Closing a savings account does not affect your credit score
Closing a savings account on its own will not damage your credit. Credit bureaus do not track savings accounts, money market accounts, or checking accounts. They only track credit accounts — credit cards, loans, mortgages, and lines of credit where you borrow money and pay it back over time.
A savings account is a deposit account. You put money in, you take money out. There is no credit history to report, so closing one leaves no mark on your credit file. You can close as many savings accounts as you want without touching your credit score.
The confusion often comes from mixing up deposit accounts with credit accounts. If you close a credit card or pay off a loan early, that can affect your score. But a savings account closing is invisible to the credit system.
Key Takeaways
- Savings accounts, checking accounts, and money market accounts do not appear on your credit report, so closing them has no effect on your credit score.
- Credit bureaus only track credit accounts — credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, and lines of credit where you borrow and repay.
- Closing a savings account will not lower your score, raise your score, or change your credit history in any way.
- The only time closing an account affects credit is when that account is a credit product, not a deposit product.
Why savings accounts don't show up on credit reports
Credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — collect information about how you borrow and repay money. They build a profile of your creditworthiness based on that history. A savings account tells them nothing about whether you pay back debts, so they have no reason to track it.
Banks report savings account information to the ChexSystems database instead, which is separate from credit reporting. ChexSystems tracks deposit account history — overdrafts, bounced checks, fraud — and is used by banks to decide whether to open new accounts with you. It does not affect your credit score at all.
When you close a savings account, the bank may report the closure to ChexSystems, but this is not a negative mark. It is simply a record that the account is closed. Most banks do not report routine closures at all.
What actually does hurt your credit when closing accounts
Closing a credit card can lower your score, but not because you closed it. The damage comes from losing available credit. If you had a $5,000 credit limit and you close that card, your total available credit drops by $5,000. This raises your credit utilization ratio — the percentage of your total credit limit that you are currently using. Higher utilization hurts your score.
Closing a loan (car loan, personal loan, mortgage) also affects your score, but usually in a smaller way. It removes an active account from your credit mix, which makes up about 10 percent of your score. Paying off a loan is good for your score overall, but closing the account afterward removes it from your history.
Closing a savings account does none of this because it has no credit limit, no utilization ratio, and no role in your credit mix. It is simply not part of the credit system.
When closing a savings account might matter for other reasons
While closing a savings account will not hurt your credit, it can affect you in other ways. If you have automatic bill payments set up on that account, those payments will bounce or fail when the account closes. You need to move those payments to another account first.
If you have a negative balance — meaning you owe the bank money — the bank may hold your account open or send the debt to collections. A collections account will appear on your credit report and damage your score. This is rare with savings accounts but can happen if you overdraft heavily and do not pay it back.
Some banks also link savings accounts to checking accounts or credit cards. Closing the savings account does not affect the others, but it may change the terms of any linked products. Check with your bank before closing to see if anything else is connected.
How to close a savings account without problems
Before you close, make sure the account balance is zero or positive. If there are any fees or overdrafts owed, pay them first. Then contact your bank — you can usually do this online, by phone, or in person.
Ask the bank to confirm that the account will be closed and that no automatic payments are tied to it. If you have direct deposits or automatic transfers set up, cancel those before closing. Some banks will not close an account with active automatic payments.
After closing, keep your confirmation number or email. If the bank tries to charge you fees after the account is closed, you have proof of the closure date. This rarely happens, but it is good to have documentation.
The difference between savings accounts and credit accounts
| Account Type | Reported to Credit Bureaus | Affects Credit Score | Reported to ChexSystems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Savings Account | No | No | Yes (if negative history) |
| Checking Account | No | No | Yes (if negative history) |
| Credit Card | Yes | Yes | No |
| Personal Loan | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mortgage | Yes | Yes | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
Will closing my savings account show up on my credit report?
No. Savings accounts do not appear on credit reports at all, whether open or closed. Credit bureaus only track credit accounts like credit cards and loans. Closing a savings account leaves no trace on your credit file.
Can a bank close my savings account and hurt my credit?
A bank can close your account, but it will not hurt your credit. The only exception is if you have an unpaid overdraft or negative balance that the bank sends to collections. In that case, the collections account — not the savings account closure — would damage your score.
Does closing a savings account affect my ability to get a loan?
Not directly. Lenders look at your credit report, which does not include savings accounts. However, if you close many accounts with the same bank, that bank may be less willing to lend to you in the future. But this is a business decision, not a credit score issue.
What if I have a negative balance when I close my savings account?
You must pay the negative balance before closing. If you do not, the bank may send the debt to collections, which will appear on your credit report and lower your score. Pay any overdrafts or fees first, then close the account with a zero balance.
Does closing a savings account affect my credit mix?
No. Credit mix — the variety of credit accounts you have — only includes credit products like credit cards, loans, and mortgages. Savings accounts are not part of your credit mix, so closing one does not change it.