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It's August and thousands of Georgians still haven't received their tax refunds

It's August and some Georgians still haven't received their tax returns

Channel 2 Action News is getting results for one Georgia taxpayer and getting answers for thousands more.

Consumer investigator Jim Strickland is asking why so many state tax refunds are being delayed.

Soon after speaking with a Forsyth County man about a refund more than three months overdue, he got an email that the state revenue commissioner was in Cartersville and wanted to go on the record.

Brad Stuart is one of the people waiting for his refund. He said he was actually among the first Georgians to file back on Jan. 23 but his refund of over $1,700 still hasn't come. He received his federal money in a few weeks.

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"It was pretty frustrating, I mean, we just got married and bought a house, not that we can't afford it, but an extra $2,000 would be nice," Stuart said.

That new house may be part of why Stuart's return was delayed.

"If there's a change in address, if there are other changes from prior year returns that make us question if the filer is who they say they are," said Revenue Commissioner Lynn Riley.

Riley wouldn't talk about any individual case but she did say any big change on a return will draw more attention and may take more time to process.

Strickland reported 18 months ago to expect big delays last tax season because of a new but time-consuming push to fight tax return fraud.

Riley said it's working.

"It was over $100 million in 2017 and we know that we've successfully blocked over $30 million in the 2018 filing season," Riley said.

Riley said they've processed 500,000 more returns year to date that last year including Stuart's who got word his direct deposit was on the way, a day after Strickland called his revenue contact.