Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today urged Coloradans who have not receive the tax return they are owed to check the Internal Revenue Service’s “Where’s My Refund?” tool on IRS.gov to claim their undelivered checks. In all, 1,705 Colorado taxpayers are due refund checks this year that could not be delivered because of mailing address errors.
“During these tough times, these refunds can make a big difference in families’ budgets,” said Bennet. “I encourage all Coloradans who believe they did not receive a tax return they were owed to check this site.”
Undelivered refund checks average $1,547 this year.
The “Where’s My Refund?” tool will provide the status of an individual’s refund and, in some cases, instructions on how to resolve delivery problems. Taxpayers checking on a refund over the phone will receive instructions on how to update their addresses. Taxpayers can access a telephone version of “Where’s My Refund?” by calling 1-800-829-1954.
While only a small percentage of checks mailed out by the IRS are returned as undelivered, taxpayers can put an end to lost, stolen or undelivered checks by choosing direct deposit when they file either paper or electronic returns.
The public should be aware that the IRS does not contact taxpayers by e-mail to alert them of pending refunds and does not ask for personal or financial information through email. Such messages are common phishing scams. The agency urges taxpayers receiving such messages not to release any personal information, reply, open any attachments or click on any links to avoid malicious code that can infect their computers. The best way for an individual to verify if she or he has a pending refund is going directly to IRS.gov and using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool.
The following list includes a county-by-county breakdown of the number of Coloradans whose refund checks were not delivered.
Adams, 150
Alamosa, 4
Arapahoe, 196
Archuleta, 4
Baca, 2
Bent, 1
Boulder, 114
Broomfield, 16
Chaffee, 5
Cheyenne, 1
Delta, 6
Denver, 277
Douglas, 46
Eagle, 61
El Paso, 183
Elbert, 6
Fremont, 8
Garfield, 30
Gilpin, 2
Grand, 8
Gunnison, 6
Huerfano, 3
Jackson, 2
Jefferson, 150
Kit Carson, 2
La Plata, 22
Lake, 6
Larimer, 74
Las Animas, 5
Lincoln, 2
Mesa, 40
Moffat, 4
Montezuma, 8
Montrose, 12
Morgan, 5
Otero, 2
Ouray, 3
Park, 10
Phillips, 1
Pitkin, 32
Prowers, 1
Pueblo, 26
Rio Blanco, 2
Rio Grande, 3
Routt, 18
Saguache, 1
San Miguel, 7
Summit, 56
Teller, 6
Weld, 74
Yuma, 2