Business

Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

IRS seeks to refund money

The Internal Revenue Service is looking for 951 Mississippi taxpayers to give them more than $781,000 in refund checks that were returned to the IRS by the U.S. Postal Service because of mailing address errors.

The average undelivered refund for Mississippi is $822.

“All a taxpayer has to do is update his or her address once and the IRS will then send out all checks due,” said IRS spokesperson Dee Harris.

The IRS said average undeliverable refunds rose by 16 percent this year, which is in line with the 16 percent rise in average refunds for all tax returns in the latest filing season. Tax law changes including the First-Time Homebuyer’s Credit and the Recovery Rebate Credit helped boost the refund amount, according to the IRS.

Harris said the vast majority of checks mailed out by the IRS each year reach their rightful owner.

Taxpayers 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 the 2008 return. The tool will provide the status of the taxpayer’s refund and in some cases provide instructions on how to resolve delivery problems.

Taxpayers checking on a refund over the phone will get instructions on how to update their addresses. Taxpayers can access a telephone version of “Where’s My Refund?” by calling 1-800-829-1954.

The IRS encourages taxpayers to choose direct deposit when they file their returns because it puts an end to lost, stolen or undeliverable checks, Harris said.

The IRS also encourages taxpayers to 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.