#besttaxattorneys

How To Spot A Fake Tax Call From An 'IRS Agent'

Keith Gantenbein

Sep 28, 2016

How To Spot A Fake Tax Call From An 'IRS Agent'

Hundreds of Americans are getting frightening calls from “IRS Agents” making threats including sending the sheriff over to arrest them if they don’t pay back taxes immediately. The first 8 months of this year there has been a 400% surge in these phony calls and text messages. These calls are alarming due to the fact the so-called “IRS Agent” have personal information including their correct social security number, where the person lives, where they used to live, their maiden

Denver's Hot Summer Real Estate Market- Will It Cool In The Fall?

Keith Gantenbein

Sep 15, 2016

Denver's Hot Summer Real Estate Market- Will It Cool In The Fall?

Colorado’s housing market continues to be ‘hot’. The top ten hottest cities in our nation are: Miami, Phoenix, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Denver, San Antonio, Charlotte, San Diego and Flint. Denver is number 6. In the Denver-area, the average price of a single-family home rose 3%, averaging around $445,000 per home. Condominium prices rose 4.5% to an average of approximately $298,000. Houses and condos are on the market (listed) an average of 24 days before they are s

Keith Gantenbein

Aug 15, 2016

The Tiny Home Real Estate Movement

About two years ago “tiny houses” began an upward trend in new sales of homes in what has become the Tiny House Movement. Even the most traditional builders are jumping on the bandwagon and building their own selection of tiny homes. America’s love affair with tiny homes is contrary to a nation whose homes average 2,200 to 2,600 square feet. What is the obsession with these tiny homes and what are they? A tiny home typically ranges from 100 to 400 square feet. By definition a

Co-Owning Real Estate With A Partner Or A Friend

Keith Gantenbein

Jul 26, 2016

Co-Owning Real Estate With A Partner Or A Friend

If you’re thinking of buying (co-owning) a home with a partner, if you’re an unmarried couple or just friends, it’s extremely important to protect yourself if there were a death, a parting or foreclosure. The decision you make in co-owning any property can have disastrous repercussions and consequences. Approximately 25% of primary homebuyers in the US are single. Generally speaking, non-married buyers have very little or no estate-planning protection at either the state or f

How Brexit Might Affect The U.S. Real Estate Market

Keith Gantenbein

Jul 6, 2016

How Brexit Might Affect The U.S. Real Estate Market

By now, most of us have heard something about Brexit (British Exit). In a sentence, Britain voted to leave the European Union (EU) in a historic referendum June 23. The effects of Brexit are being heard around the world. Britain has the world’s fifth-largest economy and is one of the United State’s biggest trading partners. After the vote, Britain’s pound dropped to a 30-year low prompting Americans to change vacation plans to visit Britain and take advantage of the low price

International Businesses- At Risk? French Tax Authorities Go After Major Businesses

Keith Gantenbein

Jun 23, 2016

International Businesses- At Risk? French Tax Authorities Go After Major Businesses

Our own IRS isn’t the only entity to fear when it comes to taxes. Europe has their eye on international businesses as well as wanting their ‘fare share’ of the profits. The French have widened their investigations and are cracking down on these international businesses concluding a nearly 3-year investigation and auditing of Priceline’s Booking.com The French tax authorities operate in a big way - with exactly $397.37 million in unpaid taxes slapped against Booking.com. The m

Mortgage Foreclosure and Survivors' Rights

Keith Gantenbein

May 31, 2016

Mortgage Foreclosure and Survivors' Rights

California is a step closer to signing a bill into law to protect families from foreclosure after the death of the primary mortgage note holder. The Bill is known as the “Survivor Bill of Rights”. Other states may soon follow in passing similar laws. When a spouse dies, often the surviving spouse can’t afford the mortgage payment. The survivor usually calls the lender to let them know the spouse has died. When the survivor tries for a loan modification due to loss of income,

Keith Gantenbein

May 18, 2016

Timeshare Horror Stories

Timeshares came into being during the early 1960s in England where people would share a holiday (vacation) home. The sharing typically would be between four families who would rotate their seasons each year so each family could enjoy the prime times. In the 1970s, timeshares hit the U.S. A company set up shop in south Florida and sold timeshares in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Timeshares evolved into sharing one piece of property, generally a condominium between 50 people, each

