ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The IRS says time is running out for more than 940,000 Americans who have unclaimed tax refunds from 2020, including an estimated 53,200 Floridians.
According to the agency's website, there are more than $1 billion in unclaimed refunds because people haven’t filed their 2020 tax returns.
“We want taxpayers to claim these refunds, but time is running out for people who may have overlooked or forgotten about these refunds," said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel in a statement.
The deadline to submit your tax return is May 17.
The IRS says the average median refund per person is $932. For those in Florida, the median refund is $891. In total, Floridians risk losing out on a share of $58.2 million.
U.S. law states that taxpayers usually have three years to file and claim tax refunds before they become property of the U.S. Treasury.
Usually, the normal filing deadline to claim old refunds falls around the April tax deadline, which was on Monday for this year. However, the IRS issued an extension for the unfiled return deadline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People faced extremely unusual situations during the pandemic, which may have led some people to forget about a potential refund on their 2020 tax returns,” Werfel said in a statement. “People may have just overlooked these, including students, part-time workers and others. Some people may not realize they may be owed a refund. We encourage people to review their files and start gathering records now, so they don’t run the risk of missing the May deadline.”
The IRS does say 2020 tax refunds may be held if you have not filed tax returns for 2021 and 2022.
"In addition, any refund amount for 2020 will be applied to amounts still owed to the IRS or a state tax agency and may be used to offset unpaid child support or other past due federal debts, such as student loans," the agency explained.
Here are a few tips the organization says you can follow if you need to file for a 2020 tax return:
Request copies of key documents
You can request copies of your W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 from your employer, bank or other payers.
Use Get Transcript Online at IRS.gov
Those who can't get those missing forms from their employer or other payers can order a free wage and income transcript by using the IRS's Get Transcript Online tool.
Request a transcript
You can also file Form 4506-T to request a wage and income transcript from the IRS. However, the organization says these written request can take several weeks to get to.