IRS seeks 8 Barstonians missing their refunds

BARSTOW • The federal government seeks eight Barstow residents who have yet to receive their tax refund.

The Internal Revenue Service owes an average of $1.03 million in refunds from 2008 tax returns to more than 900 San Bernardino County residents, including the eight in Barstow, according to Raphael Tulino, IRS spokesman for Southern California and Nevada. Due to incorrect addresses, checks that were sent out to 107,000 people nationally were returned undeliverable.

Just over $5 million in undeliverable tax refunds are owed Southern California taxpayers, according to the IRS. More than 15,000 California taxpayers are owed $16.6 million. According to Tulino, if those taxpayers don’t get in touch with the IRS by the end of the year, refund checks won’t be mailed out until they file their 2009 tax returns.

“There are so many millions of people that have moved that a few of these refunds fall through the cracks,” Tulino said. “But, it’s a small number in terms of the enormous (amount) of refunds that are sent out.”

About two-thirds of all tax returns are done electronically, and as the years go by the IRS is seeing that number decrease, Tulino said. Most people also opt for direct deposit rather than waiting for a check.

Taxpayers can update their addresses and check the status of a refund by using the “Where’s My Refund” tool on IRS.gov. A social security number, filing status and the amount of the refund shown on a 2008 tax return must also be submitted. “Where’s My Refund?” can also be accessed by calling 1-800-829-1954.

Who the IRS is looking for:
• Brittany A. Christiansen
• Marcus T. Collins
• Michael D. Diaz
• Jennifer Freiberg
• Allen Y. Jefferson
• Myesha Kirkland
• Justin Saiz
• Felipe Tanco