LANCASTER/ PALMDALE —The Internal Revenue Service announced today that it is looking to return $153.3 million in undelivered tax refund checks to the 99,123 taxpayers who did not get their checks delivered due to mailing address errors.
In Lancaster and Palmdale, 151 taxpayers are due about $241,600 from the IRS. The average undelivered refund check for Los Angeles county if $1,600.
See the full list of taxpayers in Lancaster and Palmdale due undelivered tax refund checks from the IRS here. If your name is on that list, the IRS owes you money.
If your name is not on that list, and you believe your refund check may have been returned to the IRS as undelivered, use the “Where’s My Refund?” tool at IRS.gov.
The tool provides the status of tax refunds and, in some cases, instructions on how to resolve delivery problems. You can also access a telephone version of “Where’s My Refund?” by calling 1-800-829-1954.
While only a small percentage of checks mailed out by the IRS are returned as undelivered, taxpayers can put an end to lost, stolen or undelivered checks by choosing direct deposit when they file either paper or electronic returns. Last year, more than 78.4 million taxpayers chose to receive their refund through direct deposit. Taxpayers can receive refunds directly into their bank account, split a tax refund into two or three financial accounts or even buy a savings bond.
The IRS also recommends that taxpayers file their tax returns electronically, because e-file eliminates the risk of lost paper returns. E-file also reduces errors on tax returns and speeds up refunds. Nearly eight out of 10 taxpayers chose e-file last year. E-file combined with direct deposit is the best option for taxpayers to avoid refund problems, according to the IRS.
The IRS does not contact taxpayers by e-mail to alert them of pending refunds and does not ask for personal or financial information through email. Such messages are common phishing scams.
If you receive such a message, do not to release any personal information, reply, open any attachments, or click on any links to avoid malicious code that can infect your computer.
The best way for you to verify if you have a pending refund is to go directly to IRS.gov and use the “Where’s My Refund?” tool.
(Information via press release from the IRS)
