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 (excluding 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 properly address, mail and postmark your tax return by April 15th 2016  to claim your refund.

• The IRS may hold your 2012 refund if you have not filed tax returns for 2013 and 2014. The U.S. Treasury will apply