I-R-S has more than $689,000 in refunds for Oklahomans

Tuesday, November 14th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The Internal Revenue Service is looking for 1,171 Oklahomans whose federal income tax refund checks totalling $689,483,64 were returned to the I-R-S as undeliverable by the Postal Service. Nationwide, more than $67 million in undeliverable refunds wait to be claimed by more than 90,000 taxpayers.

The refund checks are mostly from 1999 individual income tax returns and, in Oklahoma, they range in amount from $1.00 to $45,708.00. The average check amount is about $589. To see a detailed listing of the people owed refunds, click here.

When tax refund checks are returned to the I-R-S as undeliverable, attempts are made to find the taxpayers and deliver the checks, but there are always some taxpayers who cannot be located. This is typically caused by taxpayers moving and failing to leave a forwarding address, or by taxpayers providing an incorrect or illegible address on their tax returns.

Many taxpayers can avoid delays in getting their refunds by sending the I-R-S a change of address, using Form 8822, when they move. The form can be obtained by visiting the I-R-S web site at www.irs.gov or by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM.

Taxpayers can choose to have their refunds deposited directly into their bank accounts. Direct deposit eliminates the possibility of lost, stolen, or undeliverable refund checks.

Though every year there are thousands of undeliverable refunds, the total is small compared to the total number of refunds issued by the IRS. Last filing season, 91 million refunds were issued to taxpayers nationwide.

If you're among those who haven't yet received that expected federal tax refund, call the I-R-S toll-free at 1- 800 - TAX - 1040 (24 hours, 7 days) to see if the I-R-S has a check waiting for you.