Nov 6, 2009 7:58 pm US/Eastern
IRS Hunting Down Taxpayers -- For Refunds!
100,000 Unclaimed Checks Worth More Than $120 Million Waiting To Be Sent Out
Reporting
Cindy Hsu
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
The IRS is trying to track down more than 100,000 lost taxpayers nationwide, and for once, these folks will want to be found.
The Internal Revenue Service often strikes fear in a lot of people, and they're not the folks you want searching for you.
"Well I think I would be nervous at first," one resident said.
"I'd be horrified at first, I think the first reaction is bad news," said another.
For once, it's good news: the IRS has more than 100.000 unclaimed refund checks, worth more than $120 million.
"Some people move or there's a problem with their address, and these checks that we have are mailed to people, are returned to us by the post office," IRS spokesperson Dianne Besunder said.
The list of names is huge – more than 13,000 people in the Tri-State alone who have a check waiting for them.
"The average refund check this year for New Yorkers is over $1,500," Besunder said.
To find out if you're on the list, you can call the IRS, or just head to their website at irs.gov and click on the link that says "Where's My Refund?" From there, simply fill in your social security number, filing status, and the refund amount you're owed. If the IRS has your check, you should get it in the mail in three to four weeks, and while the list of folks who have money waiting seems pretty long, most folks get their refunds on time.
"Even though there are a lot of checks out there that we need to get into people's hands, it's really less than one percent of all tax returns that are filed with us, so most people get their refunds, no problem at all," Besunder said.
To help eliminate problems getting your returns, the IRS says it's best to file your taxes electronically and elect to utilize direct deposit. It cuts down on errors, and you'll get your refund a lot faster.
To see if the IRS has a check waiting for you, check the full list of names
here.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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