A Nebraskan's View by Senator Ben Nelson

HUNDREDS OF NEBRASKANS MISSING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS If there’s anything I hate to see, it is Nebraskans losing out on money, especially when it’s their money. I was very concerned when the Internal Revenue Service notified me that they sent tax refund checks to nearly 400 Nebraskans only to have them returned as undeliverable because of mailing address errors. My hope in writing this article is to alert Nebraskans who filed their tax returns earlier this year, if your refund hasn’t arrived yet there is a reason and you need to contact the IRS again. More Than $900 Due The average refund due the 397 Nebraskans whose checks were returned to the IRS amounts to $904. The 397 Nebraskans live in 50 different counties. The total due Nebraskans is $359,002. Nationally, nearly 108,000 refund checks amounting to more than $123 million were returned because of mailing address errors. Average undeliverable refunds rose by 16 percent this year. According to the IRS, that is in line with the 16 percent rise in average refunds for all tax returns in the latest filing season. They say that several changes in tax law likely played a role in boosting refunds, including the First-Time Homebuyer’s Credit and the Recovery Rebate Credit, among others. The IRS says the vast majority of checks mailed out each year reach their rightful owner. Only a very small percent are returned by the U.S. Postal Service as undeliverable. If a refund check is returned to the IRS as undeliverable, taxpayers can generally update their addresses with the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on IRS.gov. The tool enables taxpayers to check the status of their refunds. A taxpayer must submit his or her social security number, filing status and amount of refund shown on their 2008 return. The tool will provide the status of their refund and in some cases provide instructions on how to resolve delivery problems. Taxpayers checking on a refund over the phone will be given instructions on how to update their addresses. Taxpayers can access a telephone version of “Where’s My Refund?” by calling 1-800-829-1954. When people over pay their taxes they certainly are due a refund. I hope this notice helps reunite a few Nebraskans with their hard earned dollars!