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Time Runs Out For Claiming A Tax Refund

By Cathy Moran

tax refund 2018

Did you know there’s a deadline for claiming a tax refund. If you are entitled to a tax refund for an old tax year but haven’t filed the return yet, time’s running out.

If you are more than three years late in filing your tax return, you forfeit any tax refund that you would otherwise get.

The IRS regularly holds $1.5 BILLION in unclaimed refunds for any given tax year. So the money is real.

Wait to file for more than 3 years and the IRS keeps the money.

Tax refund bonanza

The IRS calculates that the median tax refund is more than $800.

Remember too that low to moderate income workers may also be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which could be as much as $6,431. That’s in addition to any taxes withheld from your paycheck.

But you don’t get the credit if you don’t file the return.

An estimated 149,000 Californians who are owed a refund haven’t filed the return necessary to claim their money.

No tax documents?

Often, the lack of tax records keeps people from filing their returns. Did you know you can get copies of your wage and deductions information from the IRS?

The IRS has an online tool for getting a wage and income transcript at Get Transcript Online. You start by creating an account, and then requesting the transcript you need.

Tax filing help

If you need help preparing your return, the IRS has partnered for 50 years with community volunteers in a program called VITA, to provide free return preparation for low income, elderly, disabled, or limited English speaking individuals.

Find a VITA program near you. In the Bay Area, the United Way sponsors EarnIt, KeepIt, SaveIt, with a particular focus on helping families claim the EITC.

These programs are free.

It’s your money, if…

Get busy claiming a tax refund. File the return and claim your money. Don’t leave money in the hands of the IRS.

More

Keeping your tax refund through bankruptcy

File the return even if you can’t pay

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Filed Under: Featured, Taxes Tagged With: 2022, tax refund, unfiled tax returns

About Cathy Moran

I'm a veteran bankruptcy lawyer and consumer advocate in California's Silicon Valley. I write, teach, and speak in the hopes of expanding understanding of how bankruptcy can make life better in a family's future.

Bankruptcy Basics

About The Soapbox

You’ve arrived at the Bankruptcy Soapbox, a resource of bankruptcy information and consumer law.

Soapbox is a companion site to Bankruptcy in Brief, where I try to be largely explanatory and even handed (Note I said “try”).

Here, I allow myself to tell stories and express strong opinions. We dig deeper into how to consider bankruptcy and navigate a bankruptcy case.

Moran Law Group
Bankruptcy specialists for individuals and small businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area

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