You vaguely remember signing a form every year at college registration time. Now that you’ve graduated, it’s all become painfully clear–those forms were promissory notes detailing your student loan obligations. Your loans aren’t going away, and you’ll want to repay them as quickly as possible. So whether you have a small sum or a small fortune to pay off, it’s helpful to brush up on some student loan basics.

Consider a deferment, forbearance, or loan cancellation if you can’t pay

At times, you may find it financially difficult or impossible to repay your student loan. The worst thing you can do is ignore your payments (and your lender) completely. The best thing you can do is contact your lender and apply for a deferment, forbearance, or cancellation of your loan.

  • Deferment: With a deferment, your lender grants you a temporary reprieve from repaying your student loan based on a specific condition, such as unemployment, temporary disability, military service, or a return to graduate school on a full-time basis. For federal loans, the federal government pays the interest that accrues during the deferment period, so your loan balance won’t increase. A deferment usually lasts six months, and you are limited in the total number of deferments you can take over the life of the loan.
  • Forbearance: With a forbearance, your lender grants you permission to reduce or stop your loan payments for a certain period of time at its discretion (one common reason is economic hardship). However, interest continues to accrue, even on federal loans. Like a deferment, a forbearance usually lasts six months, and the total number allowed over the life of the loan is limited.
  • Cancellation: With a cancellation, your loan is permanently wiped off your list of financial obligations. It’s not easy to qualify for a cancellation, though. Situations when this may be allowed are the death or permanent total disability of the borrower, or if the borrower takes a job teaching needy populations in certain geographic areas. Typically, student loans can’t be discharged in bankruptcy.

Remember, these things are never automatic. You’ll need to fill out the appropriate application from your lender, attach any supporting documentation, and follow up to make sure that your application has been processed correctly.

Keep track of your paperwork

If your idea of organization is stuffing your random assortment of student loan papers into your sock drawer, or not keeping them all, think again. Repaying your student loans is a serious matter, and you’ll need to stay on top of it. It’s important to keep accurate, accessible records. Open a file folder for each loan, and file any accompanying paperwork there, such as copies of promissory notes, coupon booklets, correspondence from your lender, deferment and/or forbearance paperwork, and notes of any phone calls.

Investigate the student loan interest deduction

On the bright side, you might be able to deduct some or all of the student loan interest you pay on your federal tax return. In 2018, if you’re a single filer with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) under $65,000 or a joint filer with a MAGI under $135,000, you can deduct up to $2,500 of student loan interest that you pay during the year. A partial deduction is available to single filers with a MAGI between $65,000 and $80,000 and joint filers with a MAGI between $135,000 and $165,000.

There are a couple of hurdles, though. You must have incurred the loans when you were at least a half-time student, and you can’t take the deduction if you’re claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.

If you paid $600 or more of interest to a single lender on a qualified student loan during the year, you should receive Form 1098-E at tax time from your lender, showing the amount of student loan interest you’ve paid for the year. For more information, see IRS Publication 970.