Do tax refund checks expire?

May 29, 2010 11:57 AM

I just found my US tax refund check that was mailed to me in 2009, and never deposited. Last year, I filed my taxes on time, was mailed a refund, lost the check and never followed up. If I take this to my bank, will they let me deposit it? If not, what's the next step? (Anonymous because I'm ashamed of being so disorganized and so bad with money. I'm working on it.)
posted by anonymous to Work & Money (11 answers total)

Does it say on it that it will expire in 90 days (or some amount of time) if not deposited? If not then I'd just go ahead and try to deposit it.
posted by amro at 12:01 PM on May 29, 2010

Where's My Refund? is set up by the IRS just for such cases. They'll recut the check and send it out to you within about three weeks.
posted by banannafish at 12:02 PM on May 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

I was in a similar situation, in Canada though, called up the tax folk and they told me government checks don't expire. Like I said though, Canada.
posted by yellowbinder at 12:04 PM on May 29, 2010

Yes, from what I understand, the checks expire after one year (it should say so on the face of the check). Depending on the date of the check, that has probably passed. Call the IRS for a replacement.

On preview -- I don't know if Where's My Refund? will work
posted by puritycontrol at 12:06 PM on May 29, 2010

...because it might call up your info for your most recent (i.e., 2009) tax return.
posted by puritycontrol at 12:06 PM on May 29, 2010

Most banks consider a check to be 6 months older to be "stale dated", and may not honor them.
posted by spaltavian at 1:47 PM on May 29, 2010

It happens all the time, just ask them to recut it.
posted by renderthis at 1:48 PM on May 29, 2010

Take it to the bank teller and ask nicely. They don't *have* to take, but they don't have to refuse it either.
posted by meta_eli at 3:08 PM on May 29, 2010

I vaguely remember my 2009 refund check from the IRS have an expiration date on it somewhere. If it does then I wouldn't try cashing it anyway, since if your bank honors it but the Treasury doesn't then you'll probably get hit with some sort of fee. Also, if you haven't got your tax refund yet this year, consider that they may be applying your surplus to this year's taxes. And you definitely wouldn't want to cash the old check then. I know you can elect to apply a refund to the next year's taxes, but I don't know if that's what'll happen in your case.
posted by serathen at 3:48 PM on May 29, 2010

Banks will accept government checks (US Treasury, Social Security, etc.) for one year from the issue date. You have two choices: #1 - request that the IRS cut a new check, #2 - request that the bank accept the check as a collection item. Not sure of the process for the first option but for the second, it's usually accepted by the bank for a processing fee (~$20-30) and may take many weeks.

You can always take the check to the bank and try to deposit it and if the teller isn't paying attention, it might go through. The chances of the IRS returning that check would be very slim (but still can, technically) and then you would be charged an uncollected item fee from the bank (~$5-10).
posted by cyniczny at 5:47 PM on May 29, 2010

Asking the IRS to recut is a painless process - so don't be intimidated if the bank won't cash your check or is trying to charge you a fee to do so. IRS number is 1-800-829-1040 (M-F 7 - 10pm). Call and confirm the best mailing address. Then send it back with a brief letter explaining the snafu and asking them to reissue. Mail your letter certified just in case.

The biggest pain will be the wait (may take a good 4-6 weeks) but since it's already been this long, what's another month or two?
posted by MediaMer at 5:26 AM on May 30, 2010