More than 460 Iowans didn’t get their tax refund checks from the I.R.S. this year. The agency says the checks were returned by the post office as undeliverable. Christopher Miller, a spokesman for the I.R.S., says the checks to Iowans average a little over $900 each and are worth a total of $417,000.
Think you might be due one? “Anyone who has an undelivered refund check can take care of it easily just by going online to IRS.gov,” Miller says. “On the right-hand side, you see an icon that says ‘Where’s My Refund?’ Click on that and you can update your address information with us and find out the status of your check.”
You’ll need to plug in some key data first, including your Social Security number, your filing status — like married or single, and how much the check should be worth. Miller says there are several reasons your check may not have reached you earlier this year. “Typically, it’s just because they move or they get married or divorced or there’s some other life event that gets in the way and they simply forget to update their information,” Miller says.
“It’s easy to do online or they can give us a call and we can update that information and re-issue the check.” He says there’s an easy way to avoid this complication in the future. Miller says, “You might want to consider electronically filing because when you e-file and choose direct deposit, which means that check goes right from us into your bank account, you can easily avoid lost, stolen or misdirected or undelivered refund checks.”
For help over the phone, you can reach the I.R.S. at 800-829-1040.