By now, most taxpayers have received their 1996 refunds. But every filing season, the IRS is unable to deliver thousands of refund checks that belong to people who moved without sending a new address and those who gave an incorrect name or address.
Fortunately, the IRS makes it easy to avoid a delay in getting a refund if you move or otherwise change your address after filing your return. To notify the agency, submit IRS Form 8822 (Change of Address).
The form’s a breeze to fill out: Simply insert your old and new addresses and your full name and Social Security number, as well as the full name and Social Security number of your spouse if you file jointly. Mail the form to the IRS service center that handled your last return. Notifying the post office is not sufficient.
Tip: For future filing seasons, the IRS has an easy way for most people to reduce the possibility of lost, stolen or undeliverable refunds. Indicate on your return (just two extra lines to complete) that you want the IRS to send the refund check directly to your bank account. But don’t expect an IRS notification that it has directly deposited your refund. To verify that the deposit was correctly made, you need to contact your financial institution.
The IRS is the unwilling holder of refund checks totaling over $62 million that could not be delivered to more than 96,000 taxpayers, with an average refund of $645. Some of those checks are for more than $10,000, according to a report prepared by the General Accounting Office, a congressional agency that monitors the operations of the federal bureaucracy.
Your move: Think that you are due a refund? To recover it, you must file Form 3911 (Taxpayer’s Statement Regarding Refund), on which you give your Social Security number, the date that the return was filed, and the address you used when the return was filed.
Caution: The U.S. Postal Inspection Service warns taxpayers to beware of mailings from companies that offer to help you obtain your refund for a small fee. Although the offers may look official, these companies cannot get your refund for you. Instead, they will send you a Form 3911, which you can receive free from the IRS.
Research shows that almost all undeliverable refund checks are caused by taxpayers not using the preaddressed peel-off labels provided to them with their returns.
Tip: Lost refunds are yet another reason to keep copies of your tax returns, which, in any case, are always helpful as guides for future 1040 forms or for amending previously filed returns. All is not lost if you failed to copy your return and now need it; use IRS Form 4506.
Help from the IRS: To obtain Forms 3911, 4506 or 8822, call 1-800-TAX-FORM. Allow seven to 10 working days for delivery of these forms and at least 45 days for delivery of a copy of your return.
But wait–did you have your return filled out by a paid preparer? Check first to see if you are able to obtain it from the preparer. This may save you some time and money, as the IRS imposes a charge of $23 for a copy of your Form 1040.
