November 10, 2026

Write-Off vs. Charge-Off: What Each Term Means and How They Affect Your Credit

By Corrine Yzaguirre · 6 minute read

Published: 12/10/2025, Updated 11/9/2026

A letter arrives from a company you've never heard of, asking about a store credit card balance you fell behind on in early 2024, during a stretch between jobs. You pull your credit reports to check, and the original card is still listed, marked "charged off as bad debt, profit and loss write-off." It's confusing to see an old balance described in accounting language, and now under a second company's name too. Each of those terms has a specific meaning, and there are established rules governing how long certain information can remain on your credit reports.

A charge-off means a lender has written your account off as a loss and closed it, generally 120 to 180 days after payments stop. You generally still owe the balance, and the debt may be sold to a debt buyer or sent to a collection agency. A charge-off can generally be reported for seven years after the 180-day period following the delinquency that led to the charge-off.

What "Charged Off" and "Written Off" Mean on Your Credit Report

The phrase on your report describes a decision the lender made about its own books. According to Equifax, a charge-off means the lender or creditor has written the account off as a loss, and the account is closed to future charges.

"Written off" isn't a separate event. Experian says “charged off” and “written off” mean the same thing: the lender has given up on being paid and records the balance as a loss, "charged off to bad debt" or "written off to bad debt." The "profit and loss write-off" wording on your report is that same accounting step, described from the lender's side.

When does it happen? It depends on the account and its terms, but Equifax puts the time frame generally between 120 and 180 days after you become delinquent. If your first missed payment on a card was due January 1, for example, the account would generally be charged off sometime between early May and the end of June.

Can an account be charged off while you're still sending something each month? Yes. Equifax notes it can happen if your payments haven't met the monthly minimum and the account becomes delinquent.

So the lender has stopped counting on the money. Which raises the next question: do you still owe it?

What Happens to the Debt After a Charge-Off

You generally still owe a charged-off debt. The charge-off is an entry on the lender's books, and the balance is still yours. You're still legally obligated to pay the debt, Equifax says, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) explains that a debt doesn't generally expire or disappear until it's paid.

What often changes is who you'd pay. After a charge-off, the debt may be sold to a debt buyer or transferred to a collection agency. If that happens, you may end up making payments to the collector rather than the original lender (Equifax).

That's also why one debt can show up twice. The original creditor's account stays on your report with its charge-off status, and the collection agency or debt buyer may report a separate collection account of its own. In the letter example, the store card would carry the charge-off, and the company that sent the letter may list the same balance under its name. Charge-Off vs. Collection explains how the two entries relate.

You can often trace the path on the report itself. Experian notes that the original account usually shows it was transferred, with a line such as "Transferred to" and the new owner's name, while the collection entry names the original creditor.

Whether a collector can still sue over an old debt is a separate question, with its own time limit set by state law.

Who holds the debt can change. When the entry ages off your report is tied to something that doesn't.

How Long a Charge-Off Stays on Your Credit Reports

This is usually the question people came for: when will it come off?

Most negative information can be reported for seven years, the CFPB says. Charge-offs and collections run a little longer because of when the clock starts. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the seven-year period for a charge-off begins 180 days after the delinquency that led to it started.

Here's how that plays out with the store card. Say your first missed payment was due March 1, 2024. The 180 days run to late August 2024, and the seven years count from there, so the charge-off could be reported until about the end of August 2031.

If the debt was later sold to a collection agency, does the clock start over? No. The period stays tied to the original delinquency, not to whoever holds the debt now. Paying the account doesn't restart it either.

Because that first missed payment sets the whole timeline, it's worth confirming the date on each report. The CFPB's list of common credit report errors includes an incorrect date of first delinquency and an incorrect current balance. If your statements show you fell behind in March 2024 but a report dates the delinquency to 2025, for example, the entry could stay longer than it should.

You can dispute a mistake with each credit bureau whose report shows it (CFPB). Disputing mistakes on your credit report is free. If information is found to be inaccurate or cannot be verified, it must be corrected or removed. How to Dispute an Error on Your Credit Report walks through each step.

If paying doesn't change the timeline, what does it change?

What Paying a Charged-Off Account Changes

“When customers call my team about a charge-off, many think it means the debt is gone, or that paying it will take it off their report. Paying or settling can update the account's status, but the charge-off itself can stay for its full reporting period.”

Corrine Yzaguirre, Director of Customer Care, ScoreSense

Paying updates the account's status. If you pay, the account may update to show a paid charge-off or paid collection, depending on who reports the payment. It stays on your reports for the full reporting period (Equifax). In the store card example, paying the company that sent the letter could update its collection entry to paid, while the card's charge-off stays on the report until its date comes up.

Some people hope that paying, or paying someone else, will make an accurate entry disappear. It won't: you cannot have accurate negative information removed, the CFPB explains. What you can do is make sure the entry is accurate on every report that shows it.

With the mechanics laid out, here's how the three terms you're most likely to see line up side by side.

Write-Off vs. Charge-Off vs. Collection

These three terms describe different stages of the same unpaid debt.

TERM	WHAT IT MEANS	WHO REPORTS IT	DO YOU STILL OWE IT?
Write-off	The lender's accounting term for recording the debt as a loss. On a credit report, it means the same thing as charged off (Experian).	The original lender	Generally, yes
Charge-off	The lender has written the account off as a loss and closed it to future charges, generally 120 to 180 days after you fall behind (Equifax).	The original lender	Generally, yes
Collection account	A separate entry from a collection agency or debt buyer that took over the debt (Equifax).	The collection agency or debt buyer	Generally, yes, and payments may go to the collector

For a closer look at the first two, What Is a Charge-Off? covers charge-offs on their own, and Derogatory Marks on Your Credit shows how long each type of negative entry can stay.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "charged off as bad debt" mean on my credit report?

It means the lender has written the account off as a loss and closed it. It doesn't mean the debt is forgiven. You generally still owe the balance.

How long does a charge-off stay on my credit report?

A charge-off can generally be reported for seven years after the 180-day period following the delinquency that led to the charge-off, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Paying the account doesn't restart that clock.

Is a charge-off the same as a collection?

No. A charge-off is the original lender's entry. If the debt is sold or sent to a collection agency, a separate collection account may also appear on your report.

Do I still have to pay a debt that was charged off?

Generally, yes. A charge-off doesn't cancel the debt. The statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit to collect a debt varies depending on the type of debt and applicable law. The expiration of a statute of limitations does not, by itself, erase the debt.

What changes if I pay a charged-off account?

The account may update to show "paid charge-off." It can still appear on your report for the rest of its reporting period.

The Bottom Line

A charge-off is the lender's record that it wrote your account off as a loss. It doesn't cancel what you owe, a collector may report the same debt as a second entry, and selling or paying the debt does not restart the reporting period tied to the delinquency that led to the charge-off. If a collection letter is what sent you looking, the useful first step is the same: check that each of your reports shows the right dates and balance, and dispute anything that doesn't match your records.

If you'd like to see all three reports in one place, here's where ScoreSense comes in.

ScoreSense® gives members access to their credit scores and credit reports from all three national credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, in one place, with daily monitoring of their Experian credit report.

About the Author

Corrine Yzaguirre is Director of Customer Care at One Technologies, the company behind ScoreSense, where she has worked since 2011 and leads the team that helps members understand what’s on their credit reports.