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IRS Seeks Owners of Undeliverable Tax Rebates and 2007 Refunds

Updated: 10/28/2008
Article ID: 6564

Tax rebate checks average $853

Tax rebate checks worth $163 million and intended for 279,000 recipients have been returned to the IRS because of mailing address errors. The undelivered checks averaged $583. 

The IRS is asking taxpayers who moved or missed their rebate checks to update their addresses quickly, by Nov. 28, so the checks can be delivered by the end of the year.

Undelivered tax refund check worth $988 on average

The agency is also looking for thousands of taxpayers whose regular tax refund checks couldn’t be delivered this year. More than 104,000 refund checks totaling $103 million, for an average of $988, didn’t reach the correct destination, the IRS reported in mid-October.

Learn how to check on your rebate

If your rebate, also known as an economic stimulus payment, has gone missing, visit the IRS website’s “Where’s My Stimulus Payment?” page, to check on the status of your rebate and to get instructions on how to update our address. Taxpayers can also call this toll-free number,1-866-234-2942.

 You’ll need to provide your Social Security number, filing status (such as single or married filing jointly) and the number of exemptions shown on your 2007 tax return.

IRS offers website, phone number for taxpayers

To track down your refund, go to the IRS page “Where’s My Refund?” to provide your Social Security number, filing status and amount of the refund shown on your 2007 tax return. Taxpayers can also call 1-800-829-1954.

Only small percentage of IRS checks go undelivered

“People across the country are missing tax refunds and stimulus checks,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman stated in a press release. “We want to get this money into the hands of taxpayers where it belongs.”

 
The IRS says the vast majority of checks it mails out each year reach their intended recipients. Less than 1 percent of them are typically undeliverable.
 
Through September of 2008, the IRS distributed 116 million economic stimulus payments and more than 105 million regular refunds.

IRS recommends direct deposit for rebates, refunds

The best way taxpayers can prevent missing refunds, the IRS says, is to have them direct deposited into personal checking or savings accounts.


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