In a tax season when many have complained about diminished or disappearing refunds, the Internal Revenue Season announced Wednesday 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 1040 for 2015.
The IRS estimates the midpoint for the potential refunds for 2015 is $879.
To collect, these taxpayers must file their 2015 federal returns no later than this year’s tax deadline, April 15. Taxpayers in Maine and Massachusetts have until April 17.
“Students, part-time workers and many others may have overlooked filing for 2015,” said IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig in a statement.
Taxpayers seeking a 2015 tax refund may have their checks 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.
State-by-state estimates of individuals who may be due 2015 income tax refunds
State or district Estimated no. of individuals Median potential refund Total potential refunds* Arizona 27,300 $780 $29,486,000 Arkansas 11,200 $824 $12,000,000 California 111,200 $832 $124,397,000 Colorado 23,500 $824 $26,173,000 Connecticut 12,700 $952 $15,981,000 Delaware 4,800 $886 $5,570,000 District of Columbia 3,400 $918 $4,219,000 Florida 84,000 $887 $95,697,000 Georgia 41,100 $799 $44,754,000 Hawaii 7,000 $935 $8,523,000 Idaho 5,200 $712 $5,209,000 Illinois 45,800 $924 $54,804,000 Indiana 26,900 $895 $30,670,000 Iowa 12,300 $913 $13,737,000 Kansas 12,700 $874 $14,283,000 Kentucky 15,700 $874 $17,246,000 Louisiana 22,600 $884 $26,759,000 Maine 4,700 $806 $4,820,000 Maryland 25,700 $897 $31,274,000 Massachusetts 26,100 $973 $32,579,000 Michigan 39,700 $873 $45,535,000 Minnesota 18,000 $813 $19,222,000 Mississippi 11,200 $814 $12,032,000 Missouri 27,000 $825 $29,008,000 Montana 4,100 $831 $4,521,000 Nebraska 6,300 $870 $6,923,000 Nevada 13,700 $867 $15,728,000 New Hampshire 5,500 $976 $6,859,000 New Jersey 33,100 $960 $41,353,000 New Mexico 8,600 $860 $9,950,000 New York 62,500 $964 $77,662,000 North Carolina 37,100 $831 $39,955,000 North Dakota 3,700 $980 $4,493,000 Ohio 43,600 $852 $47,428,000 Oklahoma 19,100 $886 $22,006,000 Oregon 17,900 $779 $19,118,000 Pennsylvania 46,000 $934 $53,541,000 Rhode Island 3,300 $949 $4,025,000 South Carolina 14,600 $777 $15,701,000 South Dakota 3,300 $928 $3,646,000 Tennessee 24,000 $853 $25,976,000 Texas 129,300 $929 $158,244,000 Utah 9,300 $791 $9,859,000 Vermont 2,200 $876 $2,388,000 Virginia 32,900 $867 $38,441,000 Washington 32,400 $939 $40,142,000 West Virginia 5,900 $948 $6,979,000 Wisconsin 16,100 $787 $16,532,000 Wyoming 3,300 $958 $3,964,000 Totals 1,197,600 $879 $1,379,412,000
*Excluding credits
