Government has unclaimed money for taxpayers - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

November 20, 2006

Albany--  The federal government may have money waiting for you. The Internal Revenue Service has nearly 100,000 refund checks totaling $92 million waiting for taxpayers to claim. The process is pretty simple.

This is the problem.  More than 3,500 Georgia taxpayers' refund checks were returned to the IRS because of different situations including death, incarceration, illness and change of address. 

We tried calling.  We even went knocking on doors in search of anyone on a long list of Albany taxpayers from the IRS.  These are people the government actually owes money. Some knocks were unanswered but we did find 20-year-old Benjamin Akumengalame.

"I filed taxes way back in February and I never got it back," said Akumengalame. He waited several months for his tax refund but by July he'd almost given up hope of getting it. He still isn't sure why it never came.

"Maybe because it was my first time filing and I'm very young at this so I don't really know much about it," said Akumengalame. But the problem happens to more people than we realize.

"It gets to that point because a lot of times when the people file their tax returns, sometimes the people move or they have life-changing situations," said H&R Block District Operations Specialist Clifford Bush.

If the check doesn't get to the right person or address, it is sent back to the IRS as undeliverable.  Clifford Bush with H&R Block says taxpayers should make sure addresses are correct when they file or if there is a change, report it to the IRS as soon as possible. One easy way is online.

"If the information has been sent in the last year, the possibility exists that you can update your address from the IRS website to get it corrected," said Bush.

Benjamin will get his information corrected as soon as possible. "It gives me a little relief to know that there's a way because I thought it was the end," said Akumengalame.

He has nearly $300 waiting for him and it's better late than never. "It'll definitely come in handy very, very significantly because I'm a student and right now I can't afford to live on my own," said Akumengalame.

But he isn't alone.  A check is waiting for 3,459 other taxpayers.

The IRS has $4.7 million dollars waiting for Georgia taxpayers whose returns were undeliverable. The average refund is about $1,300.

The government and tax specialists recommend you use direct deposit to ensure you get your money. To update your information and claim your undeliverable refund, visit www.irs.gov and click on "Where's My Refund?" 

You will have to enter a social security number, filing status and the refund amount from the tax return. You can also call 1-800-829-1954. Taxpayers can also make sure their address is correct by filing Form 8822. That form can also be found on the IRS website.

• Here is a list of people from the IRS of people in the Albany area that the IRS is trying to contact.

Ayoung, Shelley N       Albany  Ga      31701          
Brown, Devon    Albany  Ga      31701          
Dumas, Adrian L Albany  Ga      31701          
Ellis, Kayla    Albany  Ga      31701          
Folkes, Leo     Albany  Ga      31701          
Ford, Walter    Albany  Ga      31701          
Kearson, Cleve Jr & Algenia     Albany  Ga      31701          
King, Johnny L  Albany  Ga      31701          
Lewis, Latoya   Albany  Ga      31701          
Lockett, Michelle       Albany  Ga      31701          
Solomon, Kimberly N     Albany  Ga      31701          
Taylor, Charles W       Albany  Ga      31702          
Banks, Eddie    Albany  Ga      31705  
       
Brown, Johnny Jr        Albany  Ga      31705          
Bryant, Joseph C Jr     Albany  Ga      31705          
Carr, Orashious C       Albany  Ga      31705          
Hankins, Luicious Jr    Albany  Ga      31705          
Hemphill, Christopher E Albany  Ga      31705          
Horne, Tracy L  Albany  Ga      31705          
Jones, Christopher      Albany  Ga      31705          
Norris, David L Albany  Ga      31705          
Parks, Jerry R  Albany  Ga      31705          
Smith, Johnnie  Albany  Ga      31705          
Thomas, Mary L  Albany  Ga      31705          
Wesley, Abraham C       Albany  Ga      31705  
       
Akumengalam, Benjamin   Albany  Ga      31706          
Coleman, William E & Diane F    Albany  Ga      31706          
Murphy, Jill Ellen      Albany  Ga      31706  
       
Anderson, Tyrone        Albany  Ga      31707          
Brown, James    Albany  Ga      31707          
Davis, Ke Andra Albany  Ga      31707          
Hawkins, Kodra  Albany  Ga      31707          
Hollis, Candi K Albany  Ga      31707          
Jackson, Kevin A        Albany  Ga      31707          
King, Marcus D  Albany  Ga      31707          
Ransom, Corey   Albany  Ga      31707          
Ware, Henry     Albany  Ga      31707 
         
Gallamore, John B       Albany  Ga      31708          
Davis, Andrew & Bernice Mosley  Albany  Ga      31721          
Lundy, Joyce    Albany  Ga      31721          
Tunstall, Dana L        Albany  Ga      31721          

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