The Internal Revenue Service is asking approximately 1.5 million people across the U.S. to file a tax return to claim their refunds for tax year 2019 before the July 17 deadline.
The IRS estimates that nearly $1.5 billion in refunds remain unclaimed because people haven't yet sent in their 2019 tax returns. The agency has a state-by-state estimate of how many people are potentially eligible for these refunds in each state and each state's median potential refund. The average median refund for tax year 2019 was $893.
"Time is running out for more than a million people to get their tax refunds for 2019," said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel in a statement Thursday. "Many people may have overlooked filing a 2019 tax return due to the pandemic. We don't want people to miss their window to receive their refund. We encourage people to check their records and act quickly before the deadline."
IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel testifying at a Senate Finance Committee hearing
Taxpayers generally have three years to file and claim their tax refunds, and if they don't file within that time, the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury.
For 2019 tax returns, however, people have more time than usual to file to claim their refunds. Usually, the normal filing deadline to claim old refunds falls around the April tax deadline, which was April 18 this year for 2022 tax returns. But the three-year window for 2019 unfiled returns was pushed back to July 17, 2023, because the filing date in 2020 was pushed back to July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
IRS Notice 2023-21, issued on Feb. 27, 2023, provided legal guidance on claims made by the postponed deadline. The law requires taxpayers to properly address, mail and make sure their tax return is postmarked by July 17, 2023.
Taxpayers could lose more than just their refund of taxes withheld or paid during 2019 if they don't file. Many low- and moderate-income workers may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit. In 2019, the EITC was worth up to $6,557.
Based on the tax data currently available, the IRS estimated how many people in each state could be entitled to a tax refund, though the actual refund amount will vary based on a household's tax situation.
