<prompt> Human: Well, my first question is: Is it even safe for me to deposit a check this large? It was a gift from an Aunt and Uncle. Im assuming they worked it out with tgeir accountant and either decided to eat the gift tax, or since it was a gift from two people it doesnt go past the 14k per person limit. Second, Im a 1099 employee, and pay my taxes every year with pretty much no write offs. Is this grounds for auditing me? Its all in one check, so thats what concerns me. I dont have anything to hide, but I really dont want to have to pay taxes on this money. Third, if it is safe to accept all at once, I have a few investment ideas which Id like adviceopinions on. So with this check, and my incoming paycheck, Ill have 25,000. Easily the most money Ive ever had in my life. Im 25, single, no kids, and I rent. So zero tax write offs. I wad planning to put 5-6k of my money before the check into an IRA to lower my income and also get a retirement account of some sort going. Im also planning to buy a house in early 2018, so between 3-9k of it will be going towards down payment on a house, depending on the loan program. Id also like to keep 5k as a rainy day fund in case I get hurt or lose my job. That leaves me with 5K-13K left to invest with. I was thinking of going with a cryptocurrency after doing a ton more research. Do you guys have any advice on that? Or other suggestions for investment? Thank you in advance.  <response>: Well, my first question is: Is it even safe for me to deposit a check this large? Yes. It may seem large to you, its nothing in the grand scheme of things. It was a gift from an Aunt and Uncle. Im assuming they worked it out with tgeir accountant and either decided to eat the gift tax, or since it was a gift from two people it doesnt go past the 14k per person limit. Gift taxes are wildly misunderstood. Short answer, unless 5.5m in lifetime gifts from a single person is on the line, it doesnt matter. Second, Im a 1099 employee, and pay my taxes every year with pretty much no write offs. Is this grounds for auditing me? Highly unlikely. Its all in one check, so thats what concerns me. I dont have anything to hide, but I really dont want to have to pay taxes on this money.Recipients dont pay taxes on gifts. Youre worrying over nothing. Take the check and deposit it. In the extremely unlikely event youre audited, youll tell them it was a gift. Third, if it is safe to accept all at once, I have a few investment ideas which Id like adviceopinions on. So with this check, and my incoming paycheck, Ill have 25,000. Easily the most money Ive ever had in my life. Im 25, single, no kids, and I rent. So zero tax write offs. I wad planning to put 5-6k of my money before the check into an IRA to lower my income and also get a retirement account of some sort going. Im also planning to buy a house in early 2018, so between 3-9k of it will be going towards down payment on a house, depending on the loan program. Id also like to keep 5k as a rainy day fund in case I get hurt or lose my job. That leaves me with 5K-13K left to invest with. I was thinking of going with a cryptocurrency after doing a ton more research. Do you guys have any advice on that? Or other suggestions for investment?I think you should read the Prime Directive in the side bar as well as the wiki links for investing. 