IRS could be looking for you — with a check

By Erin Dostal

Friday, Nov. 6, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

About 1,700 taxpayers in Nevada did not receive their tax refunds this year because of mailing address errors — a total of $2.2 million in undeliverable checks, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Eighty percent of those who did not receive their refunds in Nevada are in Clark County.

“It’s a change of address issue,” said IRS spokesman Raphael Tulino. “Generally, folks move, life changes. Somehow folks forget about their tax refund.”

Often, he said, people will remember to change their address with the Postal Service but will forget they have to change it with the IRS, too.

Nationwide, the IRS is looking for nearly 108,000 taxpayers collectively owed $124 million.

In Clark County, the average undeliverable tax refund was $1,333.

“We are eager to get this money into the hands of taxpayers,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said in a news release. “The sooner you update your address information, the quicker you can get your refund.”

Only about a quarter of 1 percent of tax refunds are undeliverable each year. This year, .29 percent were undeliverable nationwide.

“It’s a small piece of the pie, but it’s still big numbers,” Tulino said. “We’re talking about hundreds of people.”

Tulino said that by switching to direct deposit and filing online, taxpayers can avoid the problem altogether. Most taxpayers — about 72 million — already use direct deposit.

To check if your tax return is one of those that was not delivered, visit www.irs.gov and use the “Where’s My Refund” tool or call 800-829-1954.