(Tracy O/Flickr)
The federal government may owe you money — and you have less than a month to collect it.
The Internal Revenue Service says more than 23,000 Massachusetts residents who didn’t file tax returns for 2009 may be missing out on significant refunds.
In Massachusetts, the average unpaid refund is $572.
To claim a refund, a 2009 return must be filed by April 15, 2013. After that, the Treasury Department gets to keep the money.
There’s no penalty for filing a late tax return, if you’re getting money back.
The government doesn’t requires people to file tax returns if they make less than a certain amount each year — even though payroll taxes and other credits could entitle them to refunds.
Nationwide, nearly a million people haven’t claimed tax refunds for 2009, totaling more than $917 million.
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