Unclaimed Tax Refunds: Does the Government Owe You Money?

You work hard for your money and every pay check you watch as the government funnels away some of it. Because I pay attention to just how much I lose every pay period, I was shocked to find out that there is over a billion dollars of unclaimed tax refunds sitting in a US Treasury account.

There is probably more money now, as the article I read was dated 2008. Are you entitled to a piece of that $1.2B pie? Now before you dismiss it as too much work to claim your money, consider that with current software applications it can take as little as thirty minutes to complete your return. Is $500 worth half an hour? That’s the median amount (half of returns are less, half more) owed to tax payers across the country.

If you think that you may be entitled to a tax refund the first thing to do is review your records. Have you filed every year? If you haven’t, and don’t owe money for any year, you can request unclaimed tax refunds up to four years after the deadline (e.g. you have until April 15, 2009 to file a return for 2005). There is no penalty for filing your taxes late if it is the government that owes you money.

Tax packages for previous years can be found easily on the IRS website, www.irs.gov. To download the appropriate package, simply enter “tax packages” into the search bar. While on the site, don’t forget to download any income forms you may be missing, or records of deductible expenses. Employers, student loan providers and charitable organizations all submit a copy of your receipts to the government, so if you’re missing any of these you can still complete you taxes.

Of course, not filing your taxes is not the only way that you could miss out on your refund. A large portion of unclaimed tax refunds are due to the government’s inability to locate you. According to officials with the IRS, the majority of these unclaimed funds are due to people not providing current addresses to the government.

This is so prevalent, in fact, that the government has set up a website specifically for finding tax refunds that have missed you. If you believe that you are owed a refund, but have not received it, check out www.wheresmyrebate.com. To be able to use the Where’s My Rebate service you will need your tax return handy. The site asks for your social security number, your marital status and the amount of your refund as calculated on your return. Additionally, you can contact the IRS directly and speak to one of their representatives to find out if you are owed any monies. A simple phone call seems a small inconvenience to make a few hundred dollars.

Simple, you’ve done some minor financial housekeeping and as your reward you should get at least a few hundred dollars from the government. I personally love when they pay me money, as I’m sure you do. Enjoy and don’t spend it all in one place.