Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open.

Is giving my girlfriend money for her mortgage closing costs and down payment considered fraud?
With the standard "I am not a lawyer" disclaimer, consider this question: If you and your girlfriend split up sometime after purchasing the house but before getting married, would you expect her to repay you for the closing costs and downpayment?  That is, if you write her a check for $5k, and 6 months after she signs the papers for the house one of you decides to break up with the other, would you expect her to write you a check for $5k in return?   That is the difference between "a gift" and "a loan disguised as a gift".  If the answer is no, you don't expect it back, then everything is fine and you're in the clear - it's perfectly legal to give someone money.  If the answer is yes, you would want to be "paid back", then it's not a gift and you run the risk of running afoul of the regulations.   With respect to a previous answer about "gifting money that is not taxed", in the US one person can give another up to $14,000 without worrying about gift taxes, and even in the event that you exceed that amount, the excess would simply eat into the lifetime exemption of $5,250,000.  (Individual states may have different rules and exempt amounts that would apply to state taxes.)   Please also consider the income issue for your "rental agreement".  Your GF would be expected to declare that amount and pay income tax on it as a business.  She might also declare part of that amount as expected income for purposes of securing the loan, but that may run into its own issues (you're not a roommate, and presumably the home is not a duplex or set up as apartments, and presumably she would not offer a similar deal to someone other than you).