What bill would you pay with an extra $750 or $850?
Sure, we’re not talking about cashing a billion-dollar winning lottery ticket. But the IRS says more than 1.1 million people nationwide are owed some decent dough.
If you’re one of those people, all you have to do is file a 2021 federal income tax return by April 15.
Taxpayers have roughly one month left now to claim that 2021 refund.
The Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday that $1.025 billion in federal income tax refunds remain unclaimed by taxpayers who have not filed their Form 1040 for the 2021 tax year.
The estimate for unclaimed refunds owed is based on taxes that were withheld from paychecks or paid during 2021.
States with a high unclaimed median refund for 2021 include Massachusetts, $936; Rhode Island, $946; Pennsylvania, $993; and New York, with a median unclaimed refund of $995 for the 2021 tax year.
The IRS estimates the midpoint for the potential refunds nationwide for 2021 to be $781 — that is, half of the refunds are more than $781 and half are less. The median is the same in Colorado and North Dakota.
The actual refund amount, the IRS notes, will vary based on a household’s tax situation.
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Many people could be owed more money because this estimate does not include any money from the recovery rebate credit that might apply to some tax filers on a 2021 return or cover other possible tax credits, such as the earned income tax credit, for those who qualify.
Filing a 2021 federal income tax refund could be key for many people, especially if they already didn’t collect a stimulus payment.
The recovery rebate credit amounted to up to $1,400 per person when claimed on 2021 federal income tax returns. Or it was up to $2,800 for a married couple filing jointly. The credit also would apply to all qualifying dependents claimed on a tax return.
A single person with no dependents could have received a maximum credit of $1,400.
Married taxpayers who filed a joint return that claimed two qualifying dependents on the 2021 return could have qualified for up to $5,600.
To be sure, many people might have already received the stimulus money that they were owed, as the IRS issued much of that cash automatically.
Back in the spring of 2021, the IRS began sending these stimulus payments in advance based on information from your 2020 or 2019 tax return. Many people received thousands of dollars in stimulus money roughly four years ago based on information the IRS had at that time.
