Missouri residents due money from the IRS

The Internal Revenue Service is looking for 4,963 Missouri taxpayers who are missing refunds and stimulus payments worth more than $3 million.

In Missouri, 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 spokesperson. "It's really a simple process. As soon as the owner updates their address with the IRS, we can reissue 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.

Taxpayers can find out if they have either a refund or economic stimulus payment by visiting the IRS Web site, www.irs.gov, and using Where's My Refund? and Where's My Stimulus Payment?

To use these self-service tools, taxpayers enter information from their 2007 tax return. When this information is submitted online, taxpayers will see the status of their refund check and, in many cases, they also get instructions to resolve potential account problems.

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

He explained that if a taxpayer moves or changes their address and fails to notify the IRS or the U.S. Postal Service, a refund check sent to their last known address is returned as undeliverable.

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. Download the form from the IRS Web site at www.irs.gov or request it by calling (800) 829-3676.

Taxpayers without access to the Internet who think they may be missing a refund or economic stimulus check can call the IRS Refund Hotline at (800) 829--1954; or the Economic Stimulus Payment Hotline at (866) 234--2942. Both automated tools are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Devine said taxpayers can avoid undelivered tax refunds by choosing to have their refunds deposited directly into a personal checking or savings account. Direct deposit guards against undelivered, lost or stolen refund checks.

The direct deposit option is available for both paper returns and electronically filed returns.