The IRS could owe you money from your 2020 tax return, including the Recovery Rebate Credit, and the unclaimed refund is set to disappear in less than two months. The average unpaid refund amount is $932, and the IRS is currently holding over $1 billion in unclaimed money for almost 940,000 taxpayers from 2020. By law, the IRS keeps these unclaimed tax refunds for three years, and if you didn’t file your taxes in 2021, the IRS could be holding money for you. The deadline to claim your refund is May 17, 2024, and you must file your 2020 tax return on paper to do so.
Taxpayers typically have three years from the end of the tax season they didn’t claim their refund to file and claim their money. This year, the deadline was extended until May 17, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, giving taxpayers until May 17, 2024, to claim any missing money. Online tax software can assist in completing your tax return, but prior-year tax returns for 2020 must be filed on paper and mailed to a specific regional IRS office. The Recovery Rebate Credit is an option for those who missed out on economic impact payments in 2020 and 2021, allowing them to claim their missing money if they file their tax return.
To find out if the IRS is holding an unclaimed tax refund for you, you must file a return for that year. The IRS Where’s My Refund tool only reports the status of refunds for those who have already filed their taxes. You can find the amount of your missing recovery rebate credit and calculate how much you are owed using tax preparation software or the Form 1040 Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet. To claim your 2020 income tax refund from the IRS, you will need to submit your 2020 tax return through the mail before May 17, 2024. Make sure to address the return properly and mail it to a specific regional IRS center listed on the last page of the IRS Form 1040 instructions.
If you are missing important tax forms from 2020, such as a W-2, 1098, 1099, or 5498, you can request copies from your employer or bank. Alternatively, you can order a free wage and income transcript from the IRS to use the information for your tax return. If you believe you were due a refund from 2021 but did not receive one after filing your old tax return, it may have been offset to pay past-due federal tax, state income tax, child support, or other debts. The IRS and the Bureau of Fiscal Services’ Treasury Offset Program manage tax refund offsets, and you will receive a notice if your refund was used to pay debts.
