CHICAGO, IL.—Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) wants to unite hundreds of local residents from the 5th Congressional District with their long-lost federal tax refunds. An annual review by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) showed that federal tax refunds totaling more than $2.5 million belonging to 3,279 Illinois taxpayers were returned to the IRS as “undeliverable” from 2002 and previous years.

“Providing this list to taxpayers is a public service our office is pleased to provide,” Emanuel said. “By looking up your name, you could discover a refund you didn’t know about, and that’s always good news.”

Most refunds are from tax returns filed for the 2001 tax year; however, some taxpayers are due refunds for more than one tax year. The checks range from as low as $1 to over $35,000. The average per-check amount is $766. Nationwide, 96,792 refunds totaling about $80 million were returned to the IRS.

The U.S. Postal Service can’t deliver a refund check when the addressee’s name or address is incorrect or incomplete, or if they’ve moved without notifying the IRS in writing of their new address.

Taxpayers without access to the Internet who think they may be missing a refund check should first check their records or contact their tax preparer, then call the IRS toll-free assistance line at 1-800-829-1040 to update their address.

Taxpayers who moved since filing their last tax return are urged to file a Change of Address Form 8822 with the IRS. The form can be obtained by calling 1-800-829-3676 or by downloading it from the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

Sue Hales, spokeswoman for the IRS in Illinois said, “We want to get this money back to the people. It's a simple process. As soon as taxpayers give us their correct addresses, we can reissue the checks.” Hales also noted there could be people on the list who have received their refunds if they have already filed their 2002 taxes with new address information.

Emanuel has posted the list on his website, www.house.gov/emanuel. The IRS list does not have four-digit zip codes and may include some names outside the 5th Congressional District.

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