Nearly 24,000 Coloradans have a federal income-tax refund coming to them — from 2005 — according to the Internal Revenue Service.
As the tax-filing deadline for 2008 approaches — April 15, in case you didn’t remember — it’s also the deadline for taxpayers due a 2005 refund to file for it, IRS spokesman David Stell said.
Nationally, the refund numbers are even higher: $1.3 billion for more than 1.3 million taxpayers.
After April 15, any claim to the $20.7 million awaiting Coloradans will be lost forever.
The median refund — half are more and half are less — in Colorado is $532 lower than the national median of $581.
By law, taxpayers have three years to file a return for a given tax year to claim a refund. There is no penalty assessed against a refund if you file a return late.
“Especially in these tough economic times, people should not lose out on money that is rightfully theirs,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said.
The IRS guesses that those who did not file may have thought they would not qualify for a refund, even if they owed no tax, simply because their income was too low.
Many low-income people typically overlook the Earned Income Tax Credit, which can result in a refund despite their low earnings.
Generally, the adjusted-gross-income limit for the credit is $31,030 for an unmarried person with one qualifying child. A single person with no children qualifies with adjusted income of less than $11,750.
“They may be leaving money on the table, including valuable tax credits that can mean even more money in their pockets,” Shulman said.
Colorado ranks 20th for the number of taxpayers due a 2005 refund, according to IRS data, and 41st for the average size of refund.
California ranks first with 154,500 taxpayers due $144.6 million. New Hampshire’s median refund is $667 from 2005, the highest nationally.
David Migoya: 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com
