IRS Form 3911 Instructions: Filing, Faxing, and Refund Traces

IRS Form 3911, the Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund, is the paper form you file to start a formal trace when the IRS says it issued your refund but the money never reached you. These instructions for IRS Form 3911 walk through when to use it, how to complete each section, where to send it, and what the IRS does next. Before you fill it out, try the faster options first: the “Where’s My Refund?” tool at irs.gov, the automated refund hotline at 800-829-1954, or a representative at 800-829-1040 can all start a trace for most individual filers. Joint filers are the exception. The automated systems will not start a trace on a joint return, so you’ll either call and speak with a live agent or submit Form 3911.¹

Wait the Required Period Before You File

Filing early gets you nowhere. The IRS will tell you to wait, and the trace won’t open. The required waiting periods are:

Direct deposit: at least five days after the deposit date shown in “Where’s My Refund?”
Mailed check: four weeks from the issue date
Mailed check, if you’re outside the state where the check was issued: six weeks²

The form covers two situations after the IRS has processed your return and issued the refund: the refund never arrived (direct deposit didn’t post, or the paper check didn’t show), or the check arrived but was lost, stolen, or destroyed before you cashed it.²

How to Fill Out Form 3911

Form 3911 is one page split into three sections. Keep your original tax return in front of you, because much of what you enter has to match it exactly.³ File a separate Form 3911 for each missing refund.

Section I: Taxpayer and Return Information

Enter your current name, Social Security number or ITIN, and address. On a joint return, include your spouse’s name on Line 2. Line 4 asks for the name and address exactly as they appeared on the original return; if nothing has changed, mark “N/A.”

The rest of Section I collects the refund’s identifying details: tax year, type of return, the date you filed, whether you asked for a check or direct deposit, and the exact refund amount. If you chose direct deposit, you’ll also enter the bank name, routing number, and account number you listed on your Form 1040. That banking information is what the IRS uses to trace the deposit with your financial institution.³

Lines 5 and 6 are only for taxpayers who authorized a representative to receive the refund check; enter that person’s name and address there.

Section II: What Happened to the Refund

Line 8 gives you two boxes: either you did not receive the refund, or you received a check that was lost, stolen, or destroyed. Check the one that fits. Line 9 is for the narrower case where you received and endorsed the check but someone else cashed it.³

Read the form’s own limitation carefully: the IRS will not issue a replacement if you endorsed the check and someone else cashed it, because no forgery occurred.³

Section III: Certification and Signatures

You sign under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate and that you want a replacement. Built into the certification is a promise that if two refunds eventually arrive, you’ll return one. If the refund came from a joint return, both spouses must sign. Without both signatures, the IRS will not open the trace.³

Where to Fax or Mail the Form

Form 3911 can be faxed or mailed, and the destination depends on the state where you live.² Faxing is faster. Send only the form; do not attach other documents.

Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont: 855-253-3175 (Andover)
Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Virginia: 855-275-8620 (Atlanta)
Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas: 855-203-7538 (Austin)
New York: 855-297-7736 (Brookhaven)
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming: 855-332-3068 (Fresno)
Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, West Virginia: 855-344-9993 (Kansas City)
Alabama, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee: 855-580-4749 (Memphis)
District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island: 855-404-9091 (Philadelphia)
Foreign country, U.S. territory, APO/FPO address, or filers of Form 2555 or 4563: 855-203-7538 (Austin)²

For mailing addresses, check the current Form 3911 instructions at irs.gov, since those can change.

What the IRS Does After You File

The trace process depends on how the refund was issued. For paper checks, the IRS works with the Bureau of the Fiscal Service to determine whether the check was cashed. For direct deposits, BFS contacts the financial institution to confirm whether the money arrived and what happened to it.⁴

Paper check traces take about six weeks.⁴ Direct deposit traces run longer, because banks have up to 90 days from the trace date to respond, and full resolution can take up to 120 days.⁵ Peak filing season stretches those windows further.

If the paper check was never cashed, the IRS credits the original amount back to your account and issues a new refund.⁴ If eight weeks pass with no word, call 800-829-1040 with your Social Security number and tax return handy.

If You Entered the Wrong Bank Account

If a wrong routing or account number sent your refund to someone else’s account, Form 3911 is still the right form, but the sequence changes. The IRS takes no responsibility for errors made by you or your preparer on bank details.⁵

Call the financial institution first and ask them to recover the deposit. If five calendar days go by with no return, file Form 3911 so the IRS can contact the bank on your behalf. Know the limit here: if the bank can’t recover the money or won’t return it, the IRS has no authority to force the issue. Getting it back becomes a civil matter between you and the bank or the account holder.⁵

If the Trace Shows Your Check Was Cashed by Someone Else

When the trace reveals your refund check was cashed but you never received or endorsed it, the IRS sends a forgery claim package. It contains a photocopy of the cashed check and Claim Form FS 1133 from the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.⁴

FS 1133 runs two pages of questions and requires three separate signatures so BFS can compare your handwriting to the endorsement on the cashed check. If the check named two payees, both must sign. Return the completed form along with the check copy to the BFS Check Resolution Division in Philadelphia; without the check copy, BFS cannot process the claim.⁶

If You’re Holding an Expired Check

U.S. Treasury checks carry “VOID AFTER ONE YEAR” above the disbursing officer’s signature. Under the Competitive Equality Banking Act, any Treasury check not cashed within one year of issuance is automatically canceled and the funds are returned to the issuing agency.⁷

Don’t throw the check away and don’t try to deposit it. Contact the IRS for instructions on returning the check and requesting reissuance.³

When Form 3911 Won’t Solve the Problem

Two situations look like missing refunds but call for a different form or a different agency.

Identity theft. If the IRS says your return was already filed and the refund already issued, but you never filed, someone may have used your Social Security number. File Form 14039, the Identity Theft Affidavit, if you can’t e-file because your SSN was already used, you receive a tax transcript you didn’t request, you get a notice from a tax prep company about an account you didn’t open, or the IRS says you owe tax on income you never earned. If you’ve already received IRS Letter 5071C, 4883C, or 5747C, follow that letter instead; it contains everything the IRS needs to verify your identity.⁸

Offset. If your refund came in smaller than expected, the Treasury Offset Program may have reduced it to cover past-due child support, federal agency debts, state income tax, or certain state unemployment debts. BFS sends a notice showing the original amount, the amount taken, and the agency that received it. If you dispute the debt, contact that agency, not the IRS. If no notice arrived, call the BFS TOP call center at 800-304-3107, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST.⁹ Form 3911 won’t help, because BFS delivered the refund as instructed.

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Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund
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Internal Revenue Service. Form 3911 (Rev. 10-2022) Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund
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Internal Revenue Service. 21.4.2 Refund Trace and Limited Payability – Section: 21.4.2.3 Refund Trace Process
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Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries 18
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Department of the Treasury Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Claim Against the United States for the Proceeds of a U.S. Treasury Check (FS 1133) Payee Instructions
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Department of the Treasury Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Cancellations, Deposits, Reclamations, and Claims for Checks Drawn on the U.S. Treasury
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Internal Revenue Service. When to File an Identity Theft Affidavit
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Internal Revenue Service. Reduced Refund