The IRS said Monday it is holding onto nearly $1.5 billion in tax refunds for an estimated 1.5 million people who have not yet filed their 2018 tax returns, and there's only about three weeks left to collect.
The deadline to get those delinquent 1040s to the IRS for most taxpayers is April 18. Those living in Maine and Massachusetts have until April 19.
"By law, there's only a three-year window to claim these refunds, which closes with this year's April tax deadline," IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement. "We want to help people get these refunds, but they need to file a 2018 tax return before this critical deadline."
The median amount owed to taxpayers who haven't filed their returns is $813, according to IRS estimates. That means half of those refunds will be more and half will be less than $813.
The state with the highest potential median refund is Alaska at $969. The lowest is Idaho at $686.
In addition, some of those who did not file a 2018 return could be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which was worth up to $6,431 for that tax year. The EITC income thresholds for 2018 were as follows:
- $49,194 ($54,884 if married filing jointly) for those with three or more qualifying children
- $45,802 ($51,492 if married filing jointly) for people with two qualifying children
- $40,320 ($46,010 if married filing jointly) for those with one qualifying child, and
- $15,270 ($20,950 if married filing jointly) for people without qualifying children.
Forms 1040s, 1040-As and 1040-EZs for 2018 can be found on IRS.gov.
Those who are missing W-2s or other income forms and who cannot get them from employers, banks or other payers can use the IRS Get Transcript Online tool.