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J. KatzI just scheduled our appointment with our accountant for April 10th to have our taxes done. That’s just five days before the April 15th deadline. I used to love getting my taxes done early and couldn’t wait to get my refund. There once was a time when I got a refund. Through the years, those refunds turned into debits as we owed the government at tax time. Therefore, there’s no longer any urgency to file our taxes early.
John Fuld is the New Jersey Spokesperson for the Internal Revenue Service, and he told me that over a million people in the country and nearly thirty-two thousand in New Jersey have unclaimed refunds dating back to 2021.
He shared that New Jersey residents have left over 26 million dollars unclaimed, that’s an average refund of about $650 for taxpayers in New Jersey. Those numbers are much higher for those in New York and Pennsylvania. This estimate doesn’t include the Recovery Rebate Credit or other credits that you may be eligible for.
According to tax laws, we have three years to file and claim our tax refunds. If we don’t file within three years, the money becomes the property of the United States Treasury. Unless you’re ok with giving the government more money, you may want to look into whether or not any of the unclaimed refund cash belongs to you.
If you don’t file, you could lose more than just your refund. You could be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which was worth as much as $6,728 for taxpayers with qualifying children. The EITC helps those whose incomes are below a certain amount. For example, during 2021, if your income is as much as $51,000, you would be eligible.
Another important thing to know is that the IRS could hold your 2021 tax refund if you haven’t filed tax returns for 2022 and 2023. If you have an unclaimed refund, it can be used to pay any money you may owe the IRS.
Tax forms and instructions are available on the IRS.gov forms and Instructions page or by calling 800-829-3676.
Please let me know if this information helped you to receive an unclaimed refund.
Good luck :)
