Stimulus checks, refunds still unclaimed

A check awaits 33 Pettis County taxpayers who have not collected Internal Revenue Service refunds or stimulus payments.

In all, the IRS owes more than $40,000 to taxpayers here. These people are due an average of $660 in economic stimulus payments and an average of $2,175 in tax refunds, the IRS said in a news release.

The Pettis County folks are some of the 4,963 Missouri taxpayers who are missing refunds and stimulus payments worth more than $3 million.

Some 1,350 regular refund checks, averaging $723, and 3,761 economic stimulus checks, averaging $550, were returned by the U.S. Postal Service due to mailing address errors.

 “We want to get this money to the people it belongs to,” said Michael Devine, IRS spokesman, in a news release. “It’s really a simple process. As soon as the owner updates their address with the IRS, we can re-issue the check.”

Nationally, the IRS is looking for taxpayers who are missing more than 279,000 economic stimulus checks totaling about $163 million and more than 104,000 regular refund checks totaling about $103 million.

“Checks are often returned to the IRS because a life change — such as a marriage or divorce — causes an address change,” Devine said.

Taxpayers who have moved since filing their last tax return can ensure the IRS has their correct address by filing Form 8822, Change of Address, with the IRS or by calling (800) 829–1954 or the economic stimulus payment hotline at (866) 234–2942. Both automated tools are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.