Dude, Where’s My Refund Tax?

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Dude-Wheres-My-CarRefund tax? Did you mean your tax refund.

I don’t know, it could be me, but millions of people are searching for their “refund tax”.

I’m assuming they are referring to their IRS tax refund, but not to confuse anyone, that’s what I am going to call it.

The IRS is currently holding billions in this unclaimed money. There are two main reasons for this:

1. The person that filed the claim moved after filing it, and
2. The person never filed a claim but has overpaid on their taxes and has money owed to them.

There are several things you should know to track down your refund:


1. Go to Where’s My Refund?

It’s the fastest and easiest way to get information on your federal income refund tax

2. If you e-file, you should be able to check within 72 hours of filing. If you mailed in your return, you can check in three to four weeks, so if you want it quickly, e-filing is the way to go.

3. When checking, have your tax return handy. You will either need your social security number, filing status, or dollar amount on the return. There’s nothing worse than waiting on hold for information, finding out you don’t have everything necessary, and then having to call back again.

4. Once you enter your information, you may get a choice of responses including:

  • Your refund is being processed
  • The mailing date of your refund
  • They could not deliver your refund because of an incorrect address.If this is the case, you are able to correct that online.If you feel you have an unclaimed IRS refund waiting for you, now is the time to check. The window of opportunity is only three years, then Uncle Sam gets to keep the money for themselves.What are you waiting for?

How would you like to get paid for finding unclaimed money for other people?

Become an unclaimed money finder and you can!

Click here to learn more about this great opportunity!

Free Search

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There are plenty of places to do a free unclaimed money search, starting with the unclaimed funds page on this site.  There you can click on any of the states links to get more information.

You can also go to NAUPA.

NAUPA stands for the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.  It is a non-profit organization affiliated with the National Association of State Treasurers and the Council of State Governments.

MissingMoney, a Web site officially endorsed NAUPA contains the official collective records from most state unclaimed money programs. NAUPA will link you to every state unclaimed money  web site where you can search.

Both sites let you do your own free unclaimed money search.


There is absolutely no reason to pay anyone or any website a fee when you can do your own free unclaimed money search.

Most of these pay sites are just using lists that they get from the states anyway. The best thing to do is call any state that you may have lived or worked in yourself. You can find the states contact information using the map on the home page.

detective-hands-on-hips

If you are still unsure about contacting the state, or just don’t have the time, you can enlist the services of an unclaimed money finder.

For a small fee, an unclaimed money finder can investigate for you and help you with the paperwork that you need.  Most likely, it will be prepared for you and you will just need to sign some forms.

Do not pay an unclaimed money finder an upfront fee..  Any legitimate finder will do a search for unclaimed money and then charge a commission, after you are paid. Click here if you are interested in becoming an Unclaimed Money Finder yourself.

Other Sources For a Free Unclaimed Money Search Include:

U.S. Links
Undeliverable   U.S. Federal Tax refund checks
The Internal Revenue Service may   have an undeliverable refund check that belongs to you.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. has  a searchable database to determine whether you are owed any pension benefits if your pension plan no longer exists because it was closed or was taken over by the pension agency. You also can track down the benefits if you are a survivor of the person who should be drawing the pension. This site will tell you what to do if you believe you are owed money but aren’t found in the agency’s database.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
A resource   website to search for any unclaimed insured deposits for financial institutions that were closed by a regulatory agency between Jan. 1, 1989 and June 28, 1993.

U.S. Federal Investments
The official source of information on U.S. Savings Bonds. Check this website for any Savings Bonds you may have forgotten about.

Missing U.S. Federal Savings Bonds
What to do if your U.S. Savings Bonds have been lost, stolen or destroyed.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
If you had a HUD/FHA insured mortgage, you may have a refund on part of your insurance premium or a share of the earnings.

Veterans Administration Benefits
Search for unclaimed veterans benefits owed to you by the federal government.

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board
Search for unclaimed railroad retirement benefits

Holocaust Links

Swiss Bankers Association
Victims of the Holocaust or their heirs can make claims to assets deposited in Swiss Banks during World War II.

Frozen Swiss Accounts Database Search Form
This website provides a notice of claim procedures for locating Swiss, Swedish, French,
and British bank and insurance accounts.

Holocaust Claims Processing Office of the New York State Banking Department. This office attempts to recover assets deposited in European banks, monies never paid   in connection with insurance policies issued by European insurers and lost or looted art for victims of the Holocaust.

International Links

Bank of Canada
Search for unclaimed bank accounts held by The Bank of Canada.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission
Search for unclaimed money and unclaimed property held by The Australian Commonwealth Government.

France Unclaimed Monies
Search for unclaimed monies held by banks in France. Information is available in French only.

New Zealand Unclaimed Monies
Search for   unclaimed monies held by the Inland Revenue Department in New   Zealand.

Swiss Bankers Association
Search for dormant accounts in Switzerland

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

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Retired Couple The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is an example of a federal program that is holding unclaimed funds.

The PBGS is currently holding about $200 million for over 36,000 people.

Many times people have pensions with companies and, for whatever reason, forget they have it or do not claim it.

The PBGC helps locate people owed pension money and help them get it back.

They do this with the Missing Participant Program.  This locates people owed benefits from fully funded, PBGC insured defined benefit plans that have ended.


Why Does This Happen?

When employers choose to end a pension plan, they must distribute all plan benefits to workers and retirees before completely ending the plan.

If someone is owed a pension and they cannot be located, the plan administrator sends the funds to the PBGC to distribute when they locate the owner.

The program to locate the owner applies to pensions whose money is distributed after January 1, 1996.

The PBGC developed the Internet Missing Participant List that lists names and last-known addresses, companies where missing people earned their pensions, and the dates their pension plans ended.

This list is updated regularly and allows members of the public to see for themselves whether they or somebody they know is a missing participant.

You should check with your plan administrator, if possible, to check the status of your pension plan if your search comes up empty.

You can also review Finding A Lost Pension to give you extra tips on finding a pension you believe to be missing.