Is the IRS holding a check for you?
Between regular tax refunds and this year's stimulus rebates, the government has gotten back $266 million in undeliverable checks. Some of that money may be yours.
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.

TO FIND OUT ONLINE IF THE IRS MAY OWE YOU MONEY GO TO THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE:

irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=181665,00.html 

(JUST PUT  WWW BEFORE THE URL AS EBAY DOES NOT PERMIT OUTSIDE LINKS ON ITS GUIDES)

Looking for your Stimulus Payment? Our new online tool, Where's My Stimulus Payment?, is now available.

To get to your personal refund information, be ready to enter your:

Social Security Number (or IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number)
Filing status (Single, Married Filing Joint Return, Married Filing Separate Return, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow(er))
Exact refund amount shown on your return.

WHAT'S THE CATCH?

Again, you can check on your refund and update your personal information by calling the IRS, this time at 1-800-829-1954.

If you can afford to wait for your refund money or are just too busy right now to be bothered with tracking down missing tax money, you can wait. Your unclaimed tax refund check will find you next filing season when you send in your 2008 return with your current, correct address.

The catch with rebate checks
With a rebate check, however, such procrastination could be costly. You must meet the Nov. 28 address update deadline to get your money this year.

True, if you don't get the correct mailing information into the IRS by then, you'll get another chance in 2008 at a stimulus payment.

But next year the stimulus payment will be in the form of a credit on your tax return, not a separate check like the ones sent out this year.

And changes in your income and tax situation this year could affect your stimulus amount.

For example, if you have a child who qualified on your 2007 return for the child tax credit, you were eligible for an extra $300. However, if that child in 2008 does not meet the tax credit requirements, you won't get that added economic stimulus money on the return you file next year.

Also, keep in mind that although the stimulus payment was distributed in 2007 as a check, it is actually a tax credit. That means any amount of stimulus for which you qualify on a 2008 return will be accounted for against your tax liability.

This means, for example, if you qualify for a $600 economic stimulus amount on your 2008 return and owe $1,000 in taxes, that $600 will be used to reduce your tax bill. You will not get the $600 as a separate payment.
So if you haven't received your stimulus check yet, contact the IRS, either via the online rebate tracking tool or by phone, as soon as possible. And definitely do so by the Nov. 28 deadline. That's the only way you'll get your rebate money this year.

This article was reported and written by Kay Bell for Bankrate.com.

ps I tried the online request and I was entitled for $400!