The tax refund that never showed up, Delaware man still waiting on state funds

MILTON, Del. - No one likes doing their taxes, the forms, the deduction, the math... for most people it's a real headache. For Milton resident Al Ciceri, the real frustration started after he filed his state return.

"It was submitted to the state on February 18th."

After paying just one dollar in federal taxes, Ciceri was excited to get back a little money on his state return.

"I waited to like, say mid-March," he said. "Then I looked online, and I went to the Delaware tax portal it says that it was being processed."

That sort of wait time is normal. The Delaware Division of Revenue says it should take about 10 to 12 weeks to get your state return. Unfortunately for Ciceri that money never showed up, not after 10 weeks, not after many months, and not after repeated calls to check on the progress of his filing.

"The person that I first spoke to said you definitely will be getting your refund. However, there was a glitch in the computers at the beginning of the tax season," said Ciceri. He was told that the glitch had delayed some returns.

Kathy Revel, director of the Delaware Division of Revenue, pushed back a little when Coast TV asked her about a glitch in the system.

"Maybe someone did not give the proper information and that, I'm disappointed in," Revel said. She added that taxpayers should "feel free to ask for a manager or a supervisor to help with the situation." 

Revel did tell Coast TV that the state is using a new system this year for their returns but she claims that most people haven't had any issues with it. 

"We have like 4 percent of the total filers left to issue refunds for for tax year 2022, so we're catching up," said Revel.

Circeri it seems is one of those unlucky four percenters. 

"I called at least five times," he told us. "Even had one of the people that I spoke to with the refund department there who said that she hadn't gotten her state refund yet either."

In all of his attempts to find out why his return hasn't come through yet, Ciceri admits that he never asked to speak with a supervisor. He added that it will probably be his next step. Whether that change in approach makes a difference or not, it will be his sixth attempt to get answers from the Division of Revenue.

"I feel like I'm like the hamster on the wheel," he said.

While that wheel is still spinning, Ciceri's patience is running thin and his bank account is still light some of the money he's been counting on for almost five months now.