More Than 1,000 Bklyn Taxpayers Have Unclaimed Refunds

April 6, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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U.S. Senator Charles Schumer reports that thousands of New York City residents, including 1,043 residents in Brooklyn, have millions of dollars in unclaimed and undelivered tax refunds that must be claimed by April 17, or else the money will remain in Washington for good.

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and 2010 Census data, about 4,216 residents have a total of $7.9 million in undeliverable refunds due to address changes. Hundreds more residents failed to file a 2008 return and are due refunds.

“The undeliverable refunds are often due to delivery problems such as address changes. Additionally, individuals have three years to file an old return and claim the refund that they’re owed, meaning that this year is the last year that over 60,000 individuals in New York can claim the millions of dollars they are owed from 2008,” Schumer said.

To boost awareness of these unclaimed tax refunds, Schumer has launched a new, one-click, countdown clock icon on his website, www.schumer.senate.gov, that provides information for individuals interested in contacting the IRS to see if they are owed a past refund. The page also includes information on e-filing 2011 taxes, which many qualifying individuals will be able to do for free this year.

“There are millions of dollars sitting in Washington that should be in families’ checking and savings accounts in New York City,” said Schumer. “I want to make sure that all New Yorkers get every penny that they’re owed come tax day, and I want to make it as easy as possible for them to do so.

In Brooklyn, the 1,043 residents are owed $1,620,013 in unclaimed tax returns, for an average of $1,553 each.