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IRS unclaimed refunds: Time is running out for taxpayers to get their unclaimed refunds for 2009. The IRS estimates there is nearly $1 billion in unclaimed taxes.
An H&R Block Tax Associate works on a man's tax form the day before the Internal Revenue Service deadline on April 14, 2010 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has said that it has $917 million in unclaimed tax refunds from 2009. Taxpayers have until April 15 to claim them.
Nearly a million taxpayers did not file federal tax returns and did not claim the hundreds of millions of dollars, reported The Associated Press. About half of the total refunds are potentially worth more than $500.
Most taxpayers have a three-year limit to claim their refunds. If not, the money is handed over to the Treasury Department.
The IRS has said there is no penalty for filing a late tax return if one qualifies for a refund. However, if people failed to pay taxes in 2010 and 2011, the return might be delayed.
Unpaid child support and past due student loans can also prevent taxpayers from getting their returns. The government will use those refunds to settle those issues.
People in every state and Washington D.C. are owed refunds from 2009. The most people are located in California, with 100,700 unclaimed refunds, and Texas, with 86,000.
[Related: H&R Block Causes Delay for 660,000 Tax Forms]
Earlier this week, there was a tax preparation error that caused more than H&R Block 600,000 returns to be filed incorrectly.
H&R Block, which prepares one out of seven U.S. tax returns, said that “some taxpayers are receiving letters from the IRS informing them their returns are now under further review.”
The IRS said it sent out letters to taxpayers of delays and said it would process the tax forms as soon as possible.
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