How Soon Will My Credit Score Improve After My Debt Is Paid Off?

The amount you owe to each creditor accounts for 30 percent of your FICO score--the credit score used by lenders to determine your creditworthiness. Thus, incurring high debts hurts your credit score and paying down existing debts can improve your credit rating.

Significance

Paying down revolving debts, such as home equity lines of credit and credit cards, increases the difference between your existing balance and your spending limit. This is known as the "debt utilization ratio." The less you owe your creditors, the higher your debt utilization ratios and, subsequently, the higher your credit score.

Time Frame

Your credit score fluctuates whenever creditors report new information to the credit bureaus. As soon as your creditors report your payments, your credit scores will change. Some creditors update consumer accounts every 30 days while others update accounts every 60 or even 90 days. As soon as your creditor updates your account information, however, the credit bureaus will recalculate your new credit score.

Misconceptions

While paying off debts to most creditors can improve your credit rating, paying off debts owed to collection agencies does not improve your credit. Although a collection agency may promise to update the account to reflect its new "paid" status, this does not positively affect your credit score.