Did you go through the entire publication 523 calculations to determine how much was actually taxable?

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p523.pdf

Let’s revisit the home sale.

You currently own a home with a mortgage. What happened to the money from the sale of the previous house?

Then … no.

It is a nice thing to do but it isn’t a tax deduction.

H&R Block and TurboTax have bad reputations.

Go to TaxSlayer and try your own taxes both ways (married, filing joint or married, filing separately). You’ll see the difference for yourself.

What they should have advised you was to fill out new W4’s. That’s the easiest solution, especially for two income families.

Married, filing separately is the worst filing status ever. You’re literally losing money.

When you got married, you and your spouse needed to file new W4’s to take into account the combined, family income. Look at the W4 form and follow the instructions.

Partner A is going to own the house and pay the mortgage whether or not they are dating and no matter where the date is living. Offering to have their date live with them doesn’t change anything financially except it saves Partner B from paying housing costs. Even if Partner A normally has a renter, I doubt the renter shares the same bed with their landlord.

If Partner B wants their own room in the house, then determine fair market value of that room and sign a lease agreement. That way, if the dating suddenly stops, then Partner B isn’t also suddenly homeless.

The other financial aspects of dating won’t change. Partner B has their own expenses for utilities, cellphone, groceries, and personal care. Most couples do this on a casual basis such as, “I’ll pay the electric bill this month” or “I’m going to the grocery store, do you need anything?” Partner A continues to pay for all house related expenses because they were going to pay for those anyway.

In the meantime, Partner B saves their housing budget. As mentioned above, they are at risk for suddenly finding themselves homeless so they might need that money.

My condolences.

Generally, you make a mortgage pay-off electronically (online) because it is safer. You will do it using your bank account number and routing number. The mortgage company probably already has this information. Your debit card number won’t work because there are spending limits on those kinds of transactions.

You have to contact your mortgage holder for your pay-off amount because that will probably be different from your principal balance.

Do they have a SS# or ITIN?

Look up on the internet for the process on how to deal with collection companies. It starts with having them prove the debt. Watch your credit report and dispute the charge if it shows up.

The “hobby” didn’t actually put you in debt? Pack it away. Finish school. Get a job. Deal with it later.

Head of household filers are single parents.

On your new W4, you have to tell your employer about your other sources of household income. In your case, that’s your spouse’s job.

You don’t even have to rent an Airbnb. You can get a mailbox through a private company that looks like a physical apartment address.

Note: Turns out OP is married and spouse earns income but this wasn’t reflected in their W4s.

Refuse to talk to this person. Tell them that from now on all communication must be in writing.

Some off campus college housing is arranged so that each tenant is responsible for their own rent. Even though the kitchen and living room is shared in one unit, the rent is for each individual bedroom. If one roommate doesn’t pay, they are evicted but not the other roommate(s).

If you are not in that kind of rental, then you are responsible by 100% of the rent every month. If the rent isn’t completely paid then you can be evicted, too. Sometimes (rarely) when a landlord sees that you’re the responsible one, they’ll give you a little leeway … but not much. For instance, they’ll suggest you move before they have to include you on the eviction.

That’s what I suggest you do.

My condolences on your profound loss.

Stop using the card. You’re digging yourself into a hole. This is your wake up call. You suddenly don’t have enough money to pay off the card every month. Your strategy isn’t working.

Go back to paying with cash until you get your spending under control.

In the meantime, pay something on the card before the due date. Pay it off as soon as you have the cash.

How much does she earn? If she doesn’t earn much maybe she qualifies as your dependent, too.

$69K is below the median income in the USA.

With mortgage companies nowadays, it works only if they agree. You are far better off with saving up money then once or twice a year making an extra principal payment toward your balance. Once you do this, ask them to re-amortize your loan. Some companies will do this automatically, some don’t.

I just find it so funny.

As soon as you turn 18, get a copy of your credit report. I’m hoping mom hasn’t done more than add you as an authorized user.

My daughter wrapped our Subaru around 2 trees. The cost to repair vs value was within $500. The insurance company repaired it.

That said, I wouldn’t have comprehensive on a vehicle that is worth under $3000.

He needs to talk to his bank or credit union to try to get pre-approved for an auto loan. Once he knows how much he can spend, he can start looking.