Breaking News:

$2.4 billion in refunds for 1997 non-filers

$2.4 billion are waiting in refunds for the individuals who did not file their 1997 tax returns. Taxpayers have up to three years to file a return. If they don’t, the refund they would have received is lost. The deadline for filing a return for 1997 is April 16th, 2001. The penalty for filing a late return is waived when there is a refund due.

According to IRS projections, more than half the taxpayers have a refund check of less than $464 awaiting them. These are individuals who didn’t earn a lot of money that year and decided not to file a tax return. Many of these individuals qualified for the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Individuals with less than a)$29,200 in income with more than one qualifying child; b)$25,760 with one qualifying child; c)$9770 with no qualifying child are all eligible for the EITC. These individuals would receive a refund if the credit exceeds the taxes owed. However IRS warns that this refund can only be collected now. If the return were filed after the three years are up, the refund would no longer exist.

IRS also made it clear that anyone who did not file a return for 1998 and 1999 and decides to file one for 1997 would not receive a refund. The check would be used to pay off any taxes that the individual owes to the IRS or debts to the federal government.

The following table (courtesy of IRS web site) is setup to show the refunds due according to the states and the number of non-filers:

State Population Median Estimated Tax Refund (In Millions)
Alabama
25,800 $468 $21,272
Alaska
7,700 $506 $10,052
Arizona
31,600 $409 $89,547
Arkansas
14,300 $444 $12,213
California
169,300 $418 $178,707
Colorado
27,800 $428 $45,991
Connecticut
18,600 $522 $27,379
Delaware
5,400 $452 $5,711
Dist. of Columbia
7,000 $449 $11,252
Florida
104,000 $472 $152,671
Georgia
58,800 $438 $58,808
Hawaii
10,600 $486 $11,105
Idaho
5,900 $403 $10,101
Illinois
70,300 $500 $445,181
Indiana
33,000 $498 $32,656
Iowa
15,300 $453 $12,384
Kansas
17,600 $454 $18,441
Kentucky
17,200 $458 $16,522
Louisiana
26,200 $478 $27,502
Maine
5,200 $429 $4,951
Maryland
34,100 $467 $39,328
Massachusetts
35,700 $501 $71,552
Michigan
68,100 $495 $115,744
Minnesota
21,500 $403 $20,010
Mississippi
13,300 $435 $11,601
Missouri
32,000 $453 $28,918
Montana
4,000 $426 $4,065
Nebraska
7,800 $437 $6,871
Nevada
17,300 $445 $27,851
New Hampshire
5,700 $528 $7,310
New Jersey
52,900 $504 $73,336
New Mexico
9,800 $427 $9,809
New York
101,500 $487 $172,372
North Carolina
47,700 $416 $42,026
North Dakota
2,200 $446 $2,534
Ohio
50,600 $455 $54,386
Oklahoma
21,800 $444 $25,253
Oregon
24,100 $406 $28,133
Pennsylvania
52,000 $492 $71,772
Puerto Rico
2,300 $1,077 $7,350
Rhode Island
5,100 $462 $7,958
South Carolina
18,900 $421 $17,527
South Dakota
2,600 $447 $2,438
Tennessee
25,000 $479 $37,460
Texas
123,600 $493 $145,806
Utah
9,900 $409 $12,823
Vermont
2,400 $418 $2,486
Virgin Islands
1,800 $443 $1,086
Virginia
46,200 $449 $61,777
Washington
42,500 $497 $59,974
West Virginia
4,700 $500 $4,877
Wisconsin
19,400 $419 $18,130
Wyoming
2,500 $497 $2,902
Armed Forces
4,600 $511 $2,912
US Possessions
3,900 $490 $2,319
Foreign/Other
4,100 $901 $21,685
Total 1,593,200 $464 $2,414,827