IRS has $1.5 billion in unclaimed 2016 tax refunds that must be claimed by July 15
If you haven't claimed your 2016 federal tax refund, you're running out of time to get your share of money that will soon become property of the U.S. Treasury.
The Internal Revenue Service reminded taxpayers Wednesday that the three-year window to file for tax year 2016 closes after July 15. The agency estimated that it owes 1.4 million people a total of more than $1.5 billion from that tax year.
The midpoint for 2016 refunds is $861, meaning that half of refunds are more than $861 and half are less.
There is no penalty for filing late as long as a refund is involved, the IRS said, but the 2016 refund could be held for taxpayers who have not yet filed returns for subsequent years. A refund could also be applied to outstanding debts to the IRS or other state or federal agencies.
The 2016 deadline was pushed to July 15 earlier this year when Tax Day was pushed back three months in response to growing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The IRS said earlier this week that it was not planning to push the tax deadline any further.
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