More than $64,000 in undeliverable tax refund checks are waiting to find their way home for the holidays, officials say.

The Internal Revenue Service said 118 taxpayers in North Dakota have income tax refund checks -most from 2005 -that could not be delivered.

That amounts to $64,217, averaging at about $544 a check.

"We send them to the last known address on the taxpayer's previous return,"said Christopher Miller, regional spokesperson for the IRS. "Sometimes they move, and forget to update their address with the postal service or IRS."

Which leaves nearly $1 billion in unclaimed tax returns in the nation, Miller said.

Across the country, there are 95,746 taxpayers who are on the undelivered refund list, which comes to $92.2 million, Miller said. He said that number represents checks from tax year 2005, but also could include checks from previous years.

The good news is that the number of undelivered checks has decreased in the past few years, Miller said, although he did not have numbers to quantify the statement.

But due to e-filing and the increasing popularity of direct deposit, more checks are getting to their rightful owners.

"If someone wants to avoid this, and have their money, we suggest people e-file, which is electronically filing - it's fast, accurate, safe and secure. And then choose direct deposit,"Miller said. "Because when someone chooses direct deposit their money goes right from the IRS into their account, thereby avoiding potential problems in the mail."

Taxpayers can use the "Where's My Refund?"feature on the home page of the IRS.gov Web site to figure out the status of their filings, or call 1-800-829-1954, Miller said.

To use this feature, taxpayers must enter a social security number, filing status and the refund amount shown on the the tax return.

"Our goal is to get this money back in the hands of the people it belongs to,"Miller said.

(Reach reporter Crystal Reid at 250-8261 or crystal.reid@;bismarcktribune.com.)