IRS holding $266 mil in unclaimed stimulus checks, refunds
The IRS said the 383,000 checks were in the mail. Really. But they never arrived.
So if you haven't received your economic stimulus check or are still waiting for an income tax refund, it might be because the check was in the mail but never delivered due to an incorrect address or other mail problems.
While most of us received our checks during the summer and early fall, many were returned to the treasury as undeliverable. Nationwide, about $163 million in stimulus payments and $103 million in regular tax refunds were undeliverable.
In Illinois, that includes about $5.2 million in stimulus payments and about $3.5 million in tax refunds.
And that's money that could have been helping the nation during this financial crisis.
"At this stage of the game we need everything we can get," said Diane Swonk, chief economist and senior managing partner with Mesirow Financial in Chicago. "With credit constrained, it is a cash and carry economy. More cash, more is spent."
The stimulus checks, especially, were crucial. The Economic Stimulus Act passed earlier this year made about $100 billion in tax rebates available to taxpayers. The federal government wanted consumers to spend the money to help boost the troubled economy.
Yet even those millions in unpaid checks add up to relatively little when considering their economic impact, another economist says. "Even if all unclaimed tax rebates were paid, they would represent only 0.2 percent of the original amount targeted," said Thomas Rowen, director of institutional portfolio management for Fifth Third Bank in Chicago.
If you're among those who did not receive a check, you still have time to collect. You just need to provide a correct address by going online, by phone or in an IRS office.
Taxpayers have until Nov. 28 to provide a corrected address to the IRS. The IRS is required to distribute all stimulus checks, based on 2007 tax filings, by Dec. 31, said IRS spokeswoman Sue Hales.
"We do want to get this money to people as soon as possible," said Hales.
If you miss that deadline, though, you can still request the stimulus money when you file your 2008 income tax return, under the Recovery Rebate Credit.
However, if the taxpayer died after they filed their 2007 income taxes, any tax refund or stimulus check would go to the estate, Hales said.
How many checks are there?
Here's a county-by-county breakdown of the number of undeliverable checks waiting to be claimed by taxpayers from the IRS.
Cook County
5,556 stimulus payments
2,111 regular refunds
DuPage County
484 stimulus payments
287 regular refunds
Kane County
243 stimulus payments
121 regular refunds
Lake County
366 stimulus payments
220 regular refunds
McHenry County
94 stimulus payments
67 regular tax refunds
Will County
240 stimulus payments
115 regular refunds
Note: Checks were made out to the name or names as they appeared on single or joint tax returns. Nov. 28 is the deadline for taxpayers to provide a corrected address to the IRS.
Source: Illinois IRS
How you can claim your money
Still didn't get our stimulus check or your tax refund? It may have been undeliverable. In that case, you'll need to correct your address with the IRS by Nov. 28 to claim your stimulus money. Here's how:
Stimulus checks
Web: www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=181665,00.html
Phone: (866) 234-2942
Regular refunds
Web: www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96596,00.html
Phone: (800) 829-1954
Online change of address form No. 8822: www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8822.pdf
Chicago and suburban offices:
• Kluczynski Federal Building, 230 S. Dearborn, Chicago 60604
• 2001 Butterfield Road, Downers Grove, 60515
• 8125 N. River Drive, Morton Grove,
Source: IRS
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related data</h2> <ul class="moreExcel"> <li><a href="/graphics/chicagoarea.xls">Complete list undelivered Chicago-area stimulus checks</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>