Taxpayers Risk Losing

$27.5 Million In Refunds

HARTFORD — About 19,000 Connecticut taxpayers who failed to file tax returns for 1996 will lose an estimated $27.5 million in refunds if they do not get their late returns to the IRS by April 15.

“These individuals may have believed that they didn’t need to file a tax return because they did not owe anything,” IRS Public Affairs Officer Barbara C. Shuckra said. “However, we can’t give them their refunds unless they file a tax return.”

Ms Shuckra said that the taxpayers may have had excess tax withheld from their pay or have failed to claim the earned income tax credit for eligible low-income workers.

The law generally provides for refunds only if taxpayers file returns within three years of the filing deadline. If the 1996 returns are not received by the IRS by April 15, the taxpayers lose their right to the money. The April 18 postmarking deadline for 1999 tax returns is not applicable.

Nationally, the IRS estimates that nearly 1.6 million people risk losing about $2 billion in 1996 tax year refunds. According to the IRS projections, more than half of the refunds would be at least $442.

There is no penalty for filing a late return that qualifies for a refund. However, if a taxpayer has not filed returns for 1997 or 1998, the IRS will hold any 1996 refund until it has also received returns for those years. The 1996 refunds would be reduced by tax owed for other years or for unpaid child support or certain other obligations.

The 1996 and other prior year tax forms are available from the IRS Web site at www.irs.gov or by calling 800/TAX-FORM. Taxpayers who cannot locate their 1996 Form W-2 or other income information or who need help in preparing their 1996 tax returns can go to a local IRS office or call the IRS at 800/829-1040. Taxpayers who request information by phone should do so by mid-March to allow time for processing.