Tax Refunds

File Your Taxes: You May Have Unclaimed Refunds Waiting

Written by TurboTax Blog Team
Published Apr 2, 2024 - [Updated Apr 9, 2024]
4 min read
Reviewed by Lisa Greene-Lewis, CPA and tax expert for TurboTax

Did you know that the IRS reports over 1 billion dollars in unclaimed tax refunds every year? That’s right, more than a billion dollars of money that is owed to taxpayers across the country is reported by the IRS every year and tax filers who didn’t file their 2020 tax returns yet have until May 17, 2024 to file their 2020 tax returns. How did this happen?

In most cases, refunds go unclaimed because taxpayers who don’t meet the IRS income threshold requirement to file a tax return are actually entitled to a tax refund, but since they never file a return, they can’t claim that money.

Another portion of unclaimed tax refunds that the IRS may be holding onto may include the Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. This is a tax credit, nota deduction, that’s available to many lower to moderate income workers, and this credit often goes unclaimed. The maximum credit for EITC for 2020 was worth as much as $6,660.

If this sounds like you, it’s time to get to work so can you claim what’s rightfully yours. One thing to keep in mind is the IRS places just a three year window on claiming these past refunds. Usually, tax filers have three years from the original tax deadline to file and claim a tax refund. The deadline is also usually the April tax deadline. But for 2020 tax returns, the date was postponed to May 17, 2024, since the deadline for tax year 2020 was extended to May 17 under COVID relief. After that time lapses, the money goes to the Treasury.

The deadline to claim tax year 2020 refunds (the tax return you typically would have filed in 2021) is May 17, 2024. You’ll also want to note that if you want to claim a refund from two or three years ago, you’ll likely need to make sure all subsequent year tax returns have been filed in order for the funds to be released. If you haven’t filed a 2020 tax return, you should quickly file to potentially get this refund.

If you’re thinking about claiming a potential refund that may be a few years old, you will have to pull together some documentation that records your income and taxes paid throughout the year as well as deductible expenses. Coming up with W-2 and 1099 forms a few years ago may take some time. This is why it’s important to keep all tax-related documents in a safe place for at least 3-7 years.

If you can’t locate your documents needed to file your 2020 taxes, the next step would be to contact your employer or payer at the time in question and request copies of the forms. If these efforts are unsuccessful, you can get a free transcript from the IRS showing information from these year-end documents by ordering a free wage and income transcript at IRS.gov using the Get Transcript Online tool or by filing Form 4506-T to request a wage or income statement.

Keep in mind, according to IRS tax filing statistics, the average refund for 2020 was over $2,600 and the IRS estimates that half of the unclaimed refunds for 2020 are more than $932.

So, think about your situation and decide if doing a little legwork to track down documentation and filing old tax returns is worth it. You may have a refund for previous years coming your way.

If you have not filed your 2023 taxes yet and made less than the IRS income filing requirement($13,850 single, $27,700 married filing jointly, and $20,800 head of household), don’t delay filing your 2023 taxes. You may be leaving money on the table by not filing. Especially if you had federal taxes withheld from your paychecks or you are eligible for a tax credit like the Earned Income Tax Credit or education credits for students.

Don’t worry about knowing these tax rules. No matter what moves you made last year, TurboTax will make them count on your taxes. Whether you want to do your taxes yourself or have a TurboTax expert file for you, we’ll make sure you get every dollar you deserve and your biggest possible refund – guaranteed.

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13 responses to “File Your Taxes: You May Have Unclaimed Refunds Waiting”

Tonnia Blount says:

March 13, 2022 at 3:34 pm

I have used Turbo Tax since 2007 without any problems it is an awesome product if you have a problem with this software you have made a mistake using the product

Reply
Emily Patterson says:

March 24, 2015 at 1:07 am

I filed with turbo tax this year,last year,and the year before last and still waiting for my refunds..I got 1 letter from the irs for the year before last saying send copy of id,sscard,bith certificate so i did and havent got any letter ,notice or anything saying anything.What Do i do? Who do i call or website to find out whats going on with my refunds?

