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IRS Audit- Is There Anything Scarier? Should You Hire a Lawyer?

Keith Gantenbein

Jul 9, 2015

IRS Audit- Is There Anything Scarier? Should You Hire a Lawyer?

Nothing in the world can stop us in our tracks faster than getting a notice from the IRS with the word “AUDIT” written on it. This may be the one time in your life, you should be happy if you’re not making that much money. If you make between $25,000 and $50,000 a year, there is a .73% you’ll be audited, $50,000-$75,000 it’s .83%. Oddly, people who make between $0 and $25,000 have a higher rate of audit at 3.42%. The reasoning behind that: most people who make less than $25,0

Wells Fargo, Chase, HSBC Hammered with Restrictions from OCC

Keith Gantenbein

Jun 17, 2015

Wells Fargo, Chase, HSBC Hammered with Restrictions from OCC

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) just smashed Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC and four other banks with huge restrictions due to their failure to comply with the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR) requirements. The three other banks included in this major slap-down are; Santander Bank NA, EverBank and U.S. Bank National Association. The OCC has placed heavy restrictions, basically allowing the banks to originate new loans but not allowed to acquire ser

Keith Gantenbein

Jun 8, 2015

Collision Course Set to Hit Homeowners

There’s a collision course coming that will affect millions of homeowners creating hardships as massive as the housing market crash that began in 2006. There is approximately $265 billion tied up in home equity lines of credits called HELOCs. These HELOCs are coming due this year. Many consumers will be in shock as they see a considerable increase in their monthly mortgage payments. The HELOCs (pronounced HEE lock) are loans that lenders give to homeowners in which the borrow

Keith Gantenbein

May 15, 2015

IRS Seizes Every Penny of Man's Savings

Lyndon McLellan has owned a small convenience store in rural North Carolina for the past 13 years. His store, L&M Convenience Mart, is his life. He works seven days a week, 12 to 13 hours a day as a small business owner selling hot dogs and soft drinks. Over the course of the last 13 years of owning the store, he managed to save $107,000. The $107,000 is every penny he’s worked so hard for. Spread out over 13 years, that’s about $8,200 a year he’s managed to put away in the b

We Welcome Denver Business & Tax Attorney Michelle McCarthy To Gantenbein Law Firm

Keith Gantenbein

Apr 26, 2015

We Welcome Denver Business & Tax Attorney Michelle McCarthy To Gantenbein Law Firm

We are very pleased to welcome Michelle McCarthy to our law firm. She brings a great depth of tax and business law experience with her, including published articles on marijuana sales tax. Ms. McCarthy was also recently elected to an executive position on the Colorado Bar Association, Tax Section. For more information on our tax law and business attorney, Ms. McCarthy, please visit her attorney bio page. If you need tax or business legal assistance, contact our law firm at 30

Millions May Not Get Expected Tax Refund

Keith Gantenbein

Mar 31, 2015

Millions May Not Get Expected Tax Refund

When workers signed up for Obamacare, they submitted their estimated annual income to qualify for tax subsidies. But 55% of those American households took home more money than they expected or estimated. Workers who underestimated their income due to more overtime or changing jobs will be hit with a tax bill along with part-time workers and free-lancers who made more income than they estimated. Americans who had an alteration in family status such as divorce, marriage or dea

Keith Gantenbein

Mar 24, 2015

3 Strange, but Legal, Tax Deductions

This is the time of year millions of Americans begin pulling out receipts to start compiling their tax deductions before the April 15th deadline. People deduct the strangest items, but some are actually tax deductible, including: A GLUTEN-FREE DIET: Gluten-free foods are averaging around 242% higher in price than the ordinary counterpart. The additional expense of going gluten-free can be a legitimate tax deduction. If you have a recognized disease where gluten-free foods hel

Keith Gantenbein

Mar 15, 2015

Keith Gantenbein named to 2015 SuperLawyers Rising Star List

Gantenbein Law Firm, Denver, is pleased to announce owner Keith Gantenbein Jr. has been named to the Super Lawyers 2015 list as a Super Lawyers Rising Star. Super Lawyers is a highly respected, independent rating service for attorneys from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” recognizes top lawyers who are 40 years old or younger. The annual Super Lawyers list is compiled by

