Where to Fax Form 3911: Refund Trace by State
Your refund was issued and never showed up. Form 3911 is the trace request that makes the IRS go find it, and it goes to one of nine Refund Inquiry Units depending on the state you live in, each with its own fax number. Send it to the wrong one and it crawls; send anything else to these numbers and the IRS explicitly asks you not to. Here is the complete, current table and the whole process.
📌 Every number below comes directly from the IRS "About Form 3911" page on IRS.gov, last reviewed by the IRS in December 2025 and verified by us in July 2026. The trace itself is free; the fax costs $1.00. Two rules the IRS stresses: send only Form 3911 to these numbers, and use the unit for the state on the return you filed.
Before You Fax: Is a Trace Actually the Next Step?
Start at the Where's My Refund tool on IRS.gov. A trace only makes sense once the tool shows your refund was issued and it never reached you: allow 28 days from the IRS mailing date for a paper check, and for a missing direct deposit, check with your bank first. One more wrinkle straight from the IRS: single, married filing separately, and head of household filers with a missing paper check can start a trace through the automated tools or refund hotline, while married filing jointly filers must use Form 3911 itself, both spouses signing. If that is you, this page is your path.
The Complete Fax Table, by State
| If you live in | Refund Inquiry Unit | Fax number |
|---|
| Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont | Andover | 855-253-3175 |
| Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Virginia | Atlanta | 855-275-8620 |
| Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas | Austin | 855-203-7538 |
| New York | Brookhaven | 855-297-7736 |
| Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming | Fresno | 855-332-3068 |
| Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, West Virginia | Kansas City | 855-344-9993 |
| Alabama, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee | Memphis | 855-580-4749 |
| District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island | Philadelphia | 855-404-9091 |
| Foreign country, US territory, APO/FPO address, Form 2555 or 4563 filers, dual-status aliens | Austin | 855-203-7538 |
| Business entities, states east of the Mississippi (plus Arkansas and Louisiana) | Cincinnati | 855-307-3124 |
| Business entities, states west of the Mississippi (plus Wisconsin) | Ogden | 855-578-2550 |
✅ Verify before you send: open the About Form 3911 page on IRS.gov and match your number on the day you fax. The IRS updated this exact list within the past year, which is why every third-party page with the old numbers is now quietly wrong.
Filling It Out Right the First Time
One Form 3911 per refund: tracing two tax years means two forms, two faxes. Complete your identifying details exactly as they appeared on the return, mark the tax year and refund type, and sign it, both spouses for a joint return, because the IRS returns unsigned or third-party-signed forms as incomplete and your trace restarts from zero. Use the state from the return you filed, not where you moved afterward. Keep the packet to the form alone unless the IRS asked for something more.
What Happens After You Fax
Per the IRS's own procedures, expect contact from the Refund Inquiry Unit within about 6 weeks for a paper check trace, or up to 120 days for a direct deposit trace. If the check was never cashed, the IRS cancels it and issues a replacement. If someone else cashed it, the case moves to a claims process with the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which takes longer but does resolve. Your fax confirmation is your dated proof the trace started, worth keeping when weeks pass and you call to check status.
Faxing It for $1.00
1
Match your state in the table
Then verify the number on the About Form 3911 page at IRS.gov. The state on your filed return controls, not your current address.
2
Scan the signed form
One page, every field legible, signatures included. Nothing else in the packet.
3
Send at faxforadollar.com
Upload, enter your unit's number, pay $1.00. Delivered in 1 to 3 minutes with an email confirmation that timestamps the start of your trace.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I fax Form 3911?
To the IRS Refund Inquiry Unit for the state on the return you filed. Nine units serve individual filers: Andover 855-253-3175, Atlanta 855-275-8620, Austin 855-203-7538, Brookhaven 855-297-7736 (New York), Fresno 855-332-3068, Kansas City 855-344-9993, Memphis 855-580-4749, and Philadelphia 855-404-9091, per the About Form 3911 page on IRS.gov, verified July 2026. The full state-by-state table is above.
Do Form 3911 fax numbers change, and how do I verify mine?
Yes, and recently: the IRS notes on the About Form 3911 page that it updated the addresses and fax numbers, which stranded every third-party page still listing the old ones. Verify your unit's number on that IRS.gov page the day you send. It is the controlling source over this page and every other.
What is the cheapest way to fax Form 3911?
$1.00 at faxforadollar.com, no account or subscription, covering up to 10 pages when the form itself is one. The trace is free; the transmission is the only cost, and fax shops charge $5 to $15 for the same single page.
Does it cost money to trace a missing tax refund?
No, the IRS charges nothing for a refund trace. Your only cost is getting the form there: $1.00 by fax here, or a stamp and a much slower start by mail. Anyone charging a fee to 'file your trace' is charging you for a free government process.
What is Form 3911 for?
It is the Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund, the form that starts an official trace when a refund the IRS already issued never reached you, whether a paper check that never arrived or a direct deposit that never posted.
When should I file Form 3911?
After Where's My Refund shows the refund was issued and it still has not arrived: the IRS guideline is 28 days from their mailing date for a paper check. For a missing direct deposit, check with your bank first, then trace. Filing before the refund was even issued traces nothing.
Do married filing jointly taxpayers have to use Form 3911?
Yes, that is an IRS rule worth knowing: single, married filing separately, and head of household filers can start a paper-check trace through the automated tools or hotline, but joint filers must submit Form 3911 with both spouses' signatures. If you filed jointly, the fax route on this page is your trace.
Which fax number do I use if I moved to a different state after filing?
The unit for the state on the return you filed, not your new state. The trace follows the return. If your move also changed where future IRS mail should go, that is a separate address-update task, not part of the 3911.
Can I fax anything else to the Refund Inquiry Unit numbers?
