# How to Fix Your Credit Card Payment Category > Fix your Credit Card Payment category in YNAB with 3 simple steps that work no matter the cause, and get back to fully funded. Source: https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-fix-your-credit-card-payment-category-HJkRdjAVMl Last updated: 2026-09-03T19:34:06.597Z Learn the 3 steps that fix a Credit Card Payment category no matter what caused the problem. Follow them in order to get back to a fully funded, paid in full category. #### In This Article [Why These Steps Work, No Matter the Cause](#why) [The 3 Steps](#steps) [What if I'm Not Paying My Card in Full?](#not-pif) * * * ## Why These Steps Work, No Matter the Cause An overspent category, a balance adjustment, an overpayment, a refund gone to the wrong place — there are a lot of different reasons [your Credit Card Payment category may not match your card balance](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-your-credit-card-payment-category-is-red-a-guide-SJDSr3Q1i#why), even if you [pay your credit card in full](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/paid-in-full-credit-cards-a-guide-Hk56hPMyo). The good news: you don't need to diagnose the exact cause to fix it. These 3 steps, done in order, will bring your Credit Card Payment category back in line every time. Not every step will apply to your situation — if a step doesn't change anything, just move to the next one. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## The 3 Steps ### 1\. Reconcile Your Account Start here so you know your account balance in YNAB actually matches your bank. If your balance is off, everything downstream of it — including your Credit Card Payment category — will be off too. Not sure how? Check out our [guide to reconciling accounts](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/reconciling-accounts-a-guide-BJFE3fHys) or follow our step-by-step [interactive guide for reconciling accounts](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/interactive-guide-for-reconciling-accounts-SkpVV58BGg). This is also a good time to make sure any new transactions are categorized, so that all of your funded spending is contributing money to your Credit Card Payment category ahead of the remaining steps. #### Did Ready to Assign Go Negative After Reconciling? This can happen if you're reconciling away a false positive balance. If Ready to Assign is negative once you're done reconciling, follow the steps in [When Ready to Assign is Negative](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-ready-to-assign-is-negative-an-overview-HylZA0zCc) before moving on to the next step. ### 2\. Cover All Overspending in the Current Month Check for any overspent categories this month — both cash overspending and credit overspending — and cover them by [moving money](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/moving-money-in-your-plan-ryyCKbBJi) from another category or Ready to Assign. You don't need to go back to previous months; fixing overspending in the current month is enough. **Do this before the next step.** If you assign money directly to the Credit Card Payment category first and cover credit overspending afterward, you'll end up with more in the category than you actually need. Check out [Overspending in YNAB](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/overspending-in-ynab-a-guide-ryWoxEyi) and [Handling Credit Card Overspending](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/credit-card-overspending-an-overview-HkMGpSbJs) for the full walkthrough. ### 3\. Assign Money Directly to the Credit Card Payment Category This is the step that closes the gap. Once the first 2 steps are done, compare your Credit Card Payment category's Available amount to your card's balance. You want to have the exact amount needed to pay the card off—so if the current account balance is -$250, make sure $250 is in the Available column of the Credit Card Payment category. * **If the Credit Card Payment category is still short**, [assign money](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/assigning-your-money-a-guide-SypgkrNJi) directly to it until the Available amount is green and matches the account balance. * **If the Credit Card Payment category has more than the balance of your credit card account**, you can [move money](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/moving-money-in-your-plan-ryyCKbBJi). out of the category to be used elsewhere in your plan. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## What if I'm Not Paying My Card in Full? These same 3 steps still apply — but instead of assigning enough to match the full balance in Step 3, you'll assign enough to fund your [pay-down-over-time target](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/paying-down-a-credit-card-balance-over-time-SkWj0Ls8Me) instead. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Help Us Help You! Our Knowledge Base team reviews article feedback responses weekly, and we actively revise these articles to make them as helpful as possible. That's where you come in! Our articles are scored based on the _Yes_ or _No_ ratings received below. We also collect freeform feedback for any _No_ ratings (so our team can focus in on what you were specifically searching for!). **Success**: Found what you were searching for? It would be super helpful if you click _Yes_ below. **Suggestions**: Didn't find what you're searching for and you'd like to share what terms or topics you wanted? Click _No_ below. 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