$1.2 billion in unclaimed tax refunds just expired. Is yours next?

Over 1.3 million people never filed their 2022 tax returns — and on April 15 the three-year clock ran out. That money is now property of the U.S. Treasury. In New York alone, an estimated $62.4 million was left unclaimed, per the IRS. The next deadline: April 15, 2027.

Back in March, the IRS put out a warning most people never saw: over 1.3 million Americans had unclaimed tax refunds for 2022 — roughly $1.2 billion sitting with the IRS, waiting to be claimed. The catch: the law gives you three years to file and claim a refund. Miss it, and the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury. The 2022 window closed on April 15, 2026.

It’s gone. Not because those people owed it — because they never asked for it back.

How does $1.2 billion go unclaimed?

The IRS estimated the median unclaimed 2022 refund at $686 — meaning half were worth more. A lot of this money belonged to low- and moderate-income workers who figured their income was too low to matter — so they never filed at all.

Here’s the painful part: “not required to file” is not the same as “nothing to claim.” If any tax was withheld from your paycheck, a part-time job, or a pension, that overpayment is your refund waiting to happen — but only if you file a return for it.

The three-year rule

This isn’t an IRS policy that changes with administrations. It’s the law (IRC §6511): taxpayers generally have three years from the return’s due date to file and claim a refund. File after that, and the refund is forfeited — the government keeps it, permanently. No appeals, no do-overs.

And there’s a second trap the IRS spelled out: if you didn’t file your 2023 and 2024 returns either, your refund can be held until you do — and any refund the IRS does send can be applied to amounts you still owe the IRS or a state, unpaid child support, or past-due federal debts.

The next window: April 15, 2027

The same clock is now running on 2023. If you never filed your 2023 return, your three years run out on April 15, 2027. Today there are about 18 months left on that window — but “later” is exactly how $1.2 billion slipped away.

If you think the IRS might be holding money with your name on it, here’s the simple version of what to do:

• Pull your wage and income records. If you’re missing W-2s or 1099s, the IRS’s free Get Transcript Online tool shows what was reported under your Social Security number.
• File the prior-year return. Prior-year Forms 1040 (and 1040-SR for seniors) are free on IRS.gov — you can’t e-file most old years, so these usually go by mail.
• Don’t leave other years unfiled. The IRS can hold your refund if neighboring years are missing — and it can grab the refund to cover back debts. One clean return is good; a clean filing history is better.

Alex Volkov, CPA is a New York-licensed CPA with over two decades in accounting, focused on resolving IRS tax problems — back taxes, liens, levies, garnishments, and audits — for individuals and businesses nationwide.