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Keith McCord ReportingWhen you hear that the IRS is looking for you, that can't be good news. But in this case it is!
Here in Utah, more than a thousand people have not claimed their tax refunds, and the IRS really wants to get the money to those folks.
It's November 17th: Do you know where your income tax refund is? Fact is, a lot of people don't!
In Utah, the IRS has checks for one-thousand and seven people, who are owed a total of 719-thousand dollars. The refunds are from 2005.
Debra Mardanlou/ IRS Spokesperson: "Basically, it's refunds that were filed, processed, and sent out to the taxpayers, but were returned undeliverable because of an incorrect address."
Every year, tax preparers warn us to double check our math to avoid mistakes. But many people simply write down their address wrong or, in most cases, had moved without leaving a forwarding address.
Utah isn't the only place where people have not received refunds. Nationwide, there are nearly 96-thousand people who are owed a total of 92-million dollars.
That's a lot of money. But compared to other years, it's about average.
So, how can you find out if there's a refund out there for you? At IRS.GOV, you can click on the "Where's My Refund" icon, and fill out the form.
Debra Mardanlou/ IRS Spokesperson: "It allows them to put in their name, social security number, and also a few items they are asked that only they would know, to determine security issues."
Each year the IRS publicizes that there are unclaimed refunds, and most of those checks do eventually get claimed. Those which aren't stay in the system indefinitely.
So if you filed a return expecting a refund, no matter which year it was, your money will be there. Once you request your refund, it should arrive in four to six weeks.
If you think there's a refund check owed to you, there are two ways to find out: on the IRS website, or a toll-free number: 1-800-829-1954.
