IRS is searching for New Jersey residents to give back money
This is a true story. The IRS is searching for residents to give them money.
A recent article informed residents of Morris, Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey, who have not yet filed their 2002 tax returns that there is still time to do so and claim returns. Time is running out, according to the Internal Revenue Service, they stand to lose $6.9 million in uncollected refunds if they don’t file within the next several weeks. To collect the refunds, tax returns must be filed no later than April 17th.
The unclaimed funds in these counties are just a drop in the bucket. Nationwide, the IRS estimates about 1.7 million people may have unclaimed refunds. The total nationwide is more than $2 billion.
If your reading this and are not a New Jersey resident continue reading because you too may qualify. This is the IRS seeking to make refunds on taxes not individual state taxes.
In some cases those that qualify are those people who had taxes withheld from their wages, or made payments against their taxes out of self-employed earnings, but had too little income to require filing a tax return and did not file. Remember this when considering if it is worth filing when your income is too little. The answer is yes, you should file. You are entitled to a return of money paid.
If you did not file; by law, you have a three-year window of opportunity to file and collect any refunds owed. But if the refund stays unclaimed, the money becomes property of the U.S. Treasury.
The good news is there is no penalty assessed by the IRS for filing a late return qualifying for a refund.
Tempted to check into this? Here is the basic qualifications for an earned income tax credit in 2002, if you earned less than $33,178 that year and had more than one dependent child living with you, you earned less than $29,201 with one child, or earned less than $11,060 with no children.
More good news and proof that the IRS wants to help is that current and prior year tax forms are available on the IRS Web site, www.irs.gov, or by calling (800) 829-3676. Taxpayers who need help can also call the IRS at (800) 829-1040.
If you feel there is a possibility of other unclaimed money that is due you, go to CashUnclaimed.com and do a search. There is a free trial offer, so take advantage of that right now. The search does include all state and federal databases for your convenience.
