The IRS says an estimated $1 billion in tax refunds from the 2021 tax year may become the property of the U.S. Treasury if over 1.1 million Americans don’t take action soon.
The refunds belong to those who did not file their Form 1040 Federal Income Tax Return for the 2021 tax year (meaning the taxes were filed in April 2022).
According to the IRS, the median tax refund is $781, not including any applicable credits. In California, more than 116,000 people are owed a total of $922,299,600, with a median of $600.
The searchable table below shows the number of people per state who have yet to file their federal income tax return for the 2021 tax year and the median potential refund for each state.
Because Americans typically have three years to file and claim tax refunds, the deadline to claim these payments is April 15, 2025. The only way to make your claim is by filing your tax year 2021 return.
Failing to claim your refund could also leave you without the Earned Income Tax Credit you qualified for in 2021. The IRS reports that, at the time, the thresholds for the EITC were:
- $51,464 ($57,414 if married filing jointly) for those with three or more qualifying children
- $47,915 ($53,865 if married filing jointly) for people with two qualifying children
- $42,158 ($48,108 if married filing jointly) for those with one qualifying child
- $21,430 ($27,380 if married filing jointly) for people without qualifying children
The EITC was worth as much as $6,728 for the 2021 tax year.
Even if you apply for your 2021 tax refund before the April 15 deadline, it may be withheld if you have not yet filed tax returns for the 2022 and 2023 tax years, the IRS warns. If you owe the IRS or a state tax agency or have unpaid child support or other federal debts (like student loans), your refund will be applied to them first.
The IRS recommends collecting any 2021 tax documents — Forms W-2, 1099 or 5498, for example — before filing your federal tax return.
You can access tax records and transcripts using the IRS’s Individual Online Account or request a tax return or account transcript via mail using the Get Transcript by Mail tool. More details can be found on the IRS’s website.
The deadline to file your 2024 taxes is April 15 this year.
