03/30/2026
Unfiled 2022 Federal Tax Refunds Must Be Claimed by April 15 – Did You Know?
The IRS estimates that over one million people are owed tax refunds from 2022, with the majority of those refunds exceeding $600. However, in order to claim their refunds, people must file their 2022 tax returns by April 15, 2026. Some people may also need to file 2023 and 2024 returns in order to receive an IRS refund.
Those who qualified for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in 2022 but did not file a return could be missing out on much larger refunds, potentially exceeding $6,000. The adjusted gross income limits for the 2022 EITC ranged from $16,480 to $53,057 (or $22,610 to $59,187 for joint filers), depending on a person's number of qualifying children.
Filing an accurate tax return for 2022 may require referring to income statements like W-2 and 1099 forms. If you cannot locate those forms but have an IRS online account, you can generally obtain the needed information by using the free IRS Get Income Transcript tool (link below). Most people can set up an account in about 20 minutes, less time than it takes to request and receive replacement documents from employers, banks, etc.
IRS Get Transcript Online tool: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript