Does Making Partial Payments Help?

Partial payments will help lower your balance, but you can still face a late fee and damage to your credit score.
Bev O'Shea
By Bev O'Shea 
Updated
Edited by Kathy Hinson
Does Making Partial Payments Help?

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If you can’t pay a bill, it might seem better to send in a partial payment than to send nothing at all. Know that what you're lacking in funds you'll likely have to make up for in proactive communication with your creditor.

Your creditor may cash the check, but that doesn’t mean you’re not considered late. And late payments can have a big impact on your credit.

If you are considering paying less than the minimum payment due:

  • Contact the creditor beforehand. Ask it to accept a partial payment without late fees, to let you skip a payment, or to change the due date. Ask if the payment you’re considering will be reported as late. Find out if the creditor offers hardship programs.

  • Make arrangements to pay the shortfall. If you don’t catch up, it’s very likely that you’ll be reported late every month that the deficiency lingers.

  • Don’t delay the inevitable. If your hardship is not temporary, partial payments are not going to help. Explore debt relief options.

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Lastly, be strategic about bills if you can’t pay them all in full. Necessities such as rent and food and perhaps transportation are higher priority than, say, student loans or credit cards or debt collectors.

Here’s a look at how much breathing room you have on different types of debt:

Debt

Real trouble starts in ...

Potential consequences

Mortgage

90 to 120 days

Foreclosure, loss of home

As soon as 1 day past due (though many lenders wait 60 days)

Repossession, collection of unpaid debt

270 days

Wage garnishment, tax refund seizure, partial seizure of Social Security benefits

Private student loans

30 days

Lawsuit, wage garnishment

120-180 days

Account charged off, sold to collections

Depends on debt amount, aggressiveness of collector

Lawsuit, wage garnishment

10 days after IRS sends first notice demanding payment

Wage garnishment, property or bank account seizure

Child support

Varies by state

Driver's license suspension, tax refund seizure, passport revocation, wage or benefit garnishment, property liens, jail

Depends on provider

Account turned over to collectors

Does a partial payment affect your credit score?

Partial payments could have a negative impact on your credit score. That’s because your creditor may mark the payment as missed or delinquent if you don’t at least make the minimum payment.

A late payment stays on your credit report for 7 years after the account is first reported late.

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