How to Claim Your Unclaimed Federal Government Tax Money

As tax day approaches, the Federal Government actually has news that some tax payers may look forward to hearing. The IRS has stated that they have upwards of a billion USD in tax refunds from 2007-2009 that still remain unclaimed.

Regina Lewis, the Consumer Advisor for AOL, stated, “We talked to the IRS about the numbers, and for half the people they expect them to get $640 or more. So not chump change.”

“There’s a lot of reasons people don’t file, not all negligent,” Lewis said. “The IRS cites a couple: One, if you made less than $9,000, you don’t have to. They told you, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. And that’s the reason the funds are there. Number two, maybe you didn’t know to take advantage of the stimulus package that was offered in 2007. And number three, maybe you’re a small business, you pay quarterly and you think, ‘I’m all squared away with the government,’ and so you don’t do the annual version.”

Lewis goes on to explain some of the reasons for how this type of thing occurs. Firstly, some people simply do not file. For example, for those individuals making less than $9,000 in the calendar year, there is not a requirement to file and, therefore, they decide to forgo the task.

Secondly, the 2007 stimulus package still remains unclaimed due to the lack of filing. Finally, for those self employed individuals or small business who pay their taxes quarterly, there is a negligence to file the annual return thinking that their obligation is met.

This year, funds can be reclaimed as far back as 2007. In order to initiate the process, either go to the IRS website, at IRS.gov or, if you use a software like Turbo Tax, you can still purchase the versions for those years. The versions from the prior years are still being sold due to all the amended returns that can still be done.

The requirements for successfully reclaiming any monies are to, firstly, have your W-2 forms in hand for the year in which you believe you have unclaimed money and, secondly, be current with any subsequent year.

Unclaimed funds can be claimed by going back three years. Failure to do so will result in the money becoming the property of the U.S. Treasury.

Do you think that Obama will serve another term starting in 2012?
Choose Yes or No below to get a $1000 Best Buy Gift Card:

Short URL: http://newsquestonline.com/?p=5080

Posted by Brett Ackerman on Apr 5 2011. Filed under Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.