There is no denying it, you work very hard for your money. However, every pay check you watch as the government funnels away a good percentage of it. The good news is, every year the IRS announces that it is holding unclaimed tax refunds. Taxpayers have a limited time to claim the $2 billion dollars the IRS is currently holding. Believe it or not, approximately 1.7 million Americans are due refunds out of this large amount of money. Make sure you are not just letting the government have what’s owed to you.

One group of taxpayers that almost always has a large percentage of non-filers is military personnel. Obviously, it is a bit hard to file from Afghanistan. Members of the military that failed to file are owed an average of $749 per taxpayer. That is way too much money to just simply let the government keep.

Given the amount of the tax refund pool, one might wonder how so many people could have failed to claim their refunds. The answer can be found in a couple of areas.

  • Self-employed people who overpaid certain quarterly taxes.
  • People who failed to file returns because they didn’t earn a lot.
  • People who moved and didn’t tell the IRS. Tax refunds are not forwarded in the mail.
  • People who switched jobs and didn’t calculate the taxes paid by both employers.
  • People who can claim the earned income tax credit.

If you fall into one of the above categories, do not wait any longer to file your tax returns and remember to file an extension if necessary.

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