TERRE HAUTE — Forty-nine people in the Wabash Valley can claim their share of more than $50,000 in undeliverable refund checks from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
They are among 1,628 Hoosier taxpayers who can claim refund checks totaling about $1.24 million statewide, said IRS spokesman Jodie Reynolds. Nationally, there are 115,478 taxpayers with undeliverable refunds, totaling about $110 million with an average refund of $953.
Taxpayers can check for a refund by going to www.irs.gov and then clicking on “Where’s My Refund?” on the left side of the page.
Those who do not have access to the Internet and think they may be missing a refund should first check their records or contact their tax preparer, then call the IRS toll-free assistance line at 1-800-829-1040 to update their address or talk to an IRS official, Reynolds said.
A taxpayer must submit their Social Security number, filing status and amount of refund shown on their 2006 return.
The tool will provide the status of their refund and in some cases provide instructions on how to resolve delivery problems, Reynolds said.
A list of the 49 individuals in Vigo, Sullivan, Clay, Parke, Vermillion counties in Indiana and in Edgar, Clark, and Crawford counties in Illinois can be found on the Tribune-Star’s Web site at www.tribstar.com.
The total refund in those Wabash Valley counties is $50,278.60, with an average refund of $1,026.09, Reynolds said.
“The number of undeliverable refunds each year is a relatively small portion of all refunds returned to taxpayers,” Reynolds said. “So far in 2007, the IRS has processed nearly 105 million refunds, totaling about $240 billion, either by mail or direct deposit.
“In fact, undeliverable refunds account for less than one-tenth of 1 percent of all refunds, or about one in a thousand,” Reynolds said.
The list of taxpayers due undeliverable refunds this year rose about 21 percent from 95,746 last year, according to the IRS. The sharp increase is in part because of the Telephone Excise Tax Refund, a one-time payment available on 2006 federal income tax returns. It was designed to return to taxpayers previously collected long-distance telephone taxes. Individuals, businesses and tax-exempt organizations are eligible to request it.
If a refund check is returned by the U.S. Postal Service, the IRS concludes the address is invalid, Reynolds said.
When a refund is returned, the IRS compares the address on the tax return with the address on the returned refund. If the return shows a different address, a refund might be reissued immediately.
“If IRS does not find a different address on the return, we compare the address to information on attachments to the tax returns, such as a Form W-2 or Form 1099, and information in other IRS databases relating to that taxpayer,” Reynolds said.
After completing this research, the IRS will mail notices to these addresses in addition to the original address on the refund advising the taxpayer of the available refund and requesting certain information so that IRS can reissue the refund.
“If these steps are not successful, we attempt to find taxpayers by providing their names and last known address to the local news media. Undeliverable refunds are most often resolved because taxpayers eventually contact the IRS,” Reynolds said.
There are several reasons, besides a change of address, why a refund check can be returned as undeliverable, Reynolds said.
They include:
• Life changes for some taxpayers (marriage, students moving back and forth during school year/summer, etc.) and their mail simply is not able to catch up with them.
• Individuals do not file a change of address form or the information on the form does not match the information on the tax return.
n Individuals do not properly complete the Form 1040 name and address section and request a paper check in lieu of direct deposit.
• Timing problems can arise with the IRS issuing the refund check at the same time that the Postal Service is notifying the IRS of an address change.
• Tax preparers who have checks sent to them may return it to IRS rather than forwarding it to their client or former client if the check has not been claimed in person.
The following 49 people are owed money from the IRS:
BROTCHNER, KRISTINA G SEELYVILLE IN 47878
BLACK, JAMES F TERRE HAUTE IN 47802
BROSSMAN, BETTY J TERRE HAUTE IN 47802
CLINTON, JAMES C TERRE HAUTE IN 47802
FRAKES, RUSSELL L TERRE HAUTE IN 47802
HAAS, KENNETH E & THERESA TERRE HAUTE IN 47802
HAMRIC, ERIC L TERRE HAUTE IN 47802
KELLER, CHARLES T TERRE HAUTE IN 47802
KEYES, BRIANA S TERRE HAUTE IN 47802
BUTLER, MICHAEL D TERRE HAUTE IN 47803
MITCHELL, EDNA C TERRE HAUTE IN 47803
PAIR, ADAM J TERRE HAUTE IN 47803
POLANCO, DEMITRIUS TERRE HAUTE IN 47803
JOHNSON, LEONA F TERRE HAUTE IN 47804
ALITOVIC, ADNAN A TERRE HAUTE IN 47807
BROWN, GARY L TERRE HAUTE IN 47807
CASH, RANDALL & SHERYL TERRE HAUTE IN 47807
WEATHERSPOON, ANGELA R TERRE HAUTE IN 47807
CLARK, PATRICIA A SHEPARDSVILLE IN 47880
BENNETT, RAY G WEST TERRE HAUTE IN 47885
CLARK, STEVEN B & LINDA K WEST TERRE HAUTE IN 47885
BAKER, CHARLIE F SULLIVAN IN 47882
BROWNE, DALE W & JENNIFER C SULLIVAN IN 47882
CRAMER, JAMES I SULLIVAN IN 47882
GOODMAN, SHANE S SULLIVAN IN 47882
STRANAHAN, RONALD L SHELBURN IN 47879
MARTIN, CHAD A STAUNTON IN 47881
FIELDS, ARRONN D KNIGHTSVILLE IN 47857
PARR, JEREMY D BRAZIL IN 47834
WILKINSON, CHRIS L BRAZIL IN 47834
BISHOP, VERNA M BLOOMINGDALE IN 47832
ALLEN, JOSHUA MONTEZUMA IN 47862
CLINE, MICHAEL W ROCKVILLE IN 47872
MABRY, WILLARD J ROCKVILLE IN 47872
BLANE, NELSON L DANA IN 47847
FORSTI, PAUL L & DORIS E DANA IN 47847
DOWERS, BRIAN K CAYUGA IN 47928
CLARK, MICHAEL Y & BELINDA S DURNAL CASEY IL 62420
QUICK, BRANDON C CASEY IL 62420
SKINNER, H JOYCE CASEY IL 62420
DUDLEY, DAVID W & GINA S MARTINSVILLE IL 62442
STELL, WALTER R MARTINSVILLE IL 62442
WELLS, CLANCY L WEST UNION IL 62477
DUNLAP, JODI R OBLONG IL 62449
GADDIS, KATY L ROBINSON IL 62454
OJOMO, OLASEGUN O ROBINSON IL 62454
BENNETT, ANA L KANSAS IL 61933
HOLLINGSWORTH, ZACKARIA J PARIS IL 61944
LIVESAY, BERNADINE PARIS IL 61944
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