ST LOUIS Mo. — The Internal Revenue Service is looking for almost 112,000 taxpayers who are missing regular refund checks totaling more than $164.6 million.

In Kansas, 681 refund checks, worth more than $691,000 were returned by the U.S. Postal Service due to mailing address errors. That’s an average undelivered refund of $1,015.

"We want to get this money to the people it belongs to," said Michael Devine, IRS spokesperson. "Checks are often returned to the IRS because a life change – such as a marriage or divorce – causes an address change," said Devine.

To find out if you have a refund waiting, visit the IRS.gov web site and click on Where’s My Refund? To use this self-service tool, taxpayers need to enter information from their 2009 tax return to see the status of their refund check.

Taxpayers without access to the Internet who think they may be missing a refund check can call the IRS Refund Hotline at (800) 829–1954, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Taxpayers who have moved since filing their last tax return can ensure the IRS has their correct address by filing Form 8822, Change of Address, with the IRS. Download the form from the IRS.gov Web site or request it by calling 1-800-829-3676.

Devine said taxpayers can avoid undelivered tax refunds by choosing Direct Deposit and have them sent directly into a personal checking or savings account.

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 also reduces errors on tax returns and speeds up refunds. 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.

The best way for an individual to verify if she or he has a pending refund is going directly to IRS.gov and using the " Where’s My Refund?" tool.