- About 35 percent of your credit score is based on your payment history. This includes any and all payments made on credit accounts, from car loans and mortgages to credit cards and lines of credit. If you have ever made a late payment on these types of accounts, it becomes part of your credit report and is factored into your overall score. The weight with which a late payment is incorporated into your rating depends on how recently the late payment was made. If you had a late payment five years ago, it won't factor in that heavily. A late payment made last month would have a harsher impact on your score.
- Thirty percent of your overall score relates to debt you have outstanding. This covers not only the number of credit accounts you have, but the balances on those accounts. ConsumerInfo.com notes that outstanding balances become especially important on revolving accounts such as credit cards or lines of credit, because your score is affected by how close you are to your limits. The closer you are to your credit limits, the more negative impact it has on your score.
- Not quite as important as other areas, but still a factor in your score, is the length of your credit history. This makes up about 15 percent of your rating. It is most favorable if you have had good credit for a long period of time. The only thing that can improve this portion of your score is time. Maintain accounts over longer periods, and be careful to keep the other areas of your credit clean, and your credit history will remain sound.
- About 10 percent of your score has its root in your recent pursuit of new credit accounts. If you apply for one account right after another, it is likely to have a negative impact on your rating. Think about how long it has been since the last time you applied, and try to leave at least a couple of months between applications. It is important to note, however, that multiple credit inquiries for the same type of product are usually not detrimental. This means that if you are shopping for a mortgage and more than one lender pulls your credit to tell you the rates they could offer you, it will not negatively affect your credit score.
- The remaining 10 percent of your FICO score is calculated in reference to the types of credit in your name. This is an analysis of how many installment loans--car loans, mortgages, home-equity loans--versus how many credit cards, retail store cards and lines of credit you have. In general, installment loans are favorable, but having too many revolving credit accounts can make you seem like a riskier business prospect.
