Stimulus checks must be claimed by Friday

WASHINGTON—Taxpayers who believe their economic stimulus checks went astray must update their addresses with the Internal Revenue Service by Friday.

The IRS said last month that it was looking for taxpayers who may have lost out on more than 279,000 stimulus checks worth about $163 million due to mailing address errors. An IRS spokeswoman Tuesday said those were the latest available figures.

Database Center: Find Out If You’re Owed Refund

The undeliverable checks averaged $583. The rebates were part of the $168 billion stimulus package that was enacted in February.

Taxpayers can find out the status of their checks and receive instructions on updates on the IRS Web site or by calling 1-866-234-2942.