Does The IRS Owe You Money? Here’s How to Find Out and Get it Back

The standard April 15 filing deadline has passed, but a separate and equally important window is now open for millions of Americans. Tens of millions of taxpayers may be entitled to refunds or abatements of penalties and interest that the IRS assessed during the nearly 3.5-year COVID-19 federal disaster period. Most must act by July 10, 2026. That protective claim window runs independently of the normal filing calendar and represents one of the largest mass-refund opportunities in recent tax history.

Unclaimed funds also accumulate from unfiled returns where withholdings or refundable credits, like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Child Tax Credit, were never claimed. The IRS confirmed that approximately $1.2 billion in refunds remained unclaimed for the roughly 1.3 million taxpayers who did not file a 2022 Form 1040, with a median unclaimed refund of $686. The April 15, 2026 window for 2022 returns has now closed, but the same pattern applies to 2023 returns, where the deadline runs to April 15, 2027. If you suspect the IRS holds money belonging to you, the steps below explain how to find out.

The New July Deadline: Protective Claims

In Kwong v. United States, 179 Fed. Cl. 382 (Nov. 2025), Judge Molly Silfen of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims interpreted the pre-2025 version of IRC Section 7508A(d) and held that the COVID-19 disaster declaration triggered an automatic suspension of filing and payment deadlines. That suspension ran the full length of the declared disaster period, from January 20, 2020 through July 10, 2023. If the ruling holds, penalties charged for late filing, late payment, and estimated-tax underpayments during that window may be refundable. The IRS has rejected that reading, and on May 15, 2026, the Department of Justice filed a Notice of Appeal to the Federal Circuit. The issue remains unsettled and could take years to resolve.

To preserve your rights in the meantime, you may need to file Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement, by July 10, 2026. The IRS redesigned Form 843 in December 2024, so the current version is Form 843 (Rev. 12-2024), with different line numbers and checkboxes than older copies found online. Taxpayers should write “Protective Refund Claim Pursuant to Kwong Case” or similar language across the top of the form and fill in as much detail as possible. As an additional safeguard, practitioners also recommend citing P.L. 119-64 (the Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act, enacted December 26, 2025), which independently requires the IRS to treat disaster-period postponements as extensions of return deadlines for refund-lookback purposes. Citing both gives the IRS two separate legal grounds to grant relief. National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins has urged taxpayers to file proactively, noting her goal is to ensure the unaware receive the same outcome as the well-advised. Her office recommends sending the form by certified mail with return receipt requested as proof of the filing date.

What Happens to Unclaimed Refunds?

The law gives taxpayers three years to file and claim their refunds. Miss that window, and the money transfers permanently to the U.S. Treasury with no appeals available. For 2023 returns, that three-year window closes April 15, 2027. The same rule governs COVID-era penalty claims under Kwong: because the court measured the three-year lookback from the extended deadline of July 10, 2023, the window for those claims closes July 10, 2026. Tracking down missing forms and records early is worth the effort precisely because the deadlines are firm.

Does the IRS Owe You Money?

Several tools and steps can help you determine whether the IRS is holding a refund on your behalf.

• Check IRS tools. Visit the IRS website and use the “Where’s My Refund?” tool at irs.gov/refunds. You will need your Social Security Number, filing status, and exact refund amount to look up your status.
• New for 2026: The Tax Debt Help Tool. Launched on April 16, 2026, the IRS Tax Debt Help Tool is a free, anonymous self-service guide that walks you through payment resolution options, including installment agreements, temporary collection delays, and offers in compromise. It requires no Social Security Number and no account login. The IRS released the tool the day after the April 15 deadline, specifically to reach filers who discovered an unexpected balance due.
• Review Past Returns. Check your W-2s or 1099s to confirm whether taxes were withheld. For 2024, single filers with incomes under $14,600 (or $29,200 for joint filers) are not required to file, but they could still claim refunds for withheld taxes by submitting a return voluntarily.
• Verify Interest on Overpayments. The IRS overpayment rate for individuals is 7% for both the third quarter (July through September 2026) and the fourth quarter (October through December 2026), compounded daily, after rising from 6% in the second quarter. If the IRS has held your refund beyond the standard 45-day processing window, it owes you interest at that rate from the day the window expired.

How to Claim Your Refund

Once you confirm the IRS owes you money, file a return if you have not already done so. For a return already filed with errors, submit Form 1040-X (Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return) within three years of the original filing date. If a refund check came back undeliverable, submit Form 8822 (Change of Address) so any reissued payment reaches you. For checks that were lost or never arrived, Form 3911 (Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund) starts the replacement process.

Claiming Refunds for a Deceased Relative

Heirs may claim a deceased relative’s unclaimed tax refund under specific IRS rules. Form 1310 was recently revised to reduce paperwork: a court-appointed representative filing an original return no longer needs to submit it. However, Form 1310 remains strictly required when claiming a refund on an amended return (Form 1040-X) for a decedent. Heirs navigating this process should gather the decedent’s prior-year W-2s and 1099s early, since locating those records typically takes the most time.

Conclusion

Unclaimed tax refunds represent a genuine opportunity to recover money you are legitimately owed, and 2026 has brought new deadlines and updated tools that reward prompt action. The Kwong protective claim window closes July 10, 2026. The 2023 unclaimed-refund deadline arrives April 15, 2027. IRS overpayment interest holds at 7% through the end of the year. Whether the issue involves COVID-era penalties, withheld wages, or refundable credits never claimed, a modest effort now can prevent permanently forfeiting those funds.

Editor’s note: This pass updates the IRS overpayment interest rate bullet to reflect that the 7% rate applies to both Q3 and Q4 2026 (October through December), following the IRS’s Q4 announcement, and adds National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins by name in the protective claims section, sourced from her office’s May 2026 blog.

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