Does the IRS owe you money? Find out here

ST. PAUL - The Internal Revenue Service is trying to locate Minnesota taxpayers who are due to receive a combined $1.3 million in the form of 1,290 federal refund checks. Those checks were returned to the IRS by the U.S. Postal Service with mailing address errors.

"We want to get this money into taxpayers' hands as quickly as possible," said Carrie Resch, IRS spokesperson. "If you discover you're missing a refund, update your address with the IRS. The sooner you do, the quicker you can get your money."

Some taxpayers are due more than one check. However, a taxpayer only needs to update his or her address once. The IRS will then send out all checks that are due. Undeliverable refund checks for Minnesotans average $1,009 this year, compared to $778 last year.

Nationwide, nearly 108,800 taxpayers are due to receive a combined $124 million in returned refund checks. Those checks average $1,148 this year, compared to $990 last year.

Average undeliverable refund amounts rose by 16 percent this year, which is in line with the 16 percent rise in average refunds for all tax returns in the latest filing season.

The vast majority of checks mailed by the IRS each year reach their rightful owner. Only a very small percent are returned by the U.S. Postal Service as undeliverable.

Taxpayers can update their addresses with the "Where's My Refund?" tool on the website IRS.gov. The tool enables taxpayers to check the status of their refunds and, in some cases, provides instructions on how to resolve delivery problems.

To use "Where's My Refund?" a taxpayer needs his or her Social Security number, filing status and amount of refund shown on their 2008 return.

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