File Your Taxes – You May Have Unclaimed Refunds Waiting

Did you know that the The IRS has reported more than $1.5 billion in unclaimed tax refunds every year? That’s how it is, more than $1 billion in money owed to taxpayers across the country who didn’t file their 2018 taxes. How did this happen?

In most cases, refunds go unclaimed because taxpayers who do not meet the IRS income threshold requirement to file a tax return are actually entitled to a tax refund, but because they never file a return, they cannot claim that money.

Another portion of unclaimed tax refunds that the IRS may be withholding may include the Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. This is a tax credit, not a deduction, that is available to many low- to moderate-income workers, and this credit is often not claimed. The maximum credit for the EITC for 2019 was worth as much as $6,557.

If this sounds like you, it’s time to get to work so you can claim what’s rightfully yours. One thing to note is that the IRS sets only a three-year window to claim these earlier refunds. He deadline to claim tax year 2019 refunds (the tax return you would normally have filed in 2020) is April 18, 2023. After that time, the money goes to the US Treasury. You’ll also want to keep in mind that if you want to claim a refund from two or three years ago, you’ll likely need to make sure all tax returns for the subsequent year have been filed in order for the funds to be released. If you have not submitted a 2019 tax return, must file quickly to potentially get this refund.

If you’re thinking of claiming a possible refund that may be a few years away, you’ll need to gather some documentation that records your income and taxes paid for the entire year, as well as deductible expenses. Creating the W-2 and 1099 forms a few years ago can take some time. That’s why it’s important to keep all tax-related documents in a safe place for at least 3-7 years.

If you cannot locate the documents needed to file your 2019 taxes, the next step would be to contact your employer or payor at the time in question and request copies of the forms. If these efforts are unsuccessful, you can obtain a free IRS transcript showing the information from these year-end documents by requesting a free wage and income transcript on IRS.gov using the Get Transcript Online tool or by filing Form 4506-T to request a statement of wages or income.

Keep in mind that the IRS estimates that the average refund for 2019 was $2,869.

So, think about your situation and decide if it’s worth doing a little legwork to track down paperwork and file old tax returns. You may receive a refund from prior years.

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