If someone has a gamertag I want and they are no longer active, or a glitch is causing it...

Hello Pancake,

We understand that you have an inquiry in regards to a gamertag that you would like for your Microsoft account.

Unfortunately, you will have to wait for the availability of the gamertag, if the system is recognizing that the name is taken, there is not much that can be done in order for a user to have it.

Best wishes!

No. If a tag is still in the system, the only way to take it is if the original owner changes it to something else or if they do not sign into their account for 5 years (starting in 2016). Keep in mind that the gamertag system is in use on other Microsoft
services, so even if it's not in use on an Xbox, it may be in use somewhere else. Also, the system doesn't see things like spaces as making a gamertag unique. So you may look up "gamertag" and nothing shows even though it's in use as "gamer tag".

Inactive gamertags are deleted after 5 years the only way is waiting

Or you can do what everyone else does and use the gamertag system.with a hashtag

Or.a.change.in spelljng

Based on this information, the gamertag should be free this upcoming August. However if the account is owned by someone who has since moved to pc and has linked their account to their browser when they log in there it should still count the account as active. There is nothing else that can be done about it.