HI… I'M LOURDES… AND I WORK FOR THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE. EACH YEAR. . . MILLIONS OF TAXPAYERS MISS OUT ON GETTING MONEY. IN MANY CASES, IT'S SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS. WHY? BECAUSE THEY WERE DUE A REFUND . . . BUT THEY DIDN'T FILE A TAX RETURN . . . AND THE TIME TO CLAIM THEIR REFUND RAN OUT. IF YOU DON'T FILE A RETURN CLAIMING A REFUND WITHIN THREE YEARS . . . YOU LOSE IT. AND THE MONEY BECOMES THE PROPERTY OF THE U-S TREASURY. THAT'S THREE YEARS FROM THE ORIGINAL DUE DATE. . . USUALLY APRIL 15TH. NOW. . . YOU MUST FILE A TAX RETURN IF YOUR INCOME IS ABOVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT. THE AMOUNT VARIES DEPENDING ON YOUR FILING STATUS. . . AGE . . . AND THE TYPE OF INCOME YOU RECEIVE. YOU MAY CHOOSE NOT TO FILE IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO. BUT . . . IF YOU HAD EVEN A SMALL AMOUNT OF INCOME. . . YOU MAY BE DUE A REFUND. . . ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAD FEDERAL TAXES WITHHELD FROM YOUR PAY. PLUS . . . YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR TAX BENEFITS LIKE THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT. . . WHICH COULD BE A FEW THOUSAND DOLLARS. LISTEN . . . THE ONLY WAY TO CLAIM THIS MONEY IS TO FILE A FEDERAL INCOME TAX RETURN. START BY VISITING I-R-S DOT GOV SLASH FORMS TO GET PRIOR YEAR AND CURRENT TAX FORMS AND INSTRUCTIONS. OR . . . YOU CAN CONTACT A LOCAL VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE OR TAX COUNSELING FOR THE ELDERLY SITE NEAR YOU. IN MANY CASES. . . THESE VITA AND T-C-E SITES. . . STAFFED BY I-R-S-TRAINED VOLUNTEERS. . . MAY BE ABLE TO HELP YOU PREPARE AND FILE YOUR PRIOR YEAR TAX RETURNS. . . GET YOU UP-TO-DATE . . . AND GET ANY REFUNDS YOU'RE OWED. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON VITA AND T-C-E. . . VISIT I-R-S DOT GOV SLASH VITA. AND REMEMBER THE BOTTOM LINE. IT'S YOUR MONEY. . . BUT YOU HAVE TO FILE A TAX RETURN TO CLAIM IT. . . AND YOU ONLY HAVE THREE YEARS. SO GET STARTED. TO LEARN MORE. . . GO TO I-R-S DOT GOV SLASH UNCLAIMED REFUNDS.
