Uncle Sam May Owe You a Tax Refund

Here's some great news on tax refunds from Bankrate:

The IRS owes 84,000 taxpayers $73 million in refunds -- for an average $871. That's the average amount of the tax-refund checks returned to the Internal Revenue Service because they were undeliverable. Of course, that's an average. Your unclaimed check might be less, but then again, it could be more.

Here are the two main points:

The IRS has added a refund locator to its Web site for filers who think that one of the undeliverable checks is theirs. To use it, you must enter your Social Security number, filing status and the amount of the refund shown on your tax return. If the money has come back to the IRS, the filer will get instructions on how to resolve the problem and get the correct refund.

Executors should explore whether a refund check might be involved in an estate's settlement.

Wow! Someone's going to be happy when they get this money. But how did it get lost in the first place -- are people that bad at managing their money? Don't you think that if you submitted a return and were owed a $1,000 refund that you'd keep track of where it was and make sure you got it no matter what? I know I would!

Still, it's way better news than much of the tax-related discussion out there today (like Keeping a Bigger Piece).

For more on lowering/managing your taxes, check out these posts:

• Property Tax Tip
• 5 Audit Red Flags
• Work Hard, Earn Less?

Comments

[Joseph Mearse]

As of last year the IRS was to give me a check for 1500 dollars and this check has not come as of yet.

Thanks,
Joe Mearse

[barton perry marzolf jr]

do i have any tax money for old refunds