Any extra cash -- even an unexpected check for $30 or $40 -- is a welcome bonus. So why not see if the IRS is holding onto some money that it still owes you?

I've got a list of 2,480 Michigan taxpayers who are owed more than $2.29 million. Who knows -- you could find your name on that list now posted at www.freep.com/irsrefunds.

This is money from federal income tax refund checks for the 2006 tax year or earlier. Many people filed the tax forms, but the refund checks were returned to the Internal Revenue Service because the U.S. Postal Service could not deliver them.

If your name is on the list, you have to contact the IRS to get the refund.

You could go to www.irs.gov and click on the "Where's My Refund?" link. Or you can call the IRS refund hotline at 800-829-1954.

You're going to need:

• Your Social Security number.

• Your filing status, such as single or married filing joint.

• The exact refund amount shown on your return.

The average undelivered refund check is for $924 in Michigan. But taxpayers could be due far less or significantly more money. For the 2005 tax year, one Michigan taxpayer was owed $13,000.

Rob Menczywor of Warren searched freep.com Wednesday and discovered he was owed $176.

"It was never received because the address on the return was incomplete," he said.

"I had completely forgotten about the refund."

While searching the database, keep in mind that you might spot some odd stuff.

For example, plugging in a Wayne County ZIP code might show a Macomb County town.

Luis D. Garcia, an IRS spokesperson in Detroit, said the trouble is that a person may have entered an old ZIP code on a tax return.

You can use the Free Press site to search in a variety of ways, such as by county and not just ZIP code. Or you can search by city or search by your name.

You're still going to need to contact the IRS to get that money.

Garcia noted that some of the refund checks still outstanding involved refunds due from the one-time-only telephone excise tax refund. The standard phone refund is $30 for a single filer, $40 for a family of two, $50 for a family of three and $60 for a family of four or more.

This year, the IRS has seen a sizable increase in the amount owed -- and the number of taxpayers who didn't get delivery of refunds.

Nationwide, the IRS is looking at 115,478 taxpayers with undelivered refunds. They are owed about $110 million -- or $953 each on average.

The list of taxpayers with undeliverable refund checks shot up about 21% from a year ago.

There are, of course, plenty of ways to avoid having to track down an undelivered refund.

Use direct deposit. File electronically. If you move, file Form 8822 anytime during the year. Also notify your post office at your old address when you move. Notify your former or current employer of the new address so that you can get your W-2 forms on time.

Souce: www.freep.com