Today the IRS reported that over $1.1 Billion still has yet to be returned to taxpayers from tax year 2007 because those individuals failed to file a Federal tax return. There are tax consequences for not filing a tax return, and one of them is the fact that if you do not file a tax return after three years, your refund will be forfeited to the Internal Revenue Service or US Treasury. So it is generally always a good idea to file a tax return.
The IRS states that over $1.1 billion is due to approximately 1,100,000 people and that about 50% of the refunds are worth $640 and up! This could surely help taxpayers in this lackluster economy.
Sometimes taxpayers do not file a tax return because they did not make have enough income, they don’t owe any taxes, or they flat out simply forgot. You want to make sure you file a tax return because many credits are refundable, which means that even if you do not have any tax liabilities, you can still get money back from the IRS.
If you want to file your tax return from 2007 in order to obtain a refund you believe you forgot about, then you must file a tax return from 2008 and 2009, otherwise, the IRS will not send you out a check. To get your return filed, you can work with a licensed tax preparer, accountant, or you can do try to do it yourself which is possible especially if your return is simple and doesn’t have a tremendous amount of deductions and credits. Be sure if you take the task on yourself, to get the 1040 from the particular year you forgot to file. Be sure to find all relevant tax docs such as W2(s), 1098(s), 1099(s) because you will need these even if you work with a tax professional. Contact your employer or financial institution if you cannot find them or by contacting the IRS or requesting this information using Form 4506-T.