It is a lot of money, and getting that cash to you is as simple as checking a list and making a phone call.
The IRS typically asks you for money, but right now, the agency is trying to give money away. Mary Carter's brother has money owed to him by the IRS. She found it by checking the IRS undelivered refund list.
"My brother is on the list and we are trying to get money for that," she said.
Carter's brother is one of 9,800 Texans who can get money from the IRS in Harris County alone. There are more than 2,000 people whose refund was returned as undeliverable to the IRS.
"It happens every year," said Lea Crusberg with the IRS. "There are a lot of reasons. The taxpayer may move, may forget to give us a change of address. They may get married. All kinds of things happen to cause these checks to come back as undeliverable."
Crusberg tells us the returned refund checks add up to a lot of money. Across the country, the agency is holding on to $164 million in returned refunds. Here in Texas, returned refunds total $12 million.
"Here in Texas, the average refund is $1,200 and that is a lot of money for taxpayers and again the goal is to reach out, let them know if you are on this list, either call us or go to where is my refund so that we can get you your money," said Crusberg.
Crusberg says even if a taxpayer got a refund, they should still check the returned refund list for family and friends. After all, it was Mary Carter who found her brother's name.
"I (saw) his name on the list and called my sister and they were surprised," she said.
Think your name or the name of someone you know is on the list? We have the complete list here. If your name is on the list, you should contact the IRS to collect. We are told it takes about 4 to 6 weeks to get the cash.
