The short answer
On an FHA loan in California, your spouse's monthly debts are counted with yours, and so are their collections and court judgments. It does not matter who pays them. Only debts that state law specifically excludes are left out.
What gets counted
| Type of debt | How FHA treats it |
|---|---|
| Monthly payments: car loans, cards, student loans | Added to your debts in the debt ratio. |
| Collection accounts | Added to your own collections. If the combined balance reaches $2,000, the lender must count a payment: the arranged amount, or 5% of the balance if there is no arrangement, unless they are paid off. |
| Court judgments | Must be resolved or paid in full, before or at closing. |
| Debts excluded by state law | Left out. The lender notes the law it relied on. |
"But my spouse pays those from their own income"
That does not change it. FHA's rule turns on whether state law excludes the debt, not on who makes the payment. Your spouse's income is not counted unless they are on the loan, so their debts can count while their income does not.
If your spouse will not agree to a credit check
FHA requires the lender to get a credit report for a non-borrowing spouse in a community property state, and the lender needs the spouse's consent to do it. Without that report an FHA file is incomplete.
What options exist during a separation, and how California law treats a separated spouse's debts: confirm before publishing.
What your spouse's credit cannot do
- Their credit score is not used.
- Their credit history is not considered a reason to deny your application.
What I see in real files
Jamal's own words go here: two to four sentences on what he sees in real files like this. Claude does not write this part.
Questions people ask next
Does a spouse's Chapter 13 payment count?
To confirm in the handbook before publishing.
Do debts from before we married count?
FHA's rule does not sort debts by date. California's treatment to confirm.
Would a different loan type avoid this?
Conventional loans handle a non-borrowing spouse differently. The main page on spouse debts