Does The IRS Owe You Money? $1.5B In Unclaimed Tax Refunds Up For Grabs

April 18 is not only the deadline to file your 2021 tax return, but it is also the deadline to collect almost $1.5 billion in unclaimed tax refunds, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

The IRS said the billions in unclaimed tax refunds are owed to 1.5 million taxpayers who did not file a 2018 Form 1040 federal income tax return.

But the only way to get the money is to file a 2018 return before the April 18 deadline, according to the federal agency. Taxpayers living in Maine and Massachusetts have until April 19.

“The IRS wants to help people who are due refunds but haven't filed their 2018 tax returns yet,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement.

“But people need to act quickly. By law, there's only a three-year window to claim these refunds, which closes with this year's April tax deadline. We want to help people get these refunds, but they need to file a 2018 tax return before this critical deadline,” he said.

If a taxpayer who is owed a refund in 2018 does not file by the deadline, the refund then becomes property of the U.S. Treasury.

The average refund owed to taxpayers for 2018 is estimated by the IRS to be $813. Alaska is offering the highest average return to taxpayers at $969, followed by Wyoming at $912.

If a taxpayer has also not filed a return for the 2019 and 2020, the IRS may hold the 2018 refund until these returns are completed while also applying any refunds to amounts owed to any debts owed to the IRS, state tax agency, unpaid child support, or student loan debts.

The correct 1040, 1040-A, and 1040-EZ forms for 2018 can be located on IRS.gov.

W-2, 1098, 1099, or 5498 forms for 2018, 2019, or 2020 can be requested by employers, banks, or other payers, or they can be ordered as a free wage and income transcript at IRS.gov using the Get Transcript Online tool.