Clarkston Woman's IRS Tax Refund Among Those Delayed

CLARKSTON, Mich. (WJBK) -- The IRS is issuing IOUs. Many Americans who were promised their tax refunds this week are still waiting.

Michelle Roe files her taxes early every year.

"Those of us who filed early, we filed early for a reason because we needed the money," she said.

Roe e-filed her taxes on January 7th. She was notified it was accepted by the IRS on January 17th and her refund would be deposited in her bank account on January 25th.

However, this time the more than $4,000 this Clarkston family was depending on didn't show up.

"Very important. People rely on it. We know every year when it's coming out. It's never failed us before," Roe told us.

She started researching and through her internet quest she realized she wasn't alone. Roe became very concerned when she learned thousands of people who were expecting their tax returns by January 25th didn't get them.

So, she called the IRS, which told her when millions of people file their taxes at the start of the season, it overloaded the new system.

"[Her] exact words were your refund is lost in the system," Roe said. "They had told me that I was supposed to get it this week, yes, don't count on it. Could be next week, but don't count on it. But by the 31st I might have it, but don't count on it."

The IRS just issued a statement apologizing to people who filed their returns and said that they should expect a one week delay. They say it comes down to fine tuning the IRS system. They put in some safeguards to protect against future fraud and that's what caused the glitch in the system.

"I don't know what to believe. Everybody is getting different answers," said Roe.

The IRS claims it will provide additional updates as they become available, and you can bet Roe, who was hoping to pay some bills and get ahead this year, will be watching and waiting.