About 145,000 Michigan tax returns filed before April 15 deadline remain unprocessed

Approximately 145,000 tax returns in Michigan that were filed before the April 15 deadline remain unprocessed, the state's Department of Treasury said on Friday.

The state agency said the returns in the processing queue represent roughly 122,000 taxpayers and will result in taxes owed, adjustments or refunds.

"We understand taxpayers' frustration with delayed return processing and the impact it has on families. We apologize for the inconvenience and uncertainty these delays have caused," Kavita Kale, deputy state treasurer, said in a written statement.

The unprocessed returns need additional review to "ensure accuracy, prevent fraud, and verify credit eligibility," according to Kale. 

As of Tuesday, the agency says it has processed more than 5,200,000 individual income tax returns and sent out over $3.59 billion in refunds since filing season started on Jan. 26.

State officials also said Friday that the demand for the individual Income Tax Contact Center has been high due to the complexity of the filings, questions about adjustments, misinformation online and "confusion related to amended or multiyear returns."

In response to the high demand, officials said the agency transitioned from a decades-old phone system to NiCE CXone. According to the company, CXone is designed to "streamline contact center operations and improve customer experience."

As of Friday, the pace of processing this year's returns is consistent with last year's performance.