The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the US has said around $1.2bn in federal tax refunds for the tax year 2022 remains unclaimed.
Taxpayers have until 15 April to file a 2022 federal income tax return and receive any refund due.
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The agency estimated that these unclaimed refunds relate to more than 1.3 million people who have not filed their Form 1040.
It put the median refund at $686, meaning half of refunds are higher. The estimate does not include credits that may be available.
Federal rules generally give taxpayers three years to file a return and claim a refund. If a return is not filed within that period, the refund becomes the property of the US Treasury.
The IRS said that taxpayers who have not filed may also miss out on other benefits. It noted that some low and moderate-income workers could qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for 2022.
The EITC was worth up to $6,935 for taxpayers with qualifying children.
The IRS also said that 2022 refunds may be held if taxpayers have not filed returns for 2023 and 2024. It added that any 2022 refund can be applied to outstanding amounts owed to the IRS or a state tax agency.
Despite the time elapsed since the 2022 tax year, the IRS said taxpayers can still obtain the records needed to file the return.
It advised people without Forms W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 for 2022, 2023 or 2024 to request copies from employers, banks or other payers.
Taxpayers can also use Get Transcript Online at IRS.gov to obtain a free wage and income transcript.
As an alternative, they can submit Form 4506-T to request a wage and income transcript by mail, although the IRS noted that this can take several weeks.
