The Rundown: The cash is waiting for taxpayers who didn’t file a 2010 tax return.
IRS has $760 Million in unclaimed refunds — but time is running out if some of it is yours
(FOX Business)
The Internal Revenue Service has $760 million in unclaimed refunds it wants to give to the rightful owners.
The cash is waiting for taxpayers who didn’t file a 2010 tax return.
If you’re one of the nearly 919,000 folks who didn’t send in a Form 1040 back then, all you have to do is file that old tax paperwork by this year’s April 15 deadline.
But don’t miss this last-chance deadline for a tax refund. If you do, then the U.S. Treasury gets to keep your money. Forever.
Median refund of $571
The IRS estimates that the median unclaimed refund check from three years ago is $571. That means half of the checks are less than that, but half are more.
Taxpayers eligible for the unpaid refunds live in every state and the District of Columbia.
The state with the most unclaimed refunds is California. The 86,500 Golden State residents who didn’t file three years ago are due a total of $69.8 million.
The 5 states with the most unclaimed refund money
State Unclaimed refunds Median refund amount
California 86,500 $518
Texas 80,600 $578
New York 57,400 $577
Florida 56,800 $620
Illinois 37,900 $626
Vermont taxpayers, on the other hand, appear to be quite tax-conscientious. Only 1,600 residents in that New England state didn’t file in 2010.
And Alaska’s 4,700 nonfilers have the chance to hit the biggest individual 2010 tax refund jackpot. The median check in that western state is $649.
An annual problem
Tax law says a taxpayer has three years to file a return and get the associated refund. Since the 2010 tax year returns were due by the April 2011 deadline, that three-year window allows these forms to be filed by the April 2014 filing due date.
The time-shift tax filing is not unusual. Unclaimed tax refund money piles up every year.
Read more
How do you check to find out if some of that money is yours and how do you go about claiming it if the news is good?
Talk to any CPA or IRS expert to localize.
Joe Mastriano is a client who can talk about unclaimed money and what you need to know to cash in:
Joe Mastriano, CPA
CPA and IRS Problem specialist
(work) 713-774-4467
(cell) 713-826-4781
support@taxproblem.org
www.taxproblem.org
Joe is also available for Skype interviews.
I know what you’re going through. For 25 years, I was you. It doesn’t matter how great your story was yesterday, the boss wants to know “What have you done for me lately?” It’s not easy to constantly “feed the beast” and come up with fresh story ideas.
And who has time to read all of those papers and watch all of those major market newscasts to find new leads?
That’s what The Rundown is about. I get up early and scan dozens of news sites from all over the globe for stories that can be easily localized. My promise to you is that when one of these stories involves a client, I’ll tell you. There are no hidden agendas here.
Jeff Crilley
Real News PR