Montana Taxpayers May Have Unclaimed Money

There are two things in life you can count on. Death and taxes.

Apparently, there is a third… failing to file your taxes and inadvertently allowing your own money to sit with the IRS.

Currently, the I.R.S. says it is sitting on roughly $1.2 billion in unclaimed refunds from 2022. Over a million people never claimed their money, and the average refund is about $686. Which means yeah… likely thousands of people in Montana are owed money and don’t even know it.

This Is Not a Scam… It Just Seems Like One

I know how this sounds. “Look, the IRS is way behind. They owe you money.” That’s usually the opening of a scam call or an email from someone named Steve who definitely does not work at the IRS.

But this one’s real.

The I.R.S. gives you three years to file and receive a refund. After that, your money just disappears into the system again. No reminder. No second chance. Just gone. You know? "IRS behavior?"

How Does This Even Happen?

It's easy. Maybe you didn’t file because you thought you didn’t owe anything. Maybe you lost some paperwork. Maybe life was too busy, and taxes fell off the list that year. And if you’re owed a refund, there’s no downside to not filing.

Which is awesome… until you remember that you never got paid either.

According to The Accountant Online

Federal rules generally give taxpayers three years to file a return and claim a refund. If a return is not filed within that period, the refund becomes the property of the US Treasury.

You Have a Deadline… and It’s Coming Fast

Here’s the catch. You have until April 15th, 2026, to claim that refund from your tax year-end in 2022. Miss that deadline and it’s too late. So yeah, it could be one of those rare occasions where the IRS wants to give you money. Kind of feels weird, huh?