Don't Mess With Taxes

If you live in Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, West Virginia or Wisconsin and plan to snail mail your federal tax return this year, your envelope will have a new address.

Now most of us don't pay any attention to the address on the envelope or label that comes with our tax package. But it matters to the IRS.

Sure, your return will eventually be forwarded to the correct service center for handling, but a misdirected mailing will slow down the process a tad. And if you're expecting a refund, you definitely don't want that.

Folks of a conspiratorial mindset might think the IRS is going to extremes to get all of us to e-file -- 57 percent of taxpayers did so last year -- so we won't have to worry about old-fashioned delivery addresses.

But the reality is that the agency is simply continuing a consolidation process that's been going on for years. When it's all done, the IRS says its systems will be more efficient and cost effective.

This isn't anything new. Check out this story I wrote back in 2000 that discussed service center changes; note how the process then affected some of the same filers seeing changes this year.

So if you're affected by this latest service center realignment and plan to mail your return, remember to use the label that came with your tax package. It will indicate that:

• Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin returns now go to the IRS center in Fresno, Calif.
• Returns from Kentucky head to Austin, Texas. Welcome all y'all Bluegrass State filers!
• Pennsylvania and West Virginia returns now are processed by the Kansas City, Mo., facility.

If you didn't get a 2007 tax return package or lost your filing labels, check the back page of the instructions for each of the 1040 forms for the correct addresses.

Be sure to note that, in most cases, returns being sent with payments have a slightly different mailing address than those being sent in anticipation of a refund. The indicator is the Zip-plus-four Code.

Or click here for the online Form 1040 instructions and go to page 153 for the addresses.