The Internal Revenue Service is looking for 11,278 Florida taxpayers -- including 187 in Manatee County -- who are due refund checks worth $19,701,229.
The checks were returned to the IRS due to mailing address errors.
In Manatee County, a total of $343,366 worth of checks are awaiting their claimants. In Sarasota County, 135 people are missing refund checks totalling $260,735.
“In Florida, the average undelivered refund is $1,747,” said Mike Dobzinski, IRS spokesman for Florida. “Last year, the average was $1,538. We’d like to get this money back to taxpayers as quickly as possible. All we need is an updated address and we can reissue the check.”
Nationwide, 111,893 refunds totaling $164.6 million were returned to the IRS. Most checks are for the 2009 tax year.
The average dollar amount for returned refunds increased this year, possibly due to recent changes in tax law which introduced new credits or expanded existing credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Taxpayers can find out if they are due a tax refund by visiting the IRS website at www.irs.gov and clicking on “Where’s My Refund.” To use this feature, enter information from the 2009 tax return including the Social Security number, filing status and refund amount. Taxpayers will get the status of their refund check and in some cases also get instructions to resolve potential account problems.
Taxpayers can also check on the status of the refund by calling (800) 829-1954. Taxpayers checking on a refund by phone will be given instructions on how to update their address.
