The IRS has a gift for around 4,000 Georgia taxpayers — undeliverable refund checks.

According to IRS officials, 4,200 were returned by the U.S. Postal Service due to mailing address errors. That’s a total of around $5 million, nearly $78,000 in Hall County alone.

“In Georgia, the average undeliverable refund is $1,233; in Hall County it’s $1,137,” said Mark S. Green, IRS spokesman.

“We’d like to get this money back to taxpayers as quickly as possible. All we need is an updated address and we can reissue the check.”

Although many of the returned refunds could be from last year, it is possible that there are some residents with much older checks.

“There isn’t a time limit to claiming the money. That money belongs to the taxpayer so it doesn’t expire,” Green said.

“In essence, taxpayers have put in a claim by filing a tax return showing they have a credit for a certain amount. We issue out the check to their last known address, but unfortunately if it is a bad address, or if they have moved, then the check gets returned to us.”

If a taxpayer died prior to receiving their refund check, then the check can be claimed by the deceased person’s estate, representative or surviving spouse, Green said.

To verify a undeliverable refund check, taxpayers can visit the IRS Web site.

“They will need to have their Social Security number and the expected amount of the check available,” said Green. “If they have forgotten the check amount or have questions, they should give us a call instead of going through the Web site.”

After taxpayers have provided the IRS with an updated address, their check will be mailed out within four to six weeks, Green said.

IRS officials say that taxpayers can avoid undeliverable tax refunds by choosing to have their refunds deposited directly into a bank account.