Here’s how Illinois residents can claim $44M in unclaimed tax refunds

WASHINGTON D.C. (WTVO) — The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced Tuesday that over 1.1 million people have unclaimed tax return refunds, including 44,500 in Illinois. A deadline is approaching to claim them before the money becomes the property of the Treasury Department.

According to IRS estimates, there are more than $1 billion in refunds unclaimed by taxpayers who have not filed their Form 1040, Federal Income Tax Return, for the 2021 tax year.

The IRS estimated the average amount of unclaimed refunds to be $781, not including the Recovery Rebate Credit or other credits.

In Illinois, the IRS estimated 44,500 individuals were owed a total of $42,482,800, a median potential refund of $892.

By law, taxpayers have three years to file and claim their tax returns. After that, the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury Department.

Taxpayers have until April 15th to file their taxes and claim their refund.

The IRS also said that low-and-moderate income workers could be eligible for the 2021 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), worth as much as $6,728 for taxpayers with qualifying children.

The thresholds for the EITC in 2021 were:

• $51,464 ($57,414 if married filing jointly) for those with three or more qualifying children;
• $47,915 ($53,865 if married filing jointly) for people with two qualifying children;
• $42,158 ($48,108 if married filing jointly) for those with one qualifying child, and;
• $21,430 ($27,380 if married filing jointly) for people without qualifying children.

Current and prior-year tax forms can be found on the IRS website.