolving accounts will factor into utilization if both the credit limit and balance are reporting. If either of these is missing then the account is excluded from utilization.

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+1.

Closed accounts can still factor into util with regards to FICO scoring. Bad accounts like charge-offs, can also factor in too.

[Anonymous]

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@MarineVietVet wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I made mistake of closing accounts a year ago and now I am still paying them down.    Do the balances count as utilization?    Or is it only open accounts?

Thanks!!!

---

Welcome to the forums.

Closed revolving accounts will factor into utilization if both the credit limit and balance are reporting. If either of these is missing then the account is excluded from utilization.

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Good clarification.  I forgot that one could still have balances on a closed account.  I have multiple close revolvers (all Paid off), non of the show CL on them.  Does anyone have a closed and paif off account showing CL?

[llecs]

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pakman92 wrote:

Does anyone have a closed and paif off account showing CL?

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I have a couple reporting. They report a CL, but they are excluded because it shows $0 with paid/closed as a comment.

[LS2982]

Closed accounts do not count as long as there is a $0 Balance reporting. Its always important to make sure the card is PIF before closing so there is no nonsense from the creditor in the future!

[boomhower]

If there is a balance it certainly counts.

[MarineVietVet]

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@boomhower wrote:

If there is a balance it certainly counts.

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Not if only a balance is reporting. Or if only the CL is reporting. Both items have to be reported before the account is counted in utilization. You can read more about this here: Closing Credit Cards.