One of the biggest surprises – and announcements – from Mayor Tom Henry’s State of the City address had little to do with city government at all.More than 1,300 Hoosiers have checks from Uncle Sam waiting for them. They simply need to redeem them.
The Internal Revenue Service announced Thursday that Indiana taxpayers have $1.3 million in the form of refund checks waiting for them.
The taxpayers had refund checks that were returned to the IRS by the U.S. Postal Service because of inaccurate mailing addresses.
To obtain refund checks, taxpayers must update their mailing addresses with the IRS. This can be done online by using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on www.irs.gov or by calling 1-800-829-1954, according to Jodie Reynolds, IRS spokeswoman.
There is no limit on how long the 1,377 taxpayers in Indiana have to make these changes. After changing their addresses, it should take four to six weeks to receive a refund, Reynolds said.
“We do recommend that people get it right away so that they do get their money,” she said.
Changing addresses at post office locations will not remedy the missing refund check, she added. If taxpayers do not change their addresses, their refund checks will be sent out with refund checks this upcoming tax season, Reynolds said.
Overall, the checks average $913 per Hoosier this year, Reynolds said. That figure is up from $797 per person last year.
The increase is mostly due to additional tax refund opportunities offered during the 2008 tax season, Reynolds said. Those refunds included the Recovery Rebate Credit, also known as the economic stimulus checks, along with the First-Time Homebuyer’s Credit.
