Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is enjoying the start of the New Year. 

After all the activities surrounding the winter holidays and New Year celebrations, many of us are feeling a bit of a financial squeeze and looking for some extra spending money.  For hundreds of residents from the Central and South Coasts an unexpected source for some extra cash might just be the IRS.

Approximately 115,478 taxpayers nation-wide are due refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and there are up to 350 unclaimed checks in California’s 23rd District. The refund checks, averaging about $950, can be delivered as soon as taxpayers update their address with the IRS.

I would encourage all of my constituents to visit my website (www.house.gov/capps) to find a complete list of undelivered tax refund recipients from California’s 23 District.

The IRS currently has $110 million in undeliverable tax refund checks. In most cases, the checks can be claimed simply by updating your mailing address with the IRS.  A refund check is normally returned as undeliverable when a taxpayer moves without updating his or her address with either the U.S. Postal Service or the IRS.  The number of undeliverable refunds each year is a relatively small portion of all refunds returned to taxpayers. So far in 2007, the IRS has processed nearly 105 million refunds, totaling about $240 billion, either by mail or direct deposit.

Taxpayers who believe they have an undelivered check can also visit http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96596,00.html.  Those 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 1-800-829-1954.

Pictured above: (center) Congresswoman Capps meets with Central Coast firefighters to discuss emergency preparedness.