U.S. Taxpayers Owed Nearly $760 Million in Unclaimed 2010 Refunds

By Paul Ausick Updated Apr 28, 9:11AM EDT · Published Mar 19, 1:55PM EDT

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Paying Taxes

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service announced Wednesday that it owes about 919,000 U.S. taxpayers nearly $760 million in refunds for the 2010 tax year. To get what they are owed, all these taxpayers need to do is file a 2010 tax return by April 15, 2014. The IRS estimates that half the potential refunds total more than $571.

The overpayments accrue for a variety of reasons, but primarily it is people who do not file because they had too little income to require a return. These non-filers then leave money on the table that was withheld from their wages or paid in estimated quarterly tax payments. If the IRS owes you a refund, there is no late filing penalty. After all, you just lent money to Uncle Sam interest free for three years. And if you do not ask for it back, the IRS turns it over to the U.S. Treasury.

The IRS also points out that non-filers could lose more than just the money they paid in. The Earned Income Tax Credit for 2010 could be worth as much as $5,666, depending on a person’s filing status and income.

More than 80,000 residents of Texas are owed about $72 million, or an average of $623 per person. Some 86,000 California residents are owed nearly $70 million, or an average of $519 per person, and more than 57,000 New York residents are owed a total of nearly $51 million, or $623 per person.

An estimated 2,200 Wyoming residents are owed slightly more than $2 million, or $648 each. That is the highest estimated average refund among all 50 states.

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.