While you’re worrying about this year’s tax bill, the IRS is casually sitting on $1 billion of YOUR money from 2021 that’s about to become THEIR money permanently.
The IRS has announced that over 1.1 million Americans have unclaimed tax refunds from 2021 totaling more than $1 billion. These refunds, with a median value of $781, will become property of the U.S. Treasury if not claimed by the April 15 deadline. Taxpayers only have a three-year window to file and claim these refunds, after which the government gets to keep your money. Many of these unclaimed refunds include substantial credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit, which was worth up to $6,728 for 2021.
Your Tax Refund is About to Become Government Property
Isn’t it just like the government to take your money and then make YOU jump through hoops to get it back? Now they’re about to permanently confiscate $1 billion in unclaimed refunds from hardworking Americans. This isn’t pocket change we’re talking about – it’s $781 on average per taxpayer, with some states like Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island seeing average refunds over $900. And yet, the IRS gives you just three years to claim what’s rightfully yours before they get to keep it forever. How generous of them!
What’s particularly infuriating about this situation is that the IRS knows exactly who these refunds belong to. They have all your information. They could easily send you a check. But instead, they’re counting on you forgetting or being too busy to file that 2021 return so they can permanently add your money to their coffers. And we wonder why Americans don’t trust the government with their finances!
Missing Out on Thousands in Tax Credits
The stakes are actually much higher than just the withholding refunds. Many taxpayers don’t realize they’re leaving significant money on the table in the form of tax credits, particularly the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). For 2021, this credit alone was worth up to $6,728 for families with qualifying children. That’s real money that could make a significant difference in people’s lives during these times of crushing inflation.
Of course, the IRS has the audacity to warn people about these unclaimed credits while simultaneously making the tax code so obscenely complicated that the average American needs professional help just to understand what they qualify for. It’s a perfect racket – create a system so complex that people inevitably make mistakes or miss opportunities, then shrug your shoulders when billions of dollars go unclaimed and eventually revert to government coffers.
The Government’s Tax Return Catch-22
Here’s where the IRS really shows its true colors. Even if you try to claim your 2021 refund before the deadline, they might still hold it hostage if you haven’t filed returns for 2022 and 2023. That’s right – they won’t give you the money they owe you unless you’ve filed other returns that might result in you owing them money. How convenient! And if you have any outstanding debts like unpaid taxes or child support, they’ll simply confiscate your refund anyway.
“NEXSTAR — The IRS says an estimated $1 billion in tax refunds from the 2021 tax year may become the property of the U.S. Treasury if over 1.1 million Americans don’t take action soon.” – NEXSTAR
The bureaucratic maze they’ve created to “help” you retrieve missing documents is just another layer of government inefficiency. Need a past W-2? You can request a “wage and income transcript,” but be prepared to wait “several weeks.” Need past tax forms? Go hunt through the IRS website and good luck figuring out which version you need. It’s almost as if they’ve designed the entire system to discourage people from claiming what’s rightfully theirs.
Time to Claim What’s Yours
While I’d love to continue ranting about government inefficiency and overreach, the practical reality is that you have until April 15th to claim money that’s legitimately yours. Don’t let the government keep what you’ve earned through their bizarre “finders keepers” policy after three years. The same government that would hunt you down relentlessly if you were late paying them is perfectly content to keep your overpayments if you don’t ask for them back in time.
“Many low- and moderate-income workers may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). For 2021, the EITC was worth as much as $6,728 for taxpayers with qualifying children” – IRS
The bottom line is simple: check if you’re one of the 1.1 million Americans with unclaimed 2021 tax refunds. File that return before April 15th. Don’t let your hard-earned money become yet another contribution to a bloated federal government that already takes far too much from hardworking Americans. After all, in these times of record inflation caused by reckless government spending, every dollar back in your pocket instead of Washington’s is a small victory for fiscal sanity.