Keith Gantenbein

Mar 10, 2015

Keith Gantenbein and Heritage Title Teach Real Estate Class to Remax Realtors

Keith Gantenbein, of Gantenbein Law Firm, has partnered with Heritage Title to teach a class today to Remax realtors. Mr. Gantenbein is speaking about the new CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) guidlines for loan estimate and closing disclosures. Mr. Gantenbein comes from a family of realtors, and is a premier real estate attorney located in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Gantenbein has always been passionate about consumer protection issues: the new loan disclosure forms sho

Home Mortgage Debt & The IRS: What You Need To Know

Keith Gantenbein

Mar 9, 2015

Home Mortgage Debt & The IRS: What You Need To Know

Under normal circumstances, when your home mortgage debt is either all or in part cancelled you will be taxed on that amount. However, The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief. This provision applies to debt forgiven from 2007 to 2014. Up to $2

Keith Gantenbein

Feb 25, 2015

OCWEN: Alarmingly at Risk?

Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN) subservices all the mortgage loans for Home Loan Servicing Solutions (HLSS). Mangrove Partners is an investment manager (hedge funds) and one of the largest shareholders of HLSS. HLSS is an affiliate of Ocwen. Mangrove Partners sent HLSS a letter demanding HLSS terminate its business relationship with Ocwen. Mangrove Partners sites a “dereliction of duty” and said it is “imperative” HLSS terminate its servicing relationship with Ocwen “without dela

Keith Gantenbein

Feb 20, 2015

The Taxman Cometh - Tips to Avoid Audit

February – the month of romance, Valentines and a hint that spring is on the way. It’s also the month you receive all those 1099’s, W-2s and other tax forms in the mail. The taxman cometh so we must prepare. There are several things that will make the taxman take a second look at your return - as in an audit. That dreaded word can send chills up your spine. Even if you’re completely in the right, the audit itself can be costly in time alone. Normally, individual audits occur

Life After Foreclosure: Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) Companies Suing Borrowers on Foreclosure De

Keith Gantenbein

Jan 19, 2015

Life After Foreclosure: Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) Companies Suing Borrowers on Foreclosure De

A couple living in New England are facing another battle after losing their home to foreclosure. Their mortgage insurance company is suing them for $136,000. The Galindo’s came to the U.S. to build a better life for themselves and their toddler daughter. They worked hard and bought a two-family house in 2005 for $410,000. They didn’t have the money saved to make a large down payment so their lender required they buy an insurance policy in order to qualify for the mortgage. T

Tax Attorney Tyler Murray Taught Tax Law CLE for the Colorado Bar Association

Keith Gantenbein

Jan 15, 2015

Tax Attorney Tyler Murray Taught Tax Law CLE for the Colorado Bar Association

Denver tax attorney Tyler Murray, of Gantenbein Law Firm, taught tax case law updates at Colorado Bar Association CLE. The 2014 Annual Case Law Update was sponsored by the Business, Real Estate, Tax & Estate Law Sections of the Colorado Bar Association. Mr. Murray dicussed various legislative updates that pertained to tax law, business law and real estate law- including sales and use tax, property tax, employee classification, and Denver Lodges tax. Mr. Murray is a well-estab

Options for Back Tax Debt and Failure to Pay Taxes

Keith Gantenbein

Jan 12, 2015

Options for Back Tax Debt and Failure to Pay Taxes

There are many reasons why someone may not have filed taxes, including financial difficulties. Back taxes accrue interest and penalties- quickly adding to the total debt owed to the IRS. When the IRS feels you’ve been hiding money, filed fraudulent returns or willfully failed to file, there are cases where jail time is ordered. The IRS can also place liens against your property or seize your property including bank accounts and garnish your wages without ever going to court.

Anxious Homeowners Waiting for Renewal of Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act

Keith Gantenbein

Dec 1, 2014

Anxious Homeowners Waiting for Renewal of Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act was passed in 2007, and allowed homeowners the protection of forgiving mortgage debt. Mortgage debt includes: principal balance forgiveness, waiver of debt in a short sale, waiver of debt in a deed-in-lieu, any deficiency waiver, as well as charged-off second mortgages. Prior to the passage of the MFDRA, homeowners would have to declare any forgiven debt as 'income', and would be taxed on that 'income.' MFDRA provided financial relief