Is the IRS holding a check for you?

By Bankrate.com

If you're still waiting for your economic stimulus payment, it might be in one of the more than 383,000 pieces of mail returned to the Internal Revenue Service.

Those envelopes were undeliverable because they had bad addresses. Taxpayers have been left frustrated as the IRS tries to figure out how to get $266 million in tax rebate and regular tax refund checks to their rightful owners.

The good news is that it's easy to let the IRS know where to resend your rebate or refund check.

Deadline is approaching

But don't dally. If it's a rebate you're waiting for, you have only until Nov. 28 to claim your cash.

Most of the money that didn't make it to taxpayers is from returned rebate checks. They total $163 million of the $168 billion sent out, with an average rebate of $583.

The regular refunds are fewer, accounting for $103 million, but the average returned refund check is $988.

Your unclaimed check might be less, but then again, it might be more. And any amount of money would be nice, especially in these tight economic times and with the holidays approaching.

This year's number of returned tax checks is more than three times the number marked undeliverable last year. That increase is thanks to the economic stimulus payments, which were sent to taxpayers who met certain income requirements.

All these rebate-eligible filers had to do was file a 2007 tax return. But in 279,000 cases, there were problems with the addresses on the filers' 1040 forms.

In many cases, taxpayers moved after filing their returns and didn't let the IRS know their new addresses. In some cases, though, the addresses on the forms were illegible, so they bounced back to Uncle Sam.

The same problems showed up on an additional 104,000 or so returns filed by taxpayers who are due regular tax refunds.

Whatever the reason and whichever tax payment is involved, the IRS has money that could be yours.

"People across the country are missing tax refunds and stimulus checks. We want to get this money into the hands of taxpayers where it belongs," IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. The tax chief added that as soon his staff gets the updated addresses, the checks will once again be on their way.

Getting that information to the IRS is relatively simple, especially if you use the online options provided by the agency.

How to get your money now

If it's a rebate check you're missing, head to the agency's "Where's My Stimulus Payment?" online tracking tool. There you can check the status of your stimulus check and receive instructions on how to update your address. If you prefer, you can do the same by calling the IRS at 1-866-234-2942.

Just make sure you go online or make the call by Nov. 28.

By law, the rebate checks must be sent out by Dec. 31, so the IRS has established the late-November address-change cutoff date to ensure it can update its records and meet the final mailing deadline.

If it's a regular refund you're awaiting, check the IRS' popular "Where's My Refund?" money tracker. You'll need your Social Security number, filing status and the amount of the refund shown on your 2007 return.

The online search option then will provide the status of your refund and, in some cases, provide instructions on how to resolve delivery problems. You'll also be given instructions on how to update your address.

Continued: There's a catch

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