CITYWIDE More than $42,000 in tax refunds is sitting in the U.S. Treasury waiting for Santa Monicans to claim it, officials with the Internal Revenue Service said this week.
The agency in charge of collecting the nation’s taxes every April 15 is trying to find 60 Santa Monicans who are still owed money, but are difficult to find because they may have moved or changed their names after tying the knot, said Victor Omelczenko, a spokesman for the IRS.
There are more than 5,000 taxpayers in Los Angeles County who are due refunds totaling $5.7 million.
In efforts to find these taxpayers, the IRS has released a list of names and zip codes in hopes that residents will contact the agency to claim their cash.
“This is something that we do every year,” Omelczenko said. “We find that towards the end of the filing deadline, if you don’t electronically file, you’ll be waiting a couple of months to get your refund, and during that time, people get married, leave town or just move down the street, but don’t file a change of address with the post office. Their check is coming in the mail, but to the old apartment or under a previous name, and checks go undelivered.
“I would think that with the holidays, people would want to get their hands on a little extra packet money that is owed to them.”
Those 60 Santa Monicans who have not received their refund checks from the IRS are owed an average of $709.72.
Those who think they may be entitled to that money can go online to the official IRS Web site at www.irs.gov and use the “Where’s My Refund?” tool to check the status of their refunds. Taxpayers with undeliverable checks can update their addresses using “Where’s My Refund?” Those who do not have access to the Internet can call IRS toll-free at 1-800- 829-1954 to update their address. Money that is not claimed will remain in the U.S. Treasury indefinitely, Omelczenko said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 17, 2007. Read the original PDF.