Thousands of Californians could be eligible for 2019 tax refunds. Are you one of them?
Could you have overlooked hundreds of dollars in federal income tax refunds that you are legitimately owed?
The Internal Revenue Service says that about 144,700 Californians have yet to claim refunds owed them from 2019.
Taxpayers have until July 17 to claim the money. The median refund available to Californians is estimated to be $856. That means half the refunds are more than that amount and half are less.
IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel figured that the 2019 funds were sometimes overlooked because they involved returns usually filed as the COVID-19 pandemic was gripping the country in 2020.
The pandemic put the brakes on most activities in mid-March, just as Washington was quickly offering COVID-related economic relief and people were preparing their tax returns. The filing deadline that year was extended until mid-July.
“With the pandemic taking place when the 2019 tax returns were originally due, people faced extremely unusual situations. People may have simply forgotten about tax refunds with the deadline that year postponed all the way into July,” Werfel said in a statement.
He said that the IRS often sees students, part-time workers and others with little income overlook filing a tax return and remain unaware they could be owed a refund.
Taxpayers usually have three years to file and claim refunds. If they don’t, the federal government keeps the money.
IRS estimated that about $141.8 million in unclaimed refunds await California taxpayers. Nationally, about $1.5 billion has yet to be claimed.
The 2019 refund could be held back, though, if someone has not filed a 2020 or 2021 tax return. And the IRS could take the refund and apply it to amounts still owed to the state or federal government.
The government could also make sure the money could be used to pay unpaid child support or to repay debts to the government for student loans.
How to seek a refund
Forms needed to file are available on the Forms, Instructions & Publications page or by calling toll-free 800-829-3676. Consumers can also look at guidance available on the IRS’ website.
IRS said in a news release that there are different ways people can obtain the information they may need to get their 2019 refund. The agency said taxpayers should begin the process now.
IRS’ advice on how to proceed
▪ Request copies of important documents: Taxpayers who are missing Forms W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 for the years 2019, 2020 or 2021 can request copies from their employer, financial institution or others.
▪ Use Get Transcript Online at irs.gov. Taxpayers who are unable to get those missing forms from their employer or other payers can order a free wage and income transcript at irs.gov using the Get Transcript Online tool. IRS says that for many taxpayers, this is by far the quickest and easiest option.
▪ Request a transcript. Use Form 4506-T with the IRS to request a “wage and income transcript.”
The transcript shows data from other returns received by the IRS, such as Forms W-2, 1099, 1098, Form 5498 and IRA contribution information. Taxpayers can use the information from the transcript to file their tax return.
Taxpayers in most of the country must file their 2022 federal income tax returns by the end of Tuesday. In California, because of the weather-related problems this winter and spring, the deadline for federal and state returns in most counties has been extended until Oct. 16.
This story was originally published April 18, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
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