Reply
doright42 says:

January 29, 2015 at 2:59 am

I am disabled and have metal illness . I had a job less than five years ago but did not file taxes retire . Can I file today to get that money

Reply
doright42 says:

January 29, 2015 at 2:58 am

I’m disabled with metal illness . I had a job maybe less than five years ago but did not file my taxes because I was sick . Can I get that money today

Reply
Stan says:

August 24, 2013 at 12:13 pm

I found out one of my state check was missing for direct deposit to my account after filing with you on tax turbo so I went to unclaimed money.com and told me the amount of
$384.40 they found in my name which was my state check they went to california instead of my personal direct deposit in Massachusetts since I closed out the account at my bank and was unable to get my refund or talk to anyone on tax turbo about this would like to know if it be ever claimed again for my state check to return to me.

Reply
- TurboTax Mary Ellen says:
  
  February 4, 2014 at 10:09 am
  
  Stan,
  
  TurboTax cannot do anything about your refund after the return is filed. Only the IRS or the state can do anything with it.
  
  If you have a refund still coming to you, you will need to contact the state about it, or if it is already on the unclaimed money site, you can file a claim for it to be returned to you by going to the State’s website.
  
  Mary Ellen
  
  Reply
Mike says:

May 8, 2013 at 8:24 pm

I have been trying to get in contact with a Trubo Tax Rep. Turbo Tax advertises about how easy it is to get in contact with a Rep. This is not true. I sent an email early last month and still have not heard from a Rep. According to the State of Hawaii and California. The Turbo Tax calculations are way off. I got around $2000.00 les back on my state return that what was said I would get. I expect a Turbo Tax Rep to email me with a phone number where I can talk to a person. Since I paid for audit defense, Calif Tax return papers and efiling. Which Calif did not due because the Calif tax return was all jacked up. Turbo Tax owes me an explanation on why both my Hawaii and California tax returns were so far off. Thank you.

Reply
- TurboTaxLisa says:
  
  May 16, 2013 at 10:28 am
  
  Hi Mike,
  Please contact someone at 1.800.4.intuit. Also please see the instructions on this FAQ so you can contact someone.
  http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-answers/?state=1368725218076
  Thank you,
  Lisa Greene-Lewis
  
  Reply
wanda arbogast says:

March 18, 2013 at 5:49 pm

i have a error in my tax return that i just done and cannot find how to correct it it is in my mileage deduction for my car that i use for my work can you help me with this

Reply
Noleee says:

March 18, 2013 at 2:18 pm

Filed w/ education credits on 2/15 IRS website says still processing…finally on friday 03/15 received a letter stating that I had to resubmit the education form. Took it to the place I filed my return and they faxed it for me…now it will take another 6-8 weeks once the form is submitted.

Reply
Peter says:

March 6, 2013 at 1:52 pm

Even at $80 that still beats paying $300 😀 I <3 you turbo tax

Reply
Rebecca says:

March 4, 2013 at 7:24 am

Do NOT use this product. Turbotax advertises to do your taxes for free…it is not free. They charge you 60 $ in fees plus when they mess uo your bank account they do not notify you through email or anything, instead they take that opportunity to make even more money by charging you 20 $ more to send you a paper check. So what was suposed to be free filing is now costing me 80$ to file my taxes…becasue they messsed up.

Reply
- TurboTaxLisa says:
  
  March 4, 2013 at 2:19 pm
  
  Hi Rebecca,
  All of our information says a Free federal tax return if you are eligible and not your state unless you are eligible under TurboTax Freedom Edition. If there were any legitimate errors please contact customer service at 1.800.4.intuit so they can help you.
  
  Thank you,
  Lisa Greene-Lewis
  
  Reply