Want To Save A Ton Of Money? Hire An Attorney Instead Of A Realtor

Keith Gantenbein

Apr 29, 2016

Want To Save A Ton Of Money? Hire An Attorney Instead Of A Realtor

When buying or selling real estate, normally a real estate agent is involved. In the past, one of the main reasons for using realtors were their access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) to list the property for all to see. Nowadays the internet is the first tool people use to list, buy or sell their property, especially the “For Sale by Owner” homes. Many are turning to real estate attorneys to ‘close the deal’. The advantage of this is money. Attorneys will charge eith

Life After Death- Tax Surprise For Millions

Keith Gantenbein

Apr 25, 2016

Life After Death- Tax Surprise For Millions

Millions of Americans have had horrible and challenging years due to the Great Financial Crisis and subsequent meltdown. Many are just now beginning to recover from earlier job losses, health issues, mounting debt and even loss of their homes through foreclosure, deed-in-lieu or short sale. Just as they’re climbing out of the hole they receive a dreaded IRS Form 1099-C or related statement detailing the discharge of indebtedness as miscellaneous income. What does this mean? I

Keith Gantenbein

Apr 19, 2016

New Student Loan Forgiveness

The Department of Education announced this week they will be sending letters to 387,000 people who have student loans telling them they’ve been identified as eligible to having their loans forgiven under a new student loan debt relief initiative. The student loan relief will be available to borrowers who can’t work due to a disability. The notification letters will begin going out to these eligible borrowers beginning April 18th and will continue being sent over a 16-week per

Succeeding in Business- What You Must Know

Keith Gantenbein

Mar 29, 2016

Succeeding in Business- What You Must Know

Are you thinking of starting your own business? Congratulations. Owning your own business may require working harder and longer hours but the rewards can be worth it. When starting a business, it is imperative the business is set up correctly and the business structure is made to best fit your type of business and you. The formation of your business entity should be dependent on your tax and liability, ownership rights, capital needs and other business transactions. Each sta

Keith Gantenbein

Dec 30, 2015

The Tax Cometh- 3 Days Late

The IRS tax deadline for 2016 has moved three days. Due to an overlap of tax deadlines and Federal and State holidays, the IRS announced that taxes are due Monday, April 18th instead of Friday, April 15th. Last minute taxpayers will have one more weekend to work on their tax returns. We can thank the District of Columbia for moving the date to Monday April 18th. In the District of Columbia, Friday, April 15th is a holiday (Emancipation Day). Normally observed on April 16th

H&R Block Preying on Americans with Tax Law Changes

Keith Gantenbein

Aug 26, 2015

H&R Block Preying on Americans with Tax Law Changes

In an effort to create more business, one of America’s top tax preparation firms, H&R Block, along with TurboTax’s Intuit Company, argue and spend big bucks lobbying on Capital Hill to NOT make taxes simpler. Thinking only of how much profit they can stuff into their pockets, they prey on the poorest of taxpayers. H&R Block’s latest and most deplorable effort involves their initiating and pushing the Senate Appropriations Committee to pass a funding bill to make the Earned In

Keith Gantenbein

Aug 6, 2015

The Awful Truth About Mortgage Fraud

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has declared mortgage fraud as a growing crime threat that is hurting homeowners, businesses and our national economy. The FBI has enacted ways to detect mortgage fraud by collecting and analyzing data. They’ll use this data to identify trends and patterns. Unfortunately, by the time they discover those trends or patterns, damage has already been done. What exactly is mortgage fraud? Mortgage fraud is a misstatement, misrepresentation

Gantenbein Law Firm's Denver IRS Lawyers Featured Authors For Colorado Bar Association Tax Bar N

Keith Gantenbein

Jul 20, 2015

Gantenbein Law Firm's Denver IRS Lawyers Featured Authors For Colorado Bar Association Tax Bar N

Gantenbein Law Firm is pleased to announce that two of its Denver IRS tax lawyers, Tyler Murray and Michelle McCarthy, were the featured authors this month in the Colorado Tax Bar Association monthly newsletter. The article, The Supreme Court Weighs in on Colorado’s Attempt to Circumvent Quill in Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl, discussed a recent Supreme Court decision that affects whether the Tax Injunction Act barred federal courts from enjoining Colorado’s efforts