Residents leave tax rebates unclaimed

The Internal Revenue Service is looking for 10,861 Arizonans, including 329 residents of Mohave County.

It is nothing to be frightened of, though. The IRS is trying to track down taxpayers all across the country that have not collected their tax refunds or economic stimulus checks handed out earlier this year.

Of the 279,000 stimulus checks that have yet to be collected nationwide, totaling $163 million.

In Mohave County, 259 stimulus checks remain unclaimed. The average rebate amount per check is around $583 in Mohave County, with the total sum of all checks registering at $151,012.

By law, the IRS must send all economic stimulus checks out by Dec. 31, 2008. Taxpayers will need to update their current addresses by Nov. 28.

The rebate checks were handed out in effort to help stimulate consumer spending, not pay bills.

80 refund checks remain unclaimed in Mohave County, with an average refund of around $1,167. The total sum of outstanding refunds for Mohave County is $93,349.

Arizonans averaged $1,023 per refund check this year.

Nationwide, the IRS had more than 104,000 refund checks returned, totaling around $103 million.

In order to collect their checks, taxpayers must simply update their current address with the IRS.

The IRS has set up a website for taxpayers to check the status of their rebate checks at “Where’s My Refund?” http://www.irs.gov/. Taxpayers can also update their address by going to the website.

Taxpayers are required to submit a Social Security number, their filing status and amount of refund shown on their 2007 tax return.

Taxpayers checking their refund or rebate status by phone may call the “Where’s My Refund?” hotline at 1(800) 829-1954.

The government has already distributed $116 million in economic stimulus checks and $105 million in regular refunds through September.

To avoid delays on future returns, the government recommends taxpayers choose direct deposit when they file their returns.

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