The Internal Revenue Service warned Friday of a fast-approaching deadline for $1.5 billion in unclaimed tax refunds for 2018, which need to be claimed before the mid-April tax deadline.
The IRS estimates that 1.5 million taxpayers who didn’t file a 2018 income tax return qualify for the refunds, half of which are for more than $813 each.
The service issues such a warning nearly every tax season, though the amounts always vary. Taxpayers who neglect to file their taxes can miss out on not only tax refunds, but also other benefits like stimulus payments.
"The IRS wants to help people who are due refunds but haven't filed their 2018 tax returns yet," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig in a statement Friday. "But people need to act quickly. By law, there's only a three-year window to claim these refunds, which closes with this year’s April tax deadline. We want to help people get these refunds, but they need to file a 2018 tax return before this critical deadline."
In cases where a federal income tax return wasn’t filed, most taxpayers get a three-year window of opportunity to claim a tax refund. If they don’t file a tax return within three years, the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury. For 2018 tax returns, the window closes April 18, 2022, for most taxpayers. Taxpayers living in Maine and Massachusetts have until April 19. They need to be sure the tax return is postmarked by those dates.
The refunds may be held up by the IRS, however, if taxpayers haven’t filed tax returns for 2019 and 2020. The refund will also be applied to any amounts still owed to the IRS or a state tax agency and could be used to offset unpaid child support or past due federal debts, such as student loans.
Tax year 2018 returns need to be filed with the local IRS address shown on the last page of the current
Here’s a list of state-by-state estimates by the IRS of individuals who may be due 2018 income tax refunds:
