Tax Refund for 2011 returns must be claimed by April 15th.
If you have not or know somebody who has not filed a tax return for 2011, it would be a good time to do so. If you have W-2 income more times than not, you will receive a tax refund because of the withholding on those wages; yet there are many people each year who do not file their returns thinking there is no reason to or thinking they will owe. The IRS says that many of the non-filers are part-time workers or students.
The IRS gives a taxpayer 3 years from the date the return should have been filed to file for those tax refunds. Meaning the 2011 tax returns were due by April 15th of 2012, so you have until April 15th of 2015 to file that return in order to claim the tax refunds. If the return is not filed by the April 15th deadline, then the US Treasury gets to keep those refunds.
In an article published March 11th, the IRS estimates half of the tax refunds due are more than $698. Things to keep in mind when filing these returns: there are no late penalty fees for filing a return with a refund but they must be properly address, mailed and postmarked by April 15th 2015. Also when talking to your tax preparer about the 2011 return you should start working on the 2012 and 2013 returns. The IRS can still hold the refund for the 2011 returns if it appears in their records that you would owe tax for either of the following years; however, unless you made major changes in types of income or amount of income without having equal increases in withholding you will most likely have a refund in those years as well.
Talk to a tax preparer to help with this process or for more information from the IRS see the article IRS Has Refunds Totaling $1 Billion…
The Wassman CPA Services website and blog is meant to offer general information to our readers. The information provided is not intended to replace or serve as a substitute for any accounting, tax or other professional advice, consultation or service. You should contact Wassman CPA Services for advice concerning specific matters prior to making any decisions.
