IRS ready to pay a billion in 2008 refunds--file by April 17, 2012

Taxpayers who didn't file a tax return for 2008 may be missing out on a good bit of money.  The IRS calculates that about a billion dollars is due to taxpayers who haven't filed returns.  See IR-2012-26.  The IRS indicates that half the returns may be eligible for refunds of $637 or more.  In addition to tax refunds, taxpayers who haven't filed may be missing out on the Earned Income Tax Credit.  Refunds of course may be applied to unpaid amounts due to the IRS or for child support or unpaid federal student loans.  They may also be held pending filing of later years' tax returns.   But to get the refund, taxpayers must file those 2008 returns no later than April 17, 2012.

 Some people may not have filed because they had too little income to require filing a tax return even though they had taxes withheld from their wages or made quarterly estimated payments. In cases where a return was not filed, the law provides most taxpayers with a three-year window of opportunity for claiming a refund. If no return is filed to claim a refund within three years, the money becomes property of the U.S. Treasury.

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  Current and prior year tax forms and instructions are available on the Forms and Publications page of IRS.gov or by calling toll-free 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676). Taxpayers who are missing Forms W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 for 2008, 2009 or 2010 should request copies from their employer, bank or other payer. If these efforts are unsuccessful, taxpayers can get a free transcript showing information from these year-end documents by ordering it on IRS.gov, filing Form 4506-T, or by calling 800-908-9946.

To help people in this situation, the IRS offers YouTube Videos:  Haven't Filed a Tax Return in Years?: English | Spanish | ASL

One assumes that most of these unfiled returns are from people who had very little earned income and may not realize that they are due a refund of amounts withheld.  Remind anyone you know who may be in that situation.  Odds are that those hundreds of dollars could come in handy for a good many of the taxpayers who haven't filed yet.