IRS needs addresses to send Oklahomans' refunds

BY DON MECOY Comments 0
Published: November 6, 2009

More than 1,100 Oklahomans haven’t received tax refunds totaling more than $1 million because the checks have been returned to the Internal Revenue Service as undeliverable.

Multimedia

More Info

List online

A list of the Oklahomans due a refund check is available at NewsOK.com. Taxpayers also can update their addresses with the "Where’s My Refund?” tool on IRS.gov. A taxpayer must submit his or her Social Security number, filing status and amount of refund shown on their 2008 return. The tool will provide the status of their refund and in some cases provide instructions on how to resolve delivery problems. A telephone version of "Where’s My Refund?” can be reached at (800) 829-1954.

NewsOK Related Articles

"People in 74 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties are due a check,” IRS Spokesman David Stell said. "Quickly notifying the IRS of a current address could result in extra cash in time for the holidays.”

The average refund check due to the 1,172 Oklahomans is $880.

Nationally, 107,831 refund checks worth a combined $123.5 million were returned to the IRS by the U.S. Postal Service due to mailing address errors.

Nationally, undeliverable refund checks average $1,148 this year, compared to $990 last year. Some taxpayers are due more than one check.

Stell said the refund amount will be credited to each taxpayer’s account, and won’t expire.

Most accounts are cleared when taxpayers file their next return, Stell said.

"If there is an outstanding undelivered refund check, we’ll make sure they get that at that time,” he said.

Average undeliverable refunds rose by 16 percent this year, in line with the 16 percent rise in average refunds for all tax returns in the latest filing season.

Several changes in tax law likely played a role in boosting refunds, including the First-Time Homebuyer’s Credit and the Recovery Rebate Credit, among others.

Although the number of undelivered refund checks may seem large, Stell noted that number represents just 0.29 percent of the 37.3 million federal income tax refund checks the IRS has issued so far this year.