An authorized user, also called an additional cardholder, gets a card linked to someone else’s credit card account. It’s a common way for a parent, partner or family member to share spending access. What it means for liability and for the added person’s credit is often misunderstood, so this page sets it out from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s (FCAC) guidance. It is one of our credit score guides. How an authorized user compares with a joint account, a co-borrower or a guarantor is covered in authorized user vs joint credit card.
Who owns the account and who pays
FCAC is clear about both sides. For the primary cardholder: “Any purchases made by an additional cardholder or authorized user will appear on your monthly statement. If you’re the primary cardholder, you’re responsible for paying for these purchases.” For the added person: “the credit card account belongs to the primary cardholder you’re not responsible for paying back any money owing on the credit card account.”
| Primary cardholder | Authorized user | |
|---|---|---|
| Owns the account | Yes | No |
| Responsible for the balance | Yes, including the authorized user’s purchases | No |
| Can make purchases | Yes | Yes, on their own card |
| Can add or remove users | Yes, “at any time” | No |
| Age | Must be the age of majority in the province or territory | Some issuers allow a minor |
Source: FCAC, Joint credit cards.
What it does for your credit
FCAC’s guidance for an additional cardholder is direct: “any purchases you make using the card won’t help you build your credit history.” The account belongs to the primary cardholder, so being an authorized user isn’t a substitute for credit in your own name. Whether an issuer reports anything about an authorized user to Equifax or TransUnion is up to the issuer; if that matters to you, ask the issuer what it reports and to which bureau, and check your own report afterwards (see checking your credit score for free). The two bureaus are compared in Equifax vs TransUnion.
Being added doesn’t involve an application in your name, so there’s no hard inquiry on your file; soft vs hard credit checks explains the difference.
To build a file of your own, the usual routes are a starter or student card, a secured credit card or a credit-builder loan, set out in order in how to build credit from scratch.
The risks, for each side
- For the primary cardholder: every purchase on the added card is theirs to pay. A high balance run up on the added card also raises the primary cardholder’s credit utilization, and a missed payment is reported on the primary cardholder’s file.
- For the authorized user: the card can be cancelled or the limit changed by the primary cardholder or the issuer at any time, so it isn’t reliable credit to plan around.
Being added and being removed
The primary cardholder adds a user through the issuer’s phone line, app or online banking, usually with the person’s name and date of birth, and the issuer sends a card in that name. Some issuers charge an annual fee for each additional card; credit card fees covers additional cardholder fees.
FCAC says the primary cardholder “may add and remove additional cardholders and authorized users to your card at any time.” After a removal, the added card stops working; charges made on it before removal remain the primary cardholder’s to pay. Closing the whole account is a separate decision, covered in does closing a credit card hurt your credit score.
Spouses and tax
Adding a spouse as an authorized user has no tax consequence in itself. The CRA’s attribution rules can apply when one spouse gives or lends the other money that is then invested, regardless of whose card is used; attribution rules explains when income is taxed back to the spouse who provided the money.