WASHINGTON — The IRS is warning nearly 1 million taxpayers that they may be leaving more than $1 billion on the table because they never filed a 2020 return.
The federal tax collector said Monday that roughly 940,000 people in the U.S. have until May 17 to submit tax returns for unclaimed refunds for tax year 2020, which totals more than $1 billion nationwide.
The average median refund is $932 for 2020. Texas (93,400), California (88,200), Florida (53,200) and New York (51,400) have the largest amount of people potentially eligible for these refunds.
Taxpayers typically have three years to file and claim tax refunds, otherwise the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury.
For people who need to file a return, the IRS advises taxpayers to request their W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 from their employer or bank — or order a free wage and income transcript using the “Get Transcript Online” tool at IRS.gov.
Generally the deadline to claim old refunds falls around the April 15 tax deadline, but this year the three-year window for 2020 unfiled returns was postponed to May 17, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But if taxpayers haven't filed a return for tax year 2021 and 2022, any 2020 refunds would be withheld until they file for those years as well to make sure they don't owe.
Can I file a 2020 tax return in 2024?
Taxpayers looking to file their 2019 return before the May 17 deadline have several tools at hand from the IRS.
Taxpayers should gather the information needed for filing a return with ample time before the deadline, if possible.
IRS tips on filing a past return
- Request copies of key documents: Taxpayers who are missing Forms W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 for the years 2019, 2020 or 2021 can request copies from their employer, bank or other payers.
- Use IRS tool to get wage and income transcript: Taxpayers who are unable to get those missing forms from their employer or other payers can order a free wage and income transcript at IRS.gov using the Get Transcript Online tool. For many taxpayers, this is by far the quickest and easiest option.
- Request a transcript: Another option is for people to file Form 4506-T with the IRS to request a “wage and income transcript.” A wage and income transcript shows information from returns received by the IRS, such as Forms W-2, 1099, 1098, Form 5498 and IRA contribution information. Taxpayers can use the information from the transcript to file their tax return. This process may take several weeks, so the IRS recommends requesting a transcript early on.