Tax preparers, experts say 'missing' stimulus checks is nothing more than miscommunication

April 16, 2020

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- Wednesday, dozens of people

at the hands of a tax service in Tallahassee.

Those upset people say their checks were deposited into the account of a tax preparer.

On Thursday, the owner of Galaxy Tax Services is speaking out.

Stories like these are starting to pop up all over the country. Galaxy Tax is now giving insight into Wednesday's situation, saying it was all a miscommunication and that tax preparers don't have access to stimulus payments.

"You don't have to go to your tax company, to your tax preparer to give them a hard time, because they don't have access to your stimulus checks," Galaxy Tax Service's Frenel Cariani said.

He adds when customers use a cash advance, tax preparers go through a third-party bank to distribute their refunds more quickly.

Those banks, then, create a one-time account that's deleted after funds are received.

"That account number could be the last three of your social and another number," Frenel explained. "That shows on the print out I give you."

Tax experts say some of those stimulus payments were deposited into those deleted accounts, and banks will not process them.

"The IRS issued the stimulus payments to the banks, however, they didn't provide the link prior to that," said Ericka Williams a tax professor at Florida A&M University. "The link got provided the day of the disbursements, then all the confusion came because they didn't give the tax payers enough time to provide the information so that they could get their stimulus check through other means."

Tax experts now say many of these customers will have to wait for the IRS to send checks by mail or by entering new account information online.

All of this takes time, so businesses like Galaxy are asking for patience.

"All I need them to understand because that situation, we're in it too with them," Frenel said. "We're dealing with it. My customers they are my friends. We know them, we talk, they call me. We appreciate them, we eat together. So no we don't have any interest to stabbing them and get that money. I need it too, everybody need it. "

Tax experts say this is a new process for everyone and they'll continue to work through miscommunications.

Galaxy Tax does say anyone with questions can give them a call.

WCTV reached out to the IRS on Thursday, but have not heard back.