Are You Due a Tax Refund?

The IRS estimates there is a whole lot of refund money out there waiting to be claimed by the appropriate people. Despite what you might think, the IRS does not want to hold your money. The latest stats available are from 2021 (if you want more current stats, I suggest you tell your politicians to fund the IRS appropriately). From that year alone, the IRS estimates there is in excess of one billion (1,000,000,000,000) dollars in outstanding refunds that are unclaimed. They further estimate that is due to about 1.1 million taxpayers – and this is only federal tax refunds. The IRS doesn’t have any stats on states. 

Based on the IRS’s reckoning, there are refunds due to many taxpayers in every state, with in general of course the more populace states having the more people due refunds (no real surprise there). The estimated median likely refund varies, but not by that much – and is unrelated to the size of the state. What we typically see is the IRS estimates the typical unclaimed refund is between $700 & $900.

The reference here is to unclaimed refunds – as contrasted with people who haven’t cashed in their checks or whatever. The typical situation here is that these estimates are based on what the IRS perceives to be people who have simply not filed their federal income tax returns – which obviously is a requirement to get a refund if you are in fact due a refund. Generally speaking, you have 3 years to file and claim a tax refund. After that, you have forfeited the money – it has become the property of the US government.

If you have any questions please contact Kal at kal@barsongroup.com