Clock is ticking to track what the IRS owes you.

Byline: Sanjay Bhatt; Seattle Times staff reporter

Brian Limback soon will be reunited with a $600 check he's been missing -- just weeks before a federal deadline to get the cash.

Like nearly 9,000 other Washington state residents and tens of thousands more nationwide, Limback has cash sitting in the coffers of the Internal Revenue Service because the Postal Service couldn't find him.

Limback, 31, filed his tax return electronically in January at an H&R Block office and received his regular tax refund right away, also electronically. In February, Congress approved sending economic-stimulus checks to taxpayers as one strategy to boost the deteriorating economy, which strongly depends on consumer spending.

But in April, Limback moved to Monroe to live with his best friend's family. Though he filled out a change-of-address form, the IRS didn't get the information and his economic-stimulus check was returned undelivered.

The IRS says that taxpayers who are still waiting for a stimulus check must update their addresses with the agency by Nov. 28. By law, all the remaining undelivered stimulus checks -- which in Washington state average $581 -- must be sent out by Dec. 31.

"It's been in my head like, 'I'll get to it. I'll get to it. I'll get to it,' " Limback said. The merchandising supervisor logs more than 250 miles a week on his 2006 Honda Civic coupe traveling a territory that extends from Bellevue to North Bend, and he said he would use the money to replace a damaged rear bumper.

Nationwide, undelivered stimulus and refund checks add up to a whopping $266 million.

Some 6,600 undelivered stimulus checks destined for Washington state total about $3.8 million, according to the IRS, while more than 2,600 undelivered regular refund checks for Washingtonians exceed $2.4 million.

"We want to get the undeliverable stimulus checks and regular refund checks into the hands of the taxpayers as soon as possible," said Judy Monahan, a spokeswoman for the IRS office in Seattle. "All a taxpayer has to do is update their addresses with the IRS in order to get their checks."

The IRS has set up a "Where's My Stimulus Payment?" tool on its Web site, www.irs.gov, where taxpayers can look up their check's status and find out how to update an address. Taxpayers without Internet access should call 866-234-2942.

Those taxpayers who want to check on a regular refund online can go to the "Where's My Refund?" tool on the IRS Web site, while those checking by phone can call 800-829-1954. Undelivered refund checks in Washington state average about $937.

Only a tiny percentage of tax-refund checks are returned as undeliverable each year, according to the IRS. The agency says tax filers can avoid delays in receiving their refunds by choosing direct deposit when they file their returns.

After being alerted by a reporter of the federal deadline, Limback called the IRS and said he was told he should receive a check in the mail in three weeks.

"Extra money is always welcome," he said.

Sanjay Bhatt: 206-464-3103 or [e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

Courtney Blethen / The Seattle Times: Brian Limback paid his taxes, then moved -- and his economic-stimulus check hasn't caught up with him. (0407067580)

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