Do Charge-offs Go Off Your Credit Report After Seven Years Even After You Filed Bankruptcy?

A charged-off account is one the original creditor has written off as a bad debt and sold to a collection agency. You still owe the debt, but to the collection agency rather than the company that originally lent you the money. Filing bankruptcy can wipe out your obligation to repay the charged-off debt, but the account still remains on your credit report after you file bankruptcy.

Duration on Report

A charged-off account stays on your credit report for about 7 1/2 years. This is approximately 180 days between your last payment and the lender charging off the account, plus seven years after it is charged off. Regardless of what happens after the account is charged off, it will stay on your credit report seven more years. Even if you pay off the account in full, the charge-off doesn't go anywhere.

Bankruptcy Effects

Including a charged-off account in your bankruptcy filing does not change anything about how long the charged-off account stays on your credit report. The bankruptcy does not reset any clocks on the account. The account will still fall off your credit report seven years from the date of the charge-off, not seven years from when you filed bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy Duration

The bankruptcy itself also appears on your credit report and adds another negative influence on your credit score. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy falls off of your credit report after seven years. If you filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it stays on your credit report for 10 years. Either way, the charged-off accounts will drop off your credit report before the bankruptcy does.

Tips

Even though there is nothing you can do to remove the charged-off accounts from your credit report, their effects on your score diminish over time. In addition, you can add positive credit information to your credit report to further improve your score. After filing bankruptcy, keep paying on any accounts that you did not get to include in your bankruptcy. For example, most student loans cannot be discharged through bankruptcy. If you do not have any accounts after bankruptcy, get at least one and start making regular payments on it. A secured credit card is a good place to start because you can usually qualify for one even after a bankruptcy.