IRS Warns Taxpayers They Could Lose Refunds Totaling $1.4 Billion by Failing to File Their 2015 Federal Income Tax Soon

IRS announced that unclaimed income tax refunds totaling almost $1.4 billion may be waiting for an estimated 1.2 million taxpayers who did not file a 2015 Form 1040 federal income tax return. Of those numbers, the IRS estimates that about 45,800 Illinoisans have failed to file to claim their refunds totaling about $54,804,000.00 for 2015.

To collect the money, these taxpayers must file their 2015 tax returns with the IRS no later than this year's tax deadline, Monday, April 15, 2019, except for taxpayers in Maine and Massachusetts, who have until April 17, 2019.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said, "We’re trying to connect over a million people with their share of $1.4 billion in potentially unclaimed refunds for 2015…Students, part-time workers and many others may have overlooked filing for 2015. And there’s no penalty for filing a late return if you’re due a refund.”

In cases where a federal income tax return was not filed, the law provides most taxpayers with a three-year window to claim a tax refund. If they do not file a tax return within those three years, the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury. For 2015 tax returns, the window closes April 15, 2019, for most taxpayers. The law requires taxpayers to properly address, mail, and ensure the tax return is postmarked by that date.

The IRS reminds taxpayers seeking a 2015 tax refund that their checks may be held if they have not filed tax returns for 2016 and 2017. In addition, the refund will be applied to any amounts still owed to the IRS or a state tax agency and may be used to offset unpaid child support or past due federal debts, such as student loans.

Taxpayers who are missing Forms W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 for the years 2015, 2016 or 2017 should request copies from their employer, bank or other payer. Taxpayers who are unable to get missing forms from their employer or other payer can order a free wage and income transcript at IRS.gov using the Get Transcript Online tool. Alternatively, they can file Form 4506-T to request a wage and income transcript. A wage and income transcript shows data from information returns received by the IRS, such as Forms W-2, 1099, 1098, Form 5498 and IRA contribution information. Taxpayers can use the information from the transcript to file their tax return.

If you would like more details, please do not hesitate to call our office. Our office has been successful in helping taxpayers with IRS and IDOR collection problems for over 27 years. If you have a tax problem please contact me at (847) 705-9698 or thughes@lavellelaw.com and find out how we can help you or your client in front of IRS collections.