Government Owes 6,000 Hudson Valley Taxpayers About $796 Each

This Monday is the last day for approximately six thousand Hudson Valley residents to claim over $6 million in refunds that they are still owed by the government.

Sen. Chuck Schumer released data from the IRS this week that shows approximately 57,600 New Yorkers still qualify for unclaimed 2012 tax refunds. These refunds average about $796 per person.

Schumer says that an estimated 6,777 Hudson Valley residents are eligible for approximately $6,627,687 in 2012 tax refunds. For individuals, that averages out to approximately $796 per person. It seems that many local residents may actually be unaware that they never successfully filed tax returns for 2012. In a press release, the Senator has urged all New Yorkers to "double-, even triple-, check that they have successfully filed their 2012 tax returns and claimed their 2012 refunds."

The deadline to file those 2012 returns is this Monday, April 18. After that, Hudson Valley residents will no longer be eligible to claim a refund.Many low to moderate income workers may also not have claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit.  For 2012, that credit is worth as much as $5,891.

The Hudson Valley, specifically, has the largest amount of unclaimed refunds in the State of New York. There are an estimated 6,777 local taxpayers that are owed unclaimed money. In Western New York it's just under 4,000. The Capitol Region and Central New York are both estimated to have around 3,000 taxpayers that still have unclaimed funds.