It is common sense that every important document should be carefully placed and organized, so it can be easy to reach but also safe. When dealing with a student loan, the mass of paperwork and student loan records that needs to be done can be overwhelming and stressful; but what gets left out is: which of these documents should stay and which should go to the bin? Most people choose to throw out every record related to the student loan once the loan is fully paid but never stop to consider that eventually, these documents can serve as proof if later contacted by an agency or a lender. In this article, we are going to present and explain the most important types of documents and student loan records needed for a student loan and whether should they go or stay, Student Loans Resolved to have all of the answers to your questions.
STUDENT LOAN RECORDS 101: What are they and do they matter?
1.Student Loan Master Promissory Note - MPN
When choosing to borrow money from the Education Department or a private agency, the first step is deciding when and how you can repay your loan. This process takes the form of a legally-binding contract agreed by both sides, called “master promissory note” or shorter, MPN. As this document explains, you are legally obligated to pay back your student loan even if you are dropping out of college or you are unemployed after graduating university.
To make MPN’s importance easier to understand, you should think about it as a car or apartment lease. In this kind of circumstances, having the lease contract at hand is very useful when deciding if you want to change something in your home or if you want to refresh your memory about specific rules or contract violations. So keeping the master promissory note around, even after graduating is in fact, a great idea; this student loan record can serve as a confirmation for the length of your grace period.
However, there is a second option, when a loan refinancing or loan consolidation agency is paying your loan, you are getting a new contract for the new loan. Therefore, you can throw the old one away. For solutions and tips about the MPN visit us at Student Loans Resolved.
2. Monthly Student Loan Bills
Naturally, after every payment system, you get a receipt or a bill stating when and how much you paid for the given services. You can get these bills through mail or online, in your inbox. It goes the same way for Student Loan bills, but organizing and storing them can easily pass as an issue from the past. They can serve as excellent hardcopy evidence of your payment if ever needed; for example when meeting with a student loan officer.
Bottom line, there is no need to store these bills. Having an online environment at hand comes as an easy solution for this: periodically checking and reviewing your online account and the attachments sent to your email are more than just enough to keep every record under control.
So, you can get rid of the Student Loan bills only after ensuring yourself that the statements in question are applied to your account.
3. Correspondence with your collector agency or lender
This topic can sound old-fashioned to a lot of people but printing out or archiving correspondence with your loan servicer can be useful. The hard copies of emails or text messages can come in handy if you end up battling your lender in court for example or you are aiming for a Public Student Debt Forgiveness Program application. It might seem like an exaggerated back-up plan, but you should keep the correspondence until you pay-off your debt. For professional and trust-worthy services or free advice, contacts us here.
4. Student Loan Receipts
An essential student loan record, the student loan receipt practically proves that you paid off your loan. You should not confuse this paper with the student loan pay-off letter that shows the amount of money left unpaid. The receipt should be kept indefinite, serving as a debt-free proof or a tool for correcting errors on your account.
5. Tax documents
If you are going through the repayment process, there is one thing you should know: student loans and taxes go together. For example, if you are in the Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program, there is a tax bill coming along with it. Another good example would be the student loan interest deduction that you can easily claim from your federal income taxes.
Out of all taxes included in the student loan process, the ones you should keep an eye on and make an extra copy of them are:
- The Student Loan Interest Statement: Form 1908 E: You usually receive this form from your collector agency, and it states your paid interest, and it can help you claim your deduction tax. Keeping an on-paper or online statement of form 1908E can always be at hand.
- The Cancelation of Debt Form: Form 1099C. This paper confirms any amount of loan money canceled or forgiven that might be needed to report as income on another document, the 1040 Form or the Individual Income Tax Return.
The IRS issues both of the forms; therefore, you should follow their guidelines. The federal agency has the right to audit you within three years of the tax year in question. Also, in case of loan forgiveness or cancelation, the IRS can pursue unreported income for up to six years. So, you should store these tax documents up to seven years or so, reserving the right to justify yourself if any problem occurs.
6. Student Loan Management Paperwork
When opting for a student loan, paperwork related to it, like choosing a consolidation option, for example, is always useful.
If you chose any of the following loan management strategies, then start filing them under ” Important Student Loan Records”:
- Deferment and forbearance
- Rehabilitation and consolidation
- Forgiveness, cancellation, and discharge
- Collections and bankruptcy
Each of these strategies can include application forms, approval files, and other monitoring. This kind of documents is beneficial when facing problems as severe as going to court, so talking to your student loan lawyer and asking for help can help you organize everything faster. Therefore, you should consider keeping the additional documents related to your student loan at least until you are clarifying your problems.
Bottom line most of the paperwork and records related to your student loan should be kept for relatively long periods. Filing these student loan records and keeping them in labeled boxes can be a good idea until they start piling up and taking up your space. The best way to go is online storage like Google Drive, DropBox or even a simple USB stick. Make sure that everything is password-protected and that you are the only person allowed to view these files. This kind of back-up saves you more time and space, being just one click away.
In conclusion:
Student loan records and paperwork can be less scary if you are well organized and you have a sense of management. Storing IRS forms, the Master Promissory Note and the final student loan receipts are musts if you want a stress-free experience even after paying your student loan. Student Loans Resolved offers you a wide selection of expertise areas and strategies, professional help and a very-fast reply rate. Contact us now for the most effective tips and tricks on how to organize your student loan documents and related paperwork, and more.
