IRS Seeks To Return USD164m To Taxpayers

by Leroy Baker, Tax-News.com, New York

19 November 2010

The US Internal Revenue Service is looking to return USD164.6m in refund checks to 111,893 taxpayers 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.”

Undelivered refund checks average USD1,471 this year, compared to USD1,148 last year. Some taxpayers are due more than one check.

The average dollar amount for returned refunds rose by just over 28% 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.

While only a small percentage of checks mailed out by the IRS are returned as undelivered, the agency urged taxpayers to eliminate the risk of undelivered checks by using direct deposit when they file either paper or electronic returns. This way, taxpayers can receive refunds directly into their bank.

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.

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