IRS poised to keep $760M in unclaimed tax refunds

[Hum]

Taxpayers are about to give the federal government a big, fat Easter egg -- more than three-quarters of a billion dollars in tax revenue that the government technically doesn't deserve.

At issue is refund money that has been sitting in the federal coffers since the 2010 tax year, but that no one has claimed.

In total, $760 million is owed to 918,600 people. By statute -- which gives taxpayers three years to claim that money -- the millions become the property of the federal government at midnight on April 15.

It's not too late to claim the refunds, but the window is almost closed.

"It does happen every year," said James Robertson, a tax preparer at H&R Block in Marietta, Ga. "There is that three-year filing window in which you have to file a return and claim a refund. And if you don't claim a refund within that three years, it becomes property of the Treasury."

While $760 million is a lot of money, it's not a record. In 2009, taxpayers left $917 million on the table. For 2013, it's estimated that figure could top a billion dollars.

So who is owed this latest batch of money? People who didn't file a tax return for 2010, but are eligible for a refund.

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[ACTIONpack]

I bet IRS would use anyone claims as income and tax on it too. :-\