Sally Herigstad is a certified public accountant and the author of "Help! I Can't Pay My Bills: Surviving a Financial Crisis" (St. Martin's Press, 2006).
Dear To Her Credit,
I recently got married, and my husband and I opened a new joint checking account. From a credit score perspective, does it matter who the primary account holder is on bank accounts and credit cards? Does it have to be the husband? What about tax returns and mortgage loans?
Should we always have the same person be the primary account holder, or should we try to each be the primary person on at least one card? -- Casey
Dear Casey,
From a credit score standpoint, I wouldn't worry about who the primary account holder is. In times past, creditors may have only reported credit history for the primary account holder -- usually the man. If the woman ever found herself single again, she could discover that she had practically no credit history even though she was on joint accounts for years. Fortunately, times and laws have changed.
"It does not matter who the primary account owner is on a bank account. Both account owners are responsible for the account, and therefore both are building (or wrecking) their credit history," says Cathy Pareto, a financial planner and president of Cathy Pareto and Associates. "A creditor or bank who reports the credit history of a joint account to credit bureaus must report it in both names."
With a joint bank or credit account, you both spend or withdraw money and make payments or deposits. Ninety-nine percent of the time you'll never need to even remember who the primary account holder is.
Once in a while, though, it matters.
When you are making changes to the account or speaking to a customer service representative, they may ask to speak to the primary account holder. For example, when I called to ask for a lower interest rate on my credit card (hardly a questionable or top-secret operation), the customer service representative insisted on speaking to the primary cardholder.
Unless you keep your finances separate, you'll probably want to be joint account holders on all your financial accounts. However, with credit cards you both use, it's easy to let charges slide that should have been looked at more closely. Credit card charges can be a bit cryptic on the bill. If you think your husband must have bought something and he thinks the same about you, you could be missing unnecessary, mistaken or even fraudulent charges on your card. Some couples find it easier to each have their own card that they use most of the time so they can tell if there's something fishy on their statements. It makes sense to be the primary card holder on the card you use the most.
For tax returns, life is simpler if you always have the same person on the top line of the return. I've known people who didn't like the implication of the man always being on the first line of Form 1040, so they took turns. Big mistake. When you talk to the IRS about a joint return, they refer to the return by the first person's Social Security number. If you switch back and forth, especially if you can't remember who was on the top line for the year before last, things could get complicated. If you make estimated tax payments, you may even have trouble getting your payments applied correctly. Why make dealing with the IRS any harder? Find some other way to declare your equality than by taking turns on the top line of your income tax return.
Sally Herigstad answers questions about credit every week for CreditCards.com. Herigstad is a certified public accountant, author and speaker. She also writes regularly for MSN Money, Interest.com, Bankrate.com and RedPlum.com, and has been a guest on Martha Stewart radio and other programs. You can read more about personal finance and download free budgeting worksheets at her website: www.sallyherigstad.com
To Her Credit answers a question about a debt or credit issue from a CreditCards.com reader each week.
Send your question to Sally.
Published: June 19, 2009
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