By Jeff Lipton
The IRS is searching for more than 8,500 New York taxpayers who have refund checks coming to them, worth a total of more than $8 million. The refunds taxpayers are due range from $1 to a whopping $66, 918, with the average refund being $940, Internal Revenue Service officials said. In Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties alone, the IRS reported 4,187 undelivered refunds.
The refunds were returned to the IRS by post offices as undeliverable. This usually happens after a taxpayer has moved and not notified the IRS of the address change, said Dianne Besunder, an IRS spokesperson. In some cases, the taxpayer has filled in their address incorrectly on the refund form they submitted.
Ms. Besunder said it is possible that a taxpayer has forgotten or doesn't realize they have a refund owed to them. "There could be all kinds of reasons that could happen," she said. "People get busy and have other things on their mind."
The U.S. Post Office cannot deliver a refund check when the name or address is incorrect or incomplete. "We do follow up,but the Post Office does not," said Ms. Besunder.
Nationwide, there has been a drop of $4.6 million from $72 million a year ago in undelivered refunds, which can be attributed to more people using a direct deposit into their bank account. Nearly 30 million taxpayers took advantage of this method during the 2000 filing period, which enabled them to get their refund quicker.
A total of $67 million is owed to 90,000 taxpayers nationwide, with an average refund of $734.
Taxpayers who have moved before receiving a refund should fill out IRS Form 8822 and can request the form by calling 1-800-829-3676.
The IRS said it makes an exhaustive effort to get the refunds to taxpayers and reaches out to the media for publicity as one method of returning checks. The media campaign takes place about a month before the holidays because residents need the extra cash during this time of year.
"We want the money to get into the hands of their rightful owners," said Ms. Besunder.
The unclaimed checks are basically from tax forms for the 1999 tax year, but could be from several years ago. There is no statute of limitations, and owed refunds could be claimed anytime, IRS officials said.
Debra Hope Duneier, who manufactures gift baskets and sells them wholesale to Internet companies through her Debra Hope Creations on Lansdowne Avenue in Merrick, was skeptical at first when the Herald informed her that she was on the list. She could not believe that the IRS could not track her down, because she has lived and worked in Merrick for the past 15 years. She is also active in the Merrick Chamber of Commerce.
"Yes, thanks to you I do have a refund coming to me," Ms. Duneier said after she called the 800 number and confirmed that money is owed to her. "They only had my town and zip code and not my address. I guess they weren't looking for me that badly."
Pamela Klansky, whose name also appears on the list, moved a few years ago from Lawrence to Syosset and possibly did not fill out an address-change form, her mother-in-law said.
The IRS received 128 million individual tax returns in 2000 and issued more than 91 million refunds.
Some names that appear twice on the list are owed two checks, and if someone is deceased, the refund will be turned over to heirs.
South shore residents whose names appear on the IRS refund list are:
Baldwin: Francesca M. Allen, Judy Choy, Jean R. Edouard, Andrew S. Erhart, Gertrude Goldman, Anduelle Jackson, Helen K. Lee, Fredy A. Mendez, Richard Pantina, Wilson J. Pena, Efrain Serrano, Calvin and Rosemarie Washington and Leslie-Ann Weeks;
East Rockaway: Steven and Janice L. Caracappa, and Gina E. Scudese;
Island Park: Michael V. Micallef;
Lynbrook: Marco A. and Maribel E. Catalan, Jose and Silvia Cruz, Rita Goldberg, Rita Goldberg, Emilio and Suzanne Lamanna, Michael R. Pearl, Carol A. Roem, Kirill Stepanov and Amir Yemini;
Merrick: Debra Hope Duneier, Sharon Mary Hearns, and Emily H. Stilwell (deceased);
Rockville Centre: Freda Abrams, Janis Gildin, Manuel E. Navas Angel, Angela Pickering, Criscelina S. Tolosa;
Oceanside: Roslyn Tovsky (deceased), and Betty Delgado Walker; Ray Allen, Derik Cenci and Danny Rhodes;
Anyone who is on the list may call 1-800-829-1040 to see if they are due a refund.
