More than $1 billion owed to U.S. taxpayers is about to disappear unless the 940,000 people owed money by the Internal Revenue Service claim their 2020 refunds by May 17 — including a large number of New Yorkers.
“There’s money remaining on the table for hundreds of thousands of people who haven’t filed 2020 tax returns,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement. “We want taxpayers to claim these refunds, but time is running out for people who may have overlooked or forgotten about these refunds.”
Under ordinary circumstances, taxpayers have three years to collect refunds before the money they’re owed becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury. But due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the window for 2020 returns was extended.
The IRS estimates more than 51,000 New Yorkers are owed money yet to be collected. That comes out to nearly $61 million.
Only three other states — Texas, California and Florida — have more citizens in danger of contributing to the federal government in a way they may not have intended.
The average uncollected payouts still due to 2020 taxpayers is $932, according to the IRS. In New York, the average uncollected refund tops $1,000.
According to Werfel, 2020 presented “extremely unusual situations” for many people who may have forgotten they’re owed a refund. Tax filers unsure of their 2020 status can go to irs.gov and for an online transcript of their records.
Uncollected monies waiting to be claimed aren’t just from wage deductions. Some workers with lower incomes could be eligible for an Earned Income Tax Credit.
But the IRS notes some people expecting a 2020 refund won’t see one if they failed to filed tax returns in 2021 and 2022.