Billing Statement: Definition, Key Details, How to Read

Updated July 18, 2024

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Definition

A billing statement is a monthly report issued by credit card companies that details a cardholder's recent transactions, outstanding balance, minimum payment due, and other relevant account information.

What Is a Billing Statement?

A billing statement is a monthly report credit card companies issue to their customers, showing their recent transactions, the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:outstanding balance, minimum payment due, and other relevant information. Billing statements are typically issued at the end of each monthly billing cycle, and car♏dholders can receive them by mail or ⛄online.

Credit Card Statement...

...is another term for a billing statement.

Key Takeaways

Billing statements show credit card users how much they owe, their minimum monthly payment, and when it is due.
Billing statements list any transactions that have occurred since the previous billing statement.
A billing statement also shows the interest the card issuer charged on the account that month and any other fees.

How Billing Statements Work

L🍃ike the credit card indꦛustry, federal and state laws regulate credit card billing statements.

For example, the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit card company must ensure the statement is delivered at least 21 days before the payment due date. If the cardholder makes at least their minimum monthly payment within that time frame, it cannot be counted as late.

The statement must also provide a warning that if they make only the minimum payment due, they will pay more interest overall, and it will take them 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:longer 🧔to pay off their account balance. The information must be presented as a table, showing the potential savings in both time and money of paying more than the minimum.

What’s in a Monthly Billing Statement?

Billing statements follow fairly sta🐼nda꧃rdized formats and can run for one or more pages. They’re usually divided into several discrete sections.

Some of the most pertinent information—the total balance on the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit card, the minimum payment due, and the dea𓆏dline for paying it—will appear near the top.

Account Summary

Another section wilꦰl prov💖ide an account summary, showing the following:

The card’s previous balance
Recent payments and credits, such as how much money the cardholder paid toward their previous balance, plus any refunds from merchants
The total dollar amount of new purchases during the billing cycle that just ended
Any 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:balance transfers or 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:cash advances within that period
Fees and interest charged by the card issuer
The new total balance on the card

Fast Fact

If you pay your credit card bill by mail, the billing stateꦕment usually includes a tear-off slip to return with your check.

Interest Rates

Credit card companies may charge a different interest rate for various types of card transactions, such as purchases, c𒈔ash advances, or balance transfers. A separate section on the billing statement contains the interest charges, whether or not you’ve incurred them.

Account Activity

The billing statement should include the customer service contact information and all transactions sinc𝔉e the previous billing statement, listed by date. The💫se “account activity” listings will show the date, payee name, their address, and the amount charged to the card. They will sometimes include other details, such as the departure and arrival cities, with the purchase of airline tickets.

Your Rights and Rewards

The billing statement will also show the fine print about the account and the cardholder’s various rights, including how to dispute possible errors and initiate a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:chargeback if the goods or services were unsatisfactory.

Finally, if the card pays points, airline miles, or other rewards, the statement shows the cardholder's earnings since their last statement and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:current rewards balance.

Warning

Be sure to 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:monitor your credit and request copies of your credit reports to determine if there are any errors or unauthorized activity, such as a new credit card opened without your permission. You can obtain a free credit report every year from each of the three credit reporting companies by visiting .

How Long Should You Keep Your Billing Statements for Tax Purposes?

For billing statements containing relevant tax information, you should keep them for at least three years, since that's the timeframe the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) usually has to question items on your return unless you’ve committed tax fraud, which has no statute of limitations.

Examples of tax-related billing statement items include medical expenses, charitable donations, real estate🀅 and other 🔯taxes, and any expenses incurred in running your own business.

How Do Chargebacks Work?

A chargeback allows you to withhold payment for g🔴oods or services you found unsatisfactory or never received. Typically, you would complain to the merchant first, and if unsuccessful, you would ask the credit card issuer to reverse the charge.

To get a chargeback, the transaction must meet a few requirements, including that the purchase amount must equal or exceed $50 and you made the purchase in your home state or within 100 miles of your home address.

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Disputing charges makes credit cards more advantꦿageous than debit cards. When you pay with a debit card, the money comes out of your account right away, making it more difficul🦹t to recoup, although you can request chargebacks with debit cards, too.

What Is a Balance Transfer?

A 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:balance transfer involves moving all or some of an 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:outstanding credit card balance from an existing credit card to a new one. The benefit of a balance transfer oft☂en includes a lower interest rate on the new card, with some cards offering 0% interest for a promotional period.

Card issuers mꦦay charge a higher interest rate for balance transfers than for new purchases once the teaser ends. Also, credit card companies charge balance transfer fees.

What Is a Cash Advance on a Credit Card?

Besides using your credit card for purchases, you can withdraw cash from it through a cash advance. However, you can incur fees with 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:cash advances and a higher interest rate than purc💟hases. Moreover, they generally have no grace period and start accruing interest from day one.

The Bottom Line

Your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit card billing statement provides information beyond how much you owe. It’s worth reviewing your statement each month for any errors, so you know what your card costs. You can use your billing statement—or 12 months of them—as a budgeting tool, since it record🐻s many of your expenses, including some you may have forgotten about.