The IRS may owe you money from your 2020 tax return, including a Recovery Rebate Credit. If you didn’t file taxes in 2021, the IRS could be holding onto some money for you, but these unclaimed refunds are set to disappear in less than two months. The IRS is holding over $1 billion in unclaimed money for almost 940,000 taxpayers from 2020, with an average missing refund size of $932. By law, the IRS keeps unclaimed tax refunds for three years and then transfers the money to the US Treasury. The deadline to claim your 2020 refund is May 17, 2024, as the tax deadline was extended to that date in 2021.
Taxpayers have until May 17, 2024, to claim any missing money from their 2020 tax return, as the IRS keeps unclaimed income tax refunds for three years. Tax returns for prior years cannot be filed electronically, so you’ll need to print and mail your 2020 tax return to a specific regional IRS office. The Recovery Rebate Credit allows you to claim any missed economic impact payments from 2020 and 2021. If you missed out on stimulus check payments in these years and didn’t file your tax return, you can still claim your missing money before the deadline.
To find out if the IRS has an unclaimed tax refund for you, you’ll need to file a return for the year in question. The IRS’s Where’s My Refund tool can’t help with unclaimed refunds, but you can check the amount of your missing Recovery Rebate Credit. You can use tax preparation software or the Form 1040 Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet to calculate how much you are owed. To file an old 2020 tax return, you’ll need to mail it to a specific regional IRS center listed on the last page of the IRS Form 1040 instructions. If you have not filed tax returns for 2021 and 2022, the IRS may continue to hold your 2020 tax refund.
If you’re missing any documents for your 2020 tax return, such as a W-2 or 1099, you can request copies from your employer or bank. You can also order a free wage and income transcript from the IRS to help file your tax return. If your unclaimed refund has been offset to cover tax debt, you may receive a notice from the IRS explaining the offset. Tax refund offsets for past-due federal taxes are managed by the IRS, while all other refund offsets are handled by the Treasury Offset Program. If you believe your refund was offset in error, you can contact the respective agency for more information.
