Be Sure to Inform the IRS
of Any Change of Address

WASHINGTON - Thousands of American taxpayers are on the move, but unfortunately they are leaving behind their tax refunds because the Internal Revenue Service doesn't have their new addresses. Last year more than $40 million in tax refund checks were returned by the Postal Service as undeliverable because taxpayers did not inform IRS about the change of address.

Today the IRS explained how taxpayers should let the IRS know about a change of address. The IRS also said it will soon make available a new form that taxpayers will have the option of using to report an address change.

Making sure you receive your refund is not the only reason for alerting the IRS to an address change. It also helps ensure you properly receive other important information and notices from the IRS. If the IRS sends a bill or notice of tax deficiency to a taxpayer's last known address, the notice is legally effective even if the taxpayer never receives it.

If you have not yet filed your 1989 tax return but have a new address, all you have to do to alert the IRS to the change is to correct the address on the mailing label and attach it to the return when you file it. The IRS will update your records when your return is processed.

If you move or otherwise change your address after filing your tax return, you should write to the IRS service center for your old address and provide them with your new address. The service center addresses are listed in the instructions to the tax forms. To process a change of address, the IRS needs your full name, signature, old and new addresses and your social security number. Filers of joint returns should provide this information for both spouses.

Today's guidance on change of address is contained in Revenue Procedure 90-18, which will also appear in the Internal Revenue Bulletin 1990-13, dated March 26, 1990. It explains how individuals, estates, corporations, employers, exempt organizations, fiduciaries and other taxpayers should inform the IRS of a change of address.

The IRS said today that it is preparing an optional form that taxpayers can use to alert the IRS about a change in address. Form 8822, "Change of Address," will be available from IRS forms distribution sites about the end of March by calling toll-free 1-800-424-3676.

The IRS added that taxpayers who believe they are due refunds for past tax years which they have not received should call their local taxpayer assistance office, listed in the telephone book. Every fall local IRS district offices publicize in the media the name, city and ZIP code of taxpayers whose refunds were returned as undeliverable. Through these efforts the IRS was able to deliver, between October 1989 and January 1990, almost $20 in refunds to over 23,000 taxpayers.

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