People who skipped a tax return in a year when they were owed money back usually have three years to fix that, and the IRS says the clock is not forgiving. In its March 20, 2026 release, the agency said taxpayers who do not file within the window lose the refund to the U.S. Treasury. That release covered about $1.2 billion in unclaimed refunds from tax year 2022.

The IRS announcement says about 1.3 million people had a 2022 refund waiting, with a median amount of $686, and set an April 15, 2026 deadline to claim it.

What the three-year rule actually says

The IRS puts the rule in two plain sentences. “Under the law, taxpayers usually have three years to file and claim their tax refunds,” the release says. “If they do not file within three years, the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury.”

The word “usually” matters. The IRS page on the time limit for claiming a credit or refund says the last day is generally the later of two dates: three years from when the return was filed, or two years from when the tax was paid.

Who could still be leaving money behind

The release was written for people who never filed a return for 2022 and have a refund sitting unclaimed. The IRS says the money is theirs only if they file, so anyone who worked that year and had tax withheld has a reason to check.

There is one more catch. The IRS warns that a 2022 refund may be held if the taxpayer has not filed returns for 2023 and 2024. A person who skipped one year may have skipped the next two as well, so anyone in that spot has to look at all three years together and ask which one is closest to its limit.

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The IRS named the Earned Income Tax Credit as one example of money that goes unclaimed. For 2022 it was worth up to $6,935 for workers with qualifying children, and low- and moderate-income workers could qualify. Those without children had a 2022 income limit of $16,480, or $22,610 for married couples filing jointly.

When the clock can run longer, and when it runs out

The same IRS page explains how early filers are treated. A return filed before its due date is treated as filed on the due date, and tax withheld from paychecks or paid in estimated payments is treated as paid on the due date.

The three-year rule has exceptions, and the same IRS page lists four. A written agreement with the IRS to extend the time for assessing tax adds the agreed period plus six months. People in a presidentially declared disaster area may get up to one more year.

Combat-zone military service also extends the deadline. A claim based on a bad debt or a worthless security gets seven years from the return’s due date. These are narrow cases, and anyone outside them should treat the three-year limit as firm.

If the window closes with no claim, the IRS release leaves no doubt about the result. The money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury, and the 2022 deadline of April 15, 2026 is now behind the 1.3 million people the agency counted.

For tax year 2023, the same three-year rule applies, and the IRS has already warned that a missing 2023 or 2024 return can hold up a 2022 refund. The practical point is to check each year back to 2022, find the one closest to its limit, and file that return first.

The IRS did not say in the release when the next year’s deadline falls. Anyone filing for 2023 or 2024 should check the IRS time-limit page above for the exact date that applies to a given return, since the later-of-two-dates rule and the exceptions can move it.

How to file an old return and get the records

The release says forms and instructions for 2022 and other past years are available on the IRS prior-year forms page or by calling 800-TAX-FORM, which is 800-829-3676.

Missing paperwork is the usual snag. The IRS says a Form W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 for 2022, 2023 or 2024 can be requested from the employer, bank or other payer. A wage and income transcript can also be ordered online through Get Transcript, which the release calls “for many taxpayers, by far the quickest and easiest option.”

Transcripts can also be requested by mail or by calling 800-908-9946. The IRS says they arrive in 5 to 10 calendar days at the address on file. A mailed Form 4506-T request for a wage and income transcript can take several weeks, and the agency urges taxpayers to try the other options first.

After a return is in, the usual refund timelines apply. The IRS says on its refunds page that an e-filed return is expected to produce a refund in about 3 weeks and a mailed return in 6 weeks or more.

Not sure an old refund is still inside the three-year limit?

A refund that sat too long goes to the Treasury, and a year skipped can hold up the others. For someone who stopped filing for a few years, the first question is which of those years is closest to the cutoff.

The IRS Refund Recovery Kit puts the 3-year refund deadline alongside a notice decoder for reading IRS letters. It also includes the refund-trace steps for Form 3911 and a refund status tracker spreadsheet, so a late or lost refund can be followed from the first request to the check.

Get the 3-year refund deadline and refund tracker for old returns →

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• The New $6,000 Senior Deduction and 14 More Tax Moves for Retirees

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.