The IRS is warning taxpayers that they may be leaving more than $1 billion on the table.
The federal tax collector said Monday that roughly 940,000 people in the U.S. have until May 17 to submit tax returns for unclaimed refunds for tax year 2020, which total more than $1 billion nationwide.
The average median refund is $932 for 2020. Texas (93,400), California (88,200), Florida (53,200) and New York (51,400) have the largest number of people potentially eligible for these refunds.
IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel says in a statement, “We want taxpayers to claim these refunds, but time is running out for people who may have overlooked or forgotten about these refunds. There’s a May 17 deadline to file these returns, so taxpayers should start soon to make sure they don’t miss out.”
For people who need to file a return, the IRS advises taxpayers to request their W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 forms from their employer or bank—or order a free wage and income transcript using the “Get Transcript Online” tool at IRS.gov.
Taxpayers typically have three years to file and claim tax refunds, otherwise the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury.
