Closing a savings account does not affect your credit score
Closing a savings account has no impact on your credit because savings accounts do not appear on your credit report. Credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—only track credit activity: loans you have taken out, credit cards you use, and whether you pay those debts on time. A savings account is a deposit account, not a credit account, so the bank never reports it to the bureaus.
The only way closing a savings account could indirectly affect your credit is if you close it in a way that causes you to miss a payment on a credit card or loan. For example, if you close your savings account and then cannot pay a credit card bill because you had no money left, that missed payment would show up on your credit report. But the account closure itself does nothing.
This is different from closing a credit card, which can lower your credit score because it reduces the total amount of credit available to you. Savings accounts work on a different system entirely.
Key Takeaways
- Savings accounts do not report to credit bureaus, so closing one will not change your credit score in any way.
- Credit reports only track credit products like loans and credit cards, not deposit accounts like savings or checking.
- You can close a savings account without worrying about damage to your credit history.
- The only credit risk is if closing the account leaves you unable to pay bills on time, which would hurt your score through missed payments, not through the closure itself.
- Closing a credit card is different and can lower your score, but closing a savings account carries no such risk.
Why savings accounts and credit cards are tracked differently
Banks report savings accounts to the ChexSystems database, not to credit bureaus. ChexSystems is a checking and savings account history system that banks use to decide whether to open new accounts for you. It tracks things like overdrafts, bounced checks, and accounts closed due to fraud. If you close a savings account in good standing—meaning you do not owe the bank money and there are no problems with the account—nothing negative goes into ChexSystems either.
Credit bureaus, by contrast, only care about money you have borrowed and whether you paid it back. A savings account is money you own, not money you owe, so it falls outside their scope entirely. This is why you can have a perfect credit score and still be denied a new savings account (if ChexSystems shows a history of overdrafts), and why you can have a damaged credit score but still open a savings account at most banks.
The two systems serve different purposes and do not talk to each other.
What happens to your credit when you close other types of accounts
Closing a credit card can lower your credit score, usually by a small amount. This happens because your credit utilization ratio—the percentage of your total credit limit that you are currently using—goes up when you remove available credit. If you have a $5,000 balance across all cards and $20,000 in total credit limits, your utilization is 25 percent. If you close a card with a $5,000 limit, your total available credit drops to $15,000, and your utilization jumps to 33 percent. Higher utilization can lower your score.
Closing a loan (a car loan, personal loan, or mortgage) does not hurt your score in the same way, but it does remove an active account from your credit history. This can have a small negative effect because credit bureaus like to see a mix of different types of credit. Once the loan is closed, it stays on your report for seven years, so the damage is temporary.
Closing a savings account, checking account, or money market account has none of these effects because these accounts never appear on your credit report in the first place.
When closing a savings account might create a real problem
The main risk of closing a savings account is not to your credit score but to your ability to pay bills. If you close your savings account and transfer the money out, you need to make sure you have another way to cover your expenses and pay your debts on time. If closing the account leaves you short on cash and you miss a credit card payment or loan payment as a result, that missed payment will show up on your credit report and will lower your score.
The second risk is with overdraft protection. Some banks link a savings account to a checking account and use the savings account as backup if the checking account goes negative. If you close the savings account without setting up a replacement, you might start overdrawing your checking account, which can trigger overdraft fees and potentially damage your ChexSystems record.
The third risk is specific to banks that require a minimum balance in a savings account to waive fees on a checking account. If you close the savings account, the checking account fees may kick in. This is not a credit issue, but it is a cost issue worth planning for.
How to close a savings account without complications
Before you close a savings account, check whether the bank uses it for overdraft protection on your checking account. Call the bank or log into your online account to see if the savings account is linked. If it is, you can either keep the savings account open or set up a different overdraft protection method (some banks offer overdraft lines of credit instead).
Next, make sure you have enough money in your checking account or another account to cover your regular bills and expenses for at least a month after the closure. This prevents you from missing payments due to lack of funds.
Then, withdraw or transfer all the money from the savings account. Most banks will not close an account that still has a balance, and some charge a fee if you close an account within a certain time frame (often 90 days to six months). Check your account terms or ask the bank about any early closure fees.
Finally, go to the bank in person, call, or use online banking to request the closure. The bank will confirm the account is empty and close it. Ask for written confirmation of the closure, which you can keep for your records.
What to do if you see the account on your credit report
If you close a savings account and then see it listed on your credit report, something unusual has happened. This should not occur under normal circumstances. The most likely explanation is that the account was reported by mistake, or the bank sold the account to a debt collector because you owed money on it (which is rare for savings accounts but can happen if the account went negative and the bank charged you fees you did not pay).
If you see a savings account on your credit report, request a copy of your credit report from all three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) at annualcreditreport.com, which is the official free source. Review each report carefully. If the account is listed and you do not recognize it, or if it is listed as a debt you owe, you can dispute it with the bureau by mail or online. The bureau has 30 days to investigate and respond.
If the account is listed correctly but you believe it should not be on your credit report because it was a savings account, contact the bank directly and ask why they reported it. In most cases, this is a reporting error that can be corrected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does closing a savings account show up on my credit report?
No. Savings accounts do not appear on credit reports at all, whether they are open or closed. Only credit products like credit cards and loans show up on your credit report. Closing a savings account will not create any entry on your credit report.
Can I close a savings account if I have a negative balance?
No. You must bring the account to zero or positive before the bank will close it. If the account is negative, you owe the bank money. Pay the negative balance first, then request closure. If you do not pay it, the bank may send the debt to a collection agency, which would then appear on your credit report.
Will closing my savings account affect my ability to open a new bank account?
Closing a savings account in good standing will not affect your ability to open a new account. However, if you close the account because of overdrafts, bounced checks, or other problems, that history may show up in ChexSystems and could make it harder to open a new account at some banks.
What if I close my savings account and then need the money back?
Once you close a savings account and withdraw the money, the account is gone. You cannot reopen the same account. If you need to save money again, you will have to open a new savings account. There is no credit penalty for doing this, but you may have to wait a period of time (usually 30 to 90 days) before the same bank will let you open a new account.
Does closing a savings account hurt my credit score if I have a credit card with the same bank?
No. Closing a savings account does not affect your credit score, even if you have other products with the same bank. Your credit card will continue to report to the credit bureaus independently. The savings account closure has no connection to your credit card or your credit score.