Are you owed a tax refund from the IRS? Clock is ticking in Florida to claim $61 million

Miami Herald

13-03-2025

Nearly 70,000 people in Florida have left more than $61 million worth of unclaimed tax refunds on the table.
Want your share of that money to move from the Internal Revenue Service into your bank account?
Now is the time to file your 2021 taxes, the IRS urges. You've got a month to file and claim your dough if you've ignored your 2021 tax return.
But wait. We're in 2025 and supposed to be filing Form 1040 Federal Income Tax Return based on your 2024 income, right?
That's true. But under U.S. law, taxpayers usually have three years to file and claim their tax refunds. If they don't file within three years, the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury, according to the IRS. If you owe money, you don't have that kind of extra time to file.
So, April 15, 2025,marks the third and final year you can take care of those 2021 taxes you may have let slide.
April 15 is also the deadline to file your current taxes for the 2024 year — especially if you owe money.
What's on the line?
According to the IRS, as of March 11, over 1.1 million people across the nation have unclaimed refunds for tax year 2021 as the April 15 deadline looms to submit their tax returns. The total amount of unclaimed refunds is more than $1 billion.
The median potential refund nationwide is $781 for 2021.
How Florida fares
Florida, with 69,800 individuals who did not file, is just below the median potential refund at $721.
New Yorkers — 73,000 of them — left the most money in the IRS till: $995.
California's 116,300 potentially eligible non-filers have the least amount for its residents to claim from 2021: $600 in median potential left unclaimed.
What you should do
Need to file a 2021 tax return? Here are some suggestions from the IRS on securing past documents you'll need.
▪ Create or log-in to the IRS Individual Online Account. You can view, download or print tax records by logging in to the Individual Online Account link at IRS.gov. You can find transcripts of past tax returns, tax account information, wage and income statements and verification of non-filing letters.
▪ Request copies of these key documents from the 2021 tax year. These would be Forms W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 for the years 2021, 2022 or 2023. You can request copies from your employer, bank or other people or companies that paid you that year.
▪ Get transcript by mail: Taxpayers who are unable to get some or all of those missing forms mentioned above from their employer or other payers and can't access their Individual Online Account can get a tax return or tax account transcript mailed to them by using Get Transcript by Mail on IRS.gov. Taxpayers can also request a transcript be mailed to them by calling the automated phone transcript service at 800-908-9946.
▪ Request a wage and income transcript: Another option is for people to file Form 4506-T with the IRS to request a wage and income transcript.
'A wage and income transcript shows data from information returns received by the IRS, such as Forms W-2, 1099, 1098, Form 5498 and IRA contribution information,' the IRS says. Taxpayers can use the information from the wage and income transcript to file their tax return.
▪ Act now. If you're going the written request route, the process can take several weeks. Remember: April 15 is coming up fast. Try the other options first.
Other reasons to file
You may be missing out on more than the potential refund on taxes withheld or paid during 2021 if you didn't file.
'Many low- and moderate-income workers may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit,' the IRS said. For 2021, the EITC was worth as much as $6,728 for taxpayers with qualifying children. The EITC helps individuals and families whose incomes are below certain thresholds.
According to the IRS, the thresholds for 2021 were:
▪ $51,464 ($57,414 if married filing jointly) for those with three or more qualifying children;
▪ $47,915 ($53,865 if married filing jointly) for people with two qualifying children;
▪ $42,158 ($48,108 if married filing jointly) for those with one qualifying child;
▪ $21,430 ($27,380 if married filing jointly) for people without qualifying children.
Potential stumbling blocks
If you are filing a 2021 tax refund now, your refunds could be held if you didn't file tax returns for 2022 and 2023 and could have if you were working or being paid.
The IRS also notes that any refund amount for 2021 will be applied to amounts still owed to the IRS or a state tax agency and may be used to offset unpaid child support or other past due federal debts such as student loans.