Clark Howard

Are you leaving unclaimed tax money on the table?

Are you one of the 1.2 million taxpayers leaving an average refund almost $900 on the table from a prior tax year?

Time could be running out to claim your money!

RELATED: Here’s your estimated 2019 tax refund schedule

Act fast to get your 2015 tax refund

The Internal Revenue Service is out with a new reminder that the deadline is fast approaching to claim your refund if you did not file federal income tax returns for 2015.

The IRS gives you a three-year window of opportunity to get that return filed and receive your refund. After that, the money you are owed become property of the United States Treasury.

That deadline is fast approaching on April 15, 2019 for many people. Taxpayers in Maine and Massachusetts have until April 17.

The average potential refund for 2015 is $879, according to the IRS.

The IRS says students and part-time workers are among those who may have overlooked filing their 2015 taxes. Thankfully, there’s no penalty for filing late — even years late — if you’re owed a refund.

However, you won’t be able to get your 2015 tax refund if you haven’t submitted returns for 2016 and 2017.

How to file for your 2015 tax refund

Filing back taxes may seem daunting at first, but it’s really pretty easy. Just follow these steps:

  1. Pull up the 2015 tax forms here.
  2. If you need access to past wage and income info, just fill out Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return.
  3. Use the IRS Get Transcript feature to request info from a prior year's tax return, if necessary.

We've got other helpful tips to help you get your 2015 tax refund filed and claim your return here!

Other ways to find missing and unclaimed money

What would you do if a refund check for $900 just fell into your lap?

While we can’t promise you there’s nearly a thousand bucks floating around out there in your name, this much we can say: You can easily do a search online and find out in just a minute or two!

Simply go to MissingMoney.com and punch in your name to do a database search of available unclaimed funds across all states. (Note: Not every state participates.)

If you live in a state that doesn't participate with this free site, there's another option for you: Unclaimed.org. This website is a clearinghouse for the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.

Additionally, you can search for lost savings bonds that a family member may have bought you when you were born that's been lost over the years.

Why not check today? All of these services are free to use to claim any missing money that might be yours!

The post Are you leaving unclaimed tax money on the table? appeared first on Clark Howard.