Time Expiring to Claim Refunds for 2012 Tax Returns
Deadline to Claim Your Refund
If you did not file a tax return for 2012, you may be one of over 1,000,000 taxpayers who may be due a refund from that year. The deadline for you to claim a refund, on a tax return in which one was owed to you, is 3 years from its due date (including extensions). For example, if you were due a refund on your 2012 Income Tax Return (which was due April 15th 2013), you have until April 15th 2016 to claim it. If you don’t file a claim for a refund within three years, the money becomes property of the U.S. Treasury.
Note, there are no interest and penalties for failing to file a return in which a refund was owed. However, if you have a balance due, those items can be pretty stiff as outlined in this post.
Here are some of the facts you need to know about 2012 unclaimed refunds:
- The unclaimed refunds apply to those who didn’t file a federal income tax return for 2012.
- Some people, such as students, part-time workers or seasonal employees may not have filed because they thought they had too little income to require filing a tax return. However, if you did not have a filing requirement, you may still have a refund waiting if you had taxes withheld from your wages. A refund could also apply if a taxpayer qualified for certain tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.
- The law requires that you prope