The IRS said it is holding nearly $1 billion in tax refunds due to taxpayers who never filed their 2020 tax returns.
But time is running out to claim the money.
For New Jersey residents, there’s more than $27.4 million waiting to be claimed by 24,400 taxpayers. The median refund is $920, just under the national median refund of $932, the IRS said.
The IRS said May 17 is the deadline for those who never filed a tax return for 2020 but may have been due a refund anyway.
“There’s money remaining on the table for hundreds of thousands of people who haven’t filed 2020 tax returns,” said Danny Werfel, the IRS Commissioner. “We want taxpayers to claim these refunds, but time is running out for people who may have overlooked or forgotten about these refunds.”
Taxpayers usually have three years under the law to file returns and claim their tax refunds. If they don’t, the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury, the IRS said.
But because the 2020 tax deadline was extended by a month until May 17 of that year because of the pandemic, the deadline for back returns was also extended.
While the median refund for these tax returns is $932 nationally, it could be significantly higher for some, who may be eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit — for stimulus checks that were not received — for 2020.
“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.
Current and prior year tax forms and instructions are available on the IRS.gov Forms and Publications page or by calling (800) TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.
Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com. Follow her on X at @KPMueller.