The Internal Revenue Service is looking to return about $5 million in undelivered refund checks to taxpayers in the Carolinas.
Some of this money is owed to Dillon County residents.
“We want to make sure taxpayers get the money owed to them,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “If you think you are missing a refund, the sooner you update your address information, the quicker you can get your money.”
“More than 4,400 Carolina taxpayers are due one or more refund checks that could not be delivered because of mailing address errors,” said Mark Hanson, IRS spokesperson for  North Carolina and South  Carolina .
A taxpayer only needs to update his or her address once for the IRS to send out all checks due.
Those owed refunds locally include: Jason D. and Stacey M. Bullard of Dillon,  Stephen Z. and Carrie L. Ivey of Dillon, Sylvia Johnson of Dillon, Dayton A. Jones of Dillon, Berardo Martinez of Dillon, Marvin A. Montgomery of Dillon, Alan Scott of Dillon, Alexander A. Williams of Dillon, and Leslie A. Turner of Hamer.
Nationwide, undelivered refund checks average $1,471 this year, compared to $1,148 last year. Some taxpayers are due more than one check.
The average dollar amount for returned refunds rose by almost 28 percent this year, possibly due to recent changes in tax law which introduced new credits or expanded existing credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.
If a refund check is returned to the IRS as undelivered, taxpayers can generally update their addresses with the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on IRS.gov. The tool also 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 2009 return. The tool will provide the status of their refund and, in some cases, instructions on how to resolve delivery problems.
Taxpayers checking on a refund over the phone will receive instructions on how to update their addresses. Taxpayers can access a telephone version of “Where’s My Refund?” by calling 1-800-829-1954.
While only a small percentage of checks mailed out by the IRS are returned as undelivered, taxpayers can put an end to lost, stolen or undelivered checks by choosing direct deposit when they file either paper or electronic returns. Taxpayers can receive refunds directly into their bank, split a tax refund into two or three financial accounts or even buy a savings bond.
The IRS also recommends that taxpayers file their tax returns electronically, because e-file eliminates the risk of lost paper returns. E-file combined with direct deposit is the best option for taxpayers; it’s easy, fast and safe.
The public should be aware that the IRS does not contact taxpayers by e-mail to alert them of pending refunds and that such messages are common identity theft scams.  The agency urges taxpayers not to release any personal information, reply, open any attachments or click on any links to avoid malicious code that will infect their computers.