Thousands of South Floridians' income tax refunds were sent back to the Internal Revenue Service this year because they couldn't be delivered.

The IRS provided lists of taxpayers who have uncashed refunds Thursday.

The average unclaimed refund in Miami-Dade, where 2,134 refunds didn't make it to the rightful owners, was $1,641. In Broward, 1,171 refunds worth an average $1,750 are back in IRS hands. And 65 Monroe County checks worth an average of $1,249 are unclaimed.

All totaled, the IRS has more than $15 million in refund checks for 10,024 Florida residents.

``We'd like to get this money back to taxpayers as quickly as possible,'' IRS spokesman Mike Dobzinski said. ``All we need is an updated address and we can reissue the check.''

Taxpayers can check on the status of a refund by calling 800-829-1954. They will be given instructions on how to update their address.

Refund checks go astray for various reasons, such as a life change like a marriage or divorce. If a taxpayer changes addresses and does not notify the IRS or the postal service, a check sent to their last known address is returned to the IRS.