No, and the IRS says so explicitly: send nothing other than Form 3911 to these fax numbers. Notices, returns, and other forms have their own destinations; our complete IRS faxing guide maps where everything else goes.
Can I trace two years of missing refunds with one Form 3911?
No, one form per refund per tax year. Two missing refunds means two completed forms and two faxes, $1.00 each, to the same unit for your state.
What is the Form 3911 fax number for Texas or Florida?
855-203-7538, the Austin Refund Inquiry Unit, which serves Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas per IRS.gov, verified July 2026. Austin also handles filers with foreign, territory, and APO/FPO addresses.
What is the Form 3911 fax number for California?
855-332-3068, the Fresno Refund Inquiry Unit, serving Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming per IRS.gov, verified July 2026.
What is the Form 3911 fax number for New York?
855-297-7736, the Brookhaven Refund Inquiry Unit, which serves New York alone, per IRS.gov, verified July 2026.
I live abroad, where do I fax Form 3911?
The Austin Refund Inquiry Unit at 855-203-7538 handles filers with a foreign country address, US territories, APO and FPO addresses, Form 2555 or 4563 filers, and dual-status aliens, per IRS.gov. Expats disproportionately need traces because IRS refunds do not direct-deposit to foreign banks, so overseas filers get paper checks in international mail. Sending the fax itself from another country is our sister site OverseasFax's territory.
Where do businesses fax Form 3911?
Business entities split by the Mississippi: states east of it (plus Arkansas and Louisiana) fax the Cincinnati unit at 855-307-3124, and states west (plus Wisconsin) fax Ogden at 855-578-2550, per IRS.gov, verified July 2026.
Who has to sign Form 3911?
The taxpayer, and on a joint return both spouses. The IRS returns forms signed by anyone other than the taxpayer or their authorized representative as incomplete, which restarts your trace from zero, so check the signature lines before scanning.
How long does a refund trace take after I fax Form 3911?
Per IRS procedures, the Refund Inquiry Unit contacts you within about 6 weeks for a paper check trace, and up to 120 days for a direct deposit trace. Slow, yes, but the clock only starts when the form arrives, which is the argument for faxing it today instead of mailing it this week.
What happens if my refund check was never cashed?
The IRS cancels the original and issues a replacement check. That is the clean outcome and the common one for checks lost in the mail.
What happens if someone else cashed my refund check?
The case escalates to a claims process through the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which examines the endorsement and can take additional months, but stolen-check cases do get resolved and reissued. Your trace is what starts that machinery.
My direct deposit refund never arrived, do I still use Form 3911?
Yes, after checking with your bank first and giving them a reasonable window to investigate. If the bank shows no deposit and the IRS shows issued, the 3911 starts the trace; direct deposit traces run on the longer 120-day response timeline.
Can I fax Form 3911 without a fax machine?
Yes. Photograph or scan the signed form, upload at faxforadollar.com in any browser, enter your unit's number, pay $1.00. No machine, no landline, no account, and the confirmation email timestamps the start of your trace.
How do I prove when my refund trace started?
Your fax delivery confirmation: destination number, page count, timestamp, emailed the moment it delivers. When you call the IRS six weeks later to check status, that timestamp is your evidence of exactly when the trace clock started.
Does the IRS confirm they received my Form 3911?
Not at transmission time; the first contact is typically the trace outcome weeks later. Your fax confirmation is the receipt in the meantime, which is precisely why faxing beats mailing for this form: mail gives you nothing to hold.
Should I fax Form 3911 or mail it?
Fax, for two concrete reasons: the trace clock starts when the form arrives, and fax arrives in minutes with a timestamped confirmation while mail takes days and proves nothing. Both routes are official per IRS.gov; one of them just starts your six weeks sooner.
Can I fax Form 3911 on a weekend?
Yes, the unit fax lines receive around the clock and your timestamp records on arrival. Processing begins the next business day either way, so a Saturday fax loses nothing and beats Monday's mail by days.
What should I include with my Form 3911 fax?
The form alone, per the IRS: no attachments unless they asked for something specific. A one-line cover sheet with your name and the page count is fine; a packet of extra documents is not, and can slow the match to your account.
What if I find my refund check after filing Form 3911?
Do not cash it if the trace already led to a cancellation and replacement; a canceled check will bounce. If the trace is still in progress, call the IRS refund line and tell them the check surfaced, then follow their instruction on which one to use.
Is there a deadline for filing Form 3911?
No fixed statutory deadline for the trace itself, but do not sit on it: memories fade, checks get stolen, and claims get harder with time. The practical rule is 28 days after the IRS mailing date, then trace promptly.
What happens if my fax to the Refund Inquiry Unit fails?
Automatic full refund of the $1.00, and you can retry immediately. Government fax lines are busiest midday; early morning Eastern time connects fastest, and FaxForADollar retries busy lines before giving up.
Can I check my refund status instead of filing Form 3911?
Always check first: the Where's My Refund tool and IRS2Go app show status for the current year plus two prior years. The 3911 is for when status says issued and reality says nothing arrived. Tool first, trace second.
Can someone fax Form 3911 for me?
Transmission help is fine, but the signature must be the taxpayer's or their authorized representative's; the IRS returns anything else as incomplete. A family member pressing send on your signed form is fine. A family member signing for you is a restart.
What is the cheapest way to deal with a lost refund check overall?
The whole process costs $1.00 done right: the trace is free, the replacement check is free, and the fax is a dollar. Compare that against check-recovery services and fee-charging preparers offering to 'handle it', who fill out the same one-page form you can fax in three minutes.
Refund missing and form signed?
Match your state, verify on IRS.gov, and start the trace in three minutes. $1.00, with a timestamped confirmation of when your trace began.
Send a Fax, $1