WASHINGTON - Taxpayers who have filed their federal income tax returns and are expecting their refunds can use the Internal Revenue Service�s online tool, �Where�s My Refund?,� to check on the status of their refunds.

�Where�s My Refund?� is fast, easy, safe and convenient. Nearly 9.7 million taxpayers have checked the status of their 2007 federal income tax refunds online, up about 18 percent over the same time period last year

To get to personalized refund information, taxpayers should be ready to enter their:

• Social Security Number (or Taxpayer Identification Number),
• Filing status (Single, Married Filing Joint Return, Married Filing Separate Return, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow(er)),
• Exact refund amount shown on their tax returns.

Taxpayers can check on the status of their refund seven days after e-filing a return. For a paper return, check four to six weeks after mailing the return.

�Where�s My Refund?� also includes links to customized information based on a taxpayer�s specific situation. For example if �Where�s My Refund?� shows that the IRS was unable to deliver a refund, a taxpayer can change his or her address online. Taxpayers can avoid undelivered refund checks by having their refunds directly deposited into a personal checking or savings account.

If 28 days have passed after the IRS says it mailed a refund check, �Where�s My Refund?� enables taxpayers to initiate a trace.

New this year Spanish-speaking taxpayers can get information about the status of their federal refunds using D�nde Est� mi Reembolso? available by entering the Spanish language area of the web site by clicking the Espanol link on IRS.gov. The refund trace and address change features are only available in English at this time.

Taxpayers without internet access can check the status of their refunds by calling the IRS TeleTax System at 800-829-4477 or the IRS Refund Hotline at 800-829-1954. The TeleTax refund information is updated each weekend. If you do not get a date for your refund, please wait until the next week before calling back.

Where�s My Refund? is also accessible to visually impaired taxpayers who use the Job Access with Speech screen reader used with a Braille display and is compatible with different JAWS modes.

Some scam artists are sending phony emails, including those relating to �Where�s My Refund?�, to trick individuals into revealing personal financial information that can be used to access their financial accounts. People who want to access the genuine IRS Web site and the �Where�s My Refund?� feature should go directly to the IRS Web site by typing the address, www.irs.gov, into the address` line of their Internet window. The only genuine IRS Web site is IRS.gov.