Death and taxes may be inevitable, but so is the deadline for claiming about $29 million in tax refunds that many Georgians are about to miss out on.
It’s April 18.
“We estimate that the median unclaimed refund for tax-year 2012 in Georgia is $642,” said IRS Spokesman Mark Green. “Time is running out if you want to get your refund.”
According to the IRS, about 34,300 taxpayers in the state are due refunds because they never filed income tax returns for 2012, possibly because they didn't earn enough income to owe any taxes.
But here’s the rub: taxes were still withheld from the paychecks of many of those folks, meaning they’re due a refund. But in order to claim the money, they still have to file a tax return, generally within three years of the tax return’s original due date.
For income earned in 2012, the original deadline to file a return was April 15, 2013. The final deadline to file a tax return for 2012 is April 18 of this year. There is no late-filing penalty for tax returns that are due a refund.
Tax refunds typically become the U.S. Treasury’s property if they are not claimed within three years.
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