IRS Issues ‘Last Call’ for Taxpayers to Claim $1.5 Billion in Refunds

The IRS building is seen in Washington on Sept. 28, 2020. (Erin Scott/Reuters)

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a “last call” reminder to over 1 million taxpayers across the country not to miss out on claiming their share of around $1.5 billion in refunds that are still up for grabs for tax year 2019.

“Time is running out for people owed a tax refund in 2019,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement.

Taxpayers who are owed tax refunds for the 2019 tax year have until July 17, 2023, to file a 2019 tax return and claim the money.

If such taxpayers did not file taxes in 2020 for the prior tax year or experienced other issues during that filing season, the IRS said those refunds are still available to them for claiming.

“The final window closes on July 17 for taxpayers who didn’t file a tax return for 2019 to claim their refund,” Werfel said.

“The IRS continues to urge people who may have overlooked filing during the pandemic to act quickly before they lose their final chance to claim a potentially substantial refund,” he added.

By law, taxpayers normally have three years to file and claim their tax refunds. If they don’t file within three years, the money becomes the property of the U.S. government.

In order to be eligible for the unclaimed refunds, the tax return must be postmarked by July 17, 2023.

More Details

While the average unclaimed amount for tax year 2019 is $893, many low- and moderate-income workers may be eligible for as much as $6,557 if their 2019 income qualifies them for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the IRS said.

Those who are potentially eligible for EITC in 2019 had incomes below certain thresholds based on their filing status and the number of qualifying children they have.

Specifically, the qualifying criteria for EITC eligibility are as follows:

• Individuals with three or more qualifying children had incomes below $50,162 ($55,952 if married filing jointly).
• People with two qualifying children had incomes below $46,703 ($52,493 if married filing jointly).
• Those with one qualifying child had incomes below $41,094 ($46,884 if married filing jointly).
• Individuals without qualifying children had incomes below $15,570 ($21,370 if married filing jointly).

Taxpayers seeking a 2019 tax refund should note that their checks may be held if they have not filed tax returns for 2020 and 2021, the IRS said.

Also, any refunds may be applied to outstanding amounts owed to the IRS or a state tax agency.

Refunds may also be used to offset unpaid child support or past due federal debts, such as student loans.

Missing Documents

Taxpayers who need to file a 2019 tax return but are missing key documents have several options available, the IRS said in Friday’s notice.

They can request copies of Forms W-2, 1098, 1099, or 5498 for the years 2019, 2020, or 2021 from their employer, bank, or other payers.

Another option is to use the Get Transcript Online tool on IRS.gov to order a free wage and income transcript if they are unable to obtain the missing forms from their employer or other payers.

Taxpayers can also file Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return, with the IRS to request a “wage and income transcript.”

However, written transcript requests can take several weeks, so the IRS advised taxpayers to try the other options first.

Other Recent IRS Notices

In a separate news release on Thursday, the IRS said it is planning to send out a special mailing to taxpayers in disaster-affected areas, letting them know they have more time to pay their taxes.

The IRS said in a statement Thursday that the special mailing was being sent out to California and seven other states as a follow-up clarification after an earlier message wrongly told them they had 21 days to pay.

“Although the initial notice indicated a payment deadline of 21 days, taxpayers in these disaster-declared regions actually have until a later date this year to make their payments within the designated timeframe,” the agency stated.

Taxpayers with balances due who live in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee that fell under disaster declarations received a CP14 notice from the IRS in late May and June.

Many of the CP14 notices incorrectly said the affected taxpayers had three weeks to pay outstanding balances.

“We know our initial mailing caused confusion for taxpayers and tax professionals, and we worked quickly to send a follow-up reminder to help reassure people,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement.

“This mailing reflects how we’re trying to be more taxpayer-focused given the additional resources that we’ve been given under the Inflation Reduction Act.”

The new mailing, called CP14CL, will be sent out within the next several weeks, the agency said.

The earlier CP14 notices sent out in May and June also included a special insert that features the correct payment deadline, which was extended under special tax relief to taxpayers in federally declared disaster zones.

The IRS said in Thursday’s notice that it will be updating these inserts so as to make it clear that the deadline stipulated in the CP14 letter does not apply to people covered by disaster declarations.