Many people as the question of how long will bad debt affect a credit score. The truth is that a bad credit card or a bad loan will affect your credit card as along as it is unpaid and for an extensive period after the debt has actually been cleared.

Though many people attempt to have their records wiped clean the time period that the negative information remains on your credit history is dictated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This act basically deals with most credit issues and credit matters. However each bad debt depending on how it is classified will remain on your credit report for a specific period of time:

Delinquency information: When you pay your credit card minimum payment late or a loan payment late and when a collections agency is assigned to collect on a bad debt for a financial institution this remains on your credit history for SEVEN (7) year from the date of the delinquent occurrence.

Charge-offs (written off debts): Those these debts are written off the books of the collectors as they are still deemed collectable to some extent and remain on your credit history for SEVEN (7) years and six (6) months (180 days) from the date the charge off is reported to the credit bureau.

Student loan defaults: These are student loans that have borrowed and remain unpaid. Even if the loan is paid in full depending on how long it remained delinquent these remain on your credit history for SEVEN (7) years.

Foreclosures: These are a serious indictment on someone’s credit history. This lasts on your credit history for a period of for SEVEN (7) years as well. However it is not actually the fact that you would have cleared the bad debt with the foreclosure but the fact that most lending agencies and financial institutions will not want to give you a loan based on that fact.

Law suits or judgments: These also remain on your credit history for a long time. These are bad debts and if a judgment goes against you then that remains on your credit history for a penultimate for SEVEN (7) years as well.

Bankruptcy: This is the most serious of the lot negatives on ones credit history. It remains for all of TEN (10) years from the date you filed bankruptcy. This is a serious matter as most individuals usually attempt to file chapter 13 to escape from honoring debts the penalty has been made stiffer from 7 to 10 years.

Paid and unpaid tax liens: These are liens that the state or federal government hold and take as a result of unpaid property taxes. If these are paid then the offence only remains visible on your credit history for SEVEN (7) years from the date that is was paid, however if it is not paid the offence remains on your credit history sheet for no less than FIFTHEEN (15) years.