U.S. credit card debt hits $1.26 trillion in Q2 2026, near record

U.S. credit card debt hits $1.26 trillion in Q2 2026, near record

Wed, August 12, 2026 at 8:32 PM GMT+3 2 min read

Americans' credit card debt climbed to $1.26 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, released Tuesday. The $21 billion quarterly increase left total card debt at $1.26 trillion, just shy of the $1.28 trillion peak reached in the fourth quarter of last year, according to ABC News.

Total U.S. household debt edged down $13 billion in the second quarter to $18.8 trillion. Mortgage balances led the decline, falling $74 billion to $13.1 trillion. Auto loan balances rose $28 billion to $1.71 trillion, a new record high. Home equity lines of credit increased $13 billion to $459 billion, while student loan balances declined $7 billion to $1.65 trillion.

Between mid-2022 and early 2026, the portion of card balances that had gone at least 90 days without payment climbed from 7.6% to 12.8%, according to CNBC. New York Fed researchers cautioned on a press call Tuesday that the figure reflects a backlog of old charged-off debts lingering on credit reports rather than a broad deterioration in consumers' current repayment behavior.

In an accompanying blog post, New York Fed researchers detailed a shift in lender reporting practices: by 2024, 80% of charged-off balances were still visible on credit reports a full year after being written off, compared with roughly 40% during the 2004–2012 period. When those charged-off balances are stripped out, delinquency measures align more closely with the rate of new delinquencies, which has held largely steady since early 2024.

"Delinquency rates across most products have held steady over the past two years," said Joelle Scally, Economic Policy Advisor at the New York Fed, in a statement. "Still, new delinquencies for auto loans and credit cards remain at elevated levels, a trend we'll continue to monitor."

Of the roughly 175 million Americans with credit cards, about 60% do not pay off their balances each month, a pattern that leaves those households carrying ongoing interest-bearing debt, according to CNBC. New York Fed researchers said the pattern points to a "K-shaped economy," noting that many households have little financial cushion between paychecks.

The current figures represent a reversal from the prior quarter. Credit card balances had hit $1.28 trillion in the fourth quarter of that year — a record in data the New York Fed has tracked since 1999 — before pulling back. The new data show balances have since resumed their climb, now sitting $21 billion above where they stood three months ago.