Charge-Off Rate on Credit Card Loans
Credit card debt written off as uncollectable
What is the current Charge-Off Rate on Credit Card Loans reading?
The annualized net charge-off rate on credit card loans at U.S. commercial banks was 3.8% in Q2 2026, down from 4.2% a year earlier, according to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System's Call Report data. It is the card balances banks wrote off during the quarter, net of recoveries, as an annualized share of average card balances. Source: Federal Reserve Board data retrieved via FRED (CORCCACBS).
Banks charged off credit card balances at an annualized rate of 3.8% in Q2 2026, down from 4.2% a year earlier, the lowest since Q3 2023.
The Federal Reserve Board's net charge-off rate on credit card loans at commercial banks was 3.8% in Q2 2026, the same as in Q1 2026. That is lower than a year earlier, when it was 4.2%. It is the lowest rate since Q3 2023.
The Board revises past quarters without a published schedule, so the newest quarter can still change.
The rate is annualized. It takes the card balances banks removed from their books during the quarter, net of recoveries, as a share of average card balances, and multiplies by four. So the quarter's own write-offs are about one-quarter of the published figure. Under bank regulators' policy, card balances are generally charged off once they are 180 days past due, so a balance written off in a quarter has usually gone unpaid for months.
The series covers consumer card loans at insured U.S.-chartered commercial banks, not credit unions or nonbank lenders, and it counts dollars, not people or accounts. It starts in 1985. From 2010 it includes card loans banks had securitized and kept off their books before then, so comparisons on this page start in 2010.
Credit Card Delinquency comes from the same Fed release but measures something else: balances 30 or more days past due at quarter end. The All-Loan Charge-Off rate covers every loan type at commercial banks.
Explore Further
Charge-Off Rate on Credit Card Loans over time: what has changed?
Counties with the highest delinquency scores
These are delinquency scores from our County Distress Index, not county readings of Charge-Off Rate on Credit Card Loans.
Explore all 3,144 counties →| Period | Value | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 3.8% | -0.4 pp |
| Q1 2026 | 3.8% | -0.6 pp |
| Q4 2025 | 4.1% | -0.5 pp |
| Q3 2025 | 4.2% | -0.5 pp |
| Q2 2025 | 4.2% | -0.4 pp |
| Q1 2025 | 4.4% | 0 pp |
| Q4 2024 | 4.6% | +0.4 pp |
| Q3 2024 | 4.7% | +0.9 pp |
| Q2 2024 | 4.6% | +1.4 pp |
| Q1 2024 | 4.4% | +1.5 pp |
| Q4 2023 | 4.2% | +1.7 pp |
| Q3 2023 | 3.8% | +1.7 pp |
How to read this series
The source changed how it measures this in Q1 2001. Readings before the March 2001 Call Report are partly estimated by the Federal Reserve rather than reported in full detail. Smaller banks filed the FFIEC 033 and 034 forms and could report charged-off and delinquent loans under their own loan classifications instead of the regulatory ones, so the Federal Reserve adjusted and allocated those amounts to the published loan categories using estimated ratios that differed by loan category. The Board states that from the March 2001 Call Report the detail reported by all banks eliminated the need for those procedures. In February 2017 it updated the models used to estimate data not reported by small banks that filed the FFIEC 034 form and revised the pre-2001 rates for several series, so values on that side of the boundary have already moved once without any new bank report. Readings on either side are not directly comparable, so the year-over-year column stays blank where a comparison would cross that date. Source documentation.
The source changed how it measures this in Q1 2010. From the first quarter of 2010, credit card rates cover loans that banks had securitized and previously kept off their balance sheets. Accounting standards FAS 166 and 167 required banks to bring those loans back on, and the Board states the change is reflected in the 2010-Q1 Call Reports; one large credit card bank made the move in the fourth quarter of 2009. The Board's H.8 notes put the credit card and other revolving loans consolidated by domestically chartered commercial banks at about $335 billion as of March 31, 2010. Rates from 2010 on are measured over a different pool of loans than earlier readings. Readings on either side are not directly comparable, so the year-over-year column stays blank where a comparison would cross that date. Source documentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current credit card charge-off rate?
The annualized net charge-off rate on credit card loans at U.S. commercial banks was 3.8% in Q2 2026, down from 4.2% a year earlier, according to the Federal Reserve Board's Call Report data. It is the card balances banks wrote off during the quarter, net of recoveries, as an annualized share of average card balances. Source: Federal Reserve Board data retrieved via FRED (CORCCACBS).
What is a credit card charge-off?
A charge-off is a card balance a bank removes from its books as a loss. Under bank regulators' policy that generally happens once a card is 180 days past due, sooner after a bankruptcy notice or fraud. The borrower can still owe the debt. The Federal Reserve Board's rate is net of recoveries and annualized.
How does the charge-off rate relate to delinquency?
They are separate aggregate measures on the same Federal Reserve release. Delinquency is the share of card balances 30 or more days past due at quarter end. The charge-off rate is balances written off during the quarter, net of recoveries, as an annualized share of average balances. Their levels can be read side by side, but the data do not trace individual accounts from one to the other.
Where does charge-off data come from?
The Federal Reserve Board compiles it from the Call Reports that commercial banks file and publishes it about two months after each quarter ends. FRED republishes it as CORCCACBS. It is one of the inputs to the American Distress Index's Default & Legal domain.
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