Not too late for 9,000 taxpayers in Hawai‘i to file 2019 taxes for refunds

About 8,800 Hawai‘i residents are eligible for an average refund of $932, totaling up to $9.2 million, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Nearly 1.5 million people across the United States have unclaimed refunds for tax year 2019 but face a July 17 deadline to submit their tax return.

The IRS estimates almost $1.5 billion in refunds remain unclaimed because people haven’t filed their 2019 tax returns yet. The average median refund is $893 for this year, and the IRS has done a special state-by-state calculation to show how many people are potentially eligible for these refunds.

“The 2019 tax returns came due during the pandemic, and many people may have overlooked or forgotten about these refunds,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “We want taxpayers to claim these refunds, but time is running out. People face a July 17 deadline to file their returns. We recommend taxpayers start soon to make sure they don’t miss out.”

Under the law, taxpayers usually have three years to file and claim their tax refunds. If they don’t file within three years, the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury.

But for 2019 tax returns, people have more time than usual to file to claim their refunds. Usually, the normal filing deadline to claim old refunds falls around the April tax deadline, which is April 18 this year for 2022 tax returns. But the three-year window for 2019 unfiled returns was postponed to July 17, 2023, due to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.

Current and prior year tax forms (such as the tax year 2019 Forms 1040 and 1040-SR) and instructions are available on the IRS.gov Forms and Publications page or by calling toll-free 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).