In 2011, 99,123 tax refund checks were not collected due to mailing address errors. All of these checks were from the IRS and contained the refund money that was given back after taxes were completed. A lot of times, the checks were lost in the mail because the family in the home moved and failed to report a change of address on time. If you’re wondering whether or not it’s worth it to pursue finding your lost refund check, chances are that it is. According to Ehow, the average check that was forgotten was worth about $1,500.

If you think that you are the recipient of a lost check, you have two practical avenues to go about finding your money. The first option is to go the IRS’s “Where’s My Refund” website to see if you can locate your money. The second option is to call their number at 1-800-829-1954 in order to find your money. In order to claim any checks, you will need to provide your Social Security Number and your filing status. As well you may need to provide the exact amount of your refund to determine your account’s status. Then you will want to tell the IRS where to send the redirected check. Make sure that you have a copy of your tax return handy when you talk to the IRS so that you can answer any questions they may have,

If you didn’t file a return, then you probably won’t be able to obtain any refund money. Yet did you know that even if you are a low-income person you may qualify for a refund? Programs like Earned Income Tax Credit will generate refunds for people even if they don’t owe any income tax. You will want to look into these options if you need some extra cash at present. If you haven’t filed a tax return in the past three years, you may want to fill one out this year to see whether or not you will have money coming back.

You legally have three years past your tax due date to file for a refund for any tax year. There isn’t any penalty if you want to file late as long as your return generates a refund instead of a tax bill. If you use filed your tax return online, then you can probably expect to get your tax return within the next 10-21 days. If the money still hasn’t come up, then you should raise your concern with the IRS. 72 hours after you e-file you can check to see if your refund has been mailed. If you sent in a paper tax return, then you may be stuck waiting for up to four weeks. Also, there are times that a common error on your return might cause the processing to be delayed. This means that you won’t get your tax return when you expected. Try to send in an error-free return form in order to avoid being stuck in this situation.

The IRS has a smartphone app that can also help you to track the status of your refund if you are concerned about where the money is. This app is called the IRS2Go can show you where your refund is at present. If you think that you were not given your refund, then make sure to take steps to secure this money. You may be able to pay off some pressing debts with your refund which will help you to avoid creditors and move further away from the potential of bankruptcy.