164.6 Million in Undelivered Checks to Taxpayers
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The entire press release from the IRS. Hopefully you or
someone you know is on this list!
IRS Seeks to Return $164.6
Million in Undelivered Checks to Taxpayers; Recommends the Use of
E-file and Direct Deposit to Eliminate Future Delivery
Problems
The Internal Revenue Service is looking to return $164.6 million
in undelivered refund checks. A total of 111,893 taxpayers are due
one or more refund checks that could not be delivered because of
mailing address errors.
"We want to make sure taxpayers get the money owed to them,"
said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. "If you think you are missing a
refund, the sooner you update your address information, the quicker
you can get your money."
A taxpayer only needs to update his or her address once for the
IRS to send out all checks due. Undelivered refund checks average
$1,471 this year, compared to $1,148 last year. Some taxpayers are
due more than one check.
The average dollar amount for returned refunds rose by just over
28 percent this year, possibly due to recent changes in tax law
which introduced new credits or expanded existing credits, such as
the Earned Income Tax Credit.
If a refund check is returned to the IRS as undelivered,
taxpayers can generally update their addresses with
the "Where's My Refund?" tool on IRS.gov. The tool also
enables taxpayers to check the status of their refunds. A taxpayer
must submit his or her Social Security number, filing status and
amount of refund shown on their 2009 return. The tool will provide
the status of their refund and, in some cases, instructions on how
to resolve delivery problems.
Taxpayers checking on a refund over the phone will
receive instructions on how to update their addresses. Taxpayers
can access a telephone version of "Where's My Refund?" by calling
1-800-829-1954.
While only a small percentage of checks mailed out by the IRS
are returned as undelivered, taxpayers can put an end to lost,
stolen or undelivered checks by choosing direct deposit when they
file either paper or electronic returns. Taxpayers can receive
refunds directly into their bank, split a tax refund into two or
three financial accounts or even buy a savings bond.
The IRS also recommends that taxpayers file their tax returns
electronically, because e-file eliminates the risk of lost paper
returns. E-file also reduces errors on tax returns and speeds up
refunds. E-file combined with direct deposit is the best
option for taxpayers; it's easy, fast and safe.
The public should be aware that the IRS does not contact
taxpayers by e-mail to alert them of pending refunds and that such
messages are common identity theft scams. The agency urges
taxpayers not to release any personal information, reply, open any
attachments or click on any links to avoid malicious code that will
infect their computers. The best way for an individual to
verify if she or he has a pending refund is going directly to
IRS.gov and using the "Where's My Refund?"
tool.
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