Running late on your refund?
Refunds come and go when it comes to taxes. Luckily, for you, you can still claim the 2015 refund that you’ve been delaying. Just remember, you have three years within the original due date of your 2015 tax return to claim your refund.
This is due to the IRS Statute of Limitations, which limits taxpayers in claiming a prior year refund. After the three year deadline, your refund expires and goes to the IRS.
Don’t wait. Get the money you’re entitled to.
Will I be able to e-file my taxes?
Unfortunately, the answer is no. The e-file deadline was October 15, 2016. This means that your 2015 return is a prior year return which you must print, sign and mail your return to the IRS along with any of your income statements.
Here are some important dates to remember.
April 18, 2016, was the deadline to file your 2015 tax return. Although the statute of limitations states that you should file within three years of the original tax deadline, taxpayers who filed their 2014 tax return (originally due April 15) and postmarked their return by April 17, 2018 (the 2017 tax deadline) were not able to claim their refund. We recommend that you file by April 15, 2019; the tax deadline for 2019, to ensure that you get your refund without any issues.
If you need to figure your refund, use this helpful 2015 tax calculator to see how much you can expect from the IRS.
What you need to file.
First of all, gather all of your income statements such as your W-2, 1099, Schedule K-1, and more. If you do not have access to your income statements, contact your previous employer, or request an income transcript from the IRS. An income transcript has all the information that is on your income statement, except for your state amounts. In other words, you will need to request a state income transcript for the state amounts withheld from your income statements, since the IRS does not have this information.
Be prepared for the new transcript system.
If you’re looking to request an income transcript if you’ve lost your statements, be advised that as of September of 2018, the IRS plans on implementing a new transcript system in order to combat identity fraud. Taxpayers will receive a Customer File Number which is a 10 digit number to confirm their identity.
It will display the last four digits of social security numbers, EINs, telephone numbers, the last four characters of your last name, business name, the first six characters of your street address with spaces, and all money accounts, wage and income, balance due and interest and penalties as usual. There will also be a revised Form 4506-T/4506T-EZ for a request for your transcript to include line 5B for the Customer File Number.
Click here for more information on the updated system for the IRS for income statements.
With PriorTax, follow a few steps to get your 2015 refund!
Instead of traveling to a tax accountant, prepare your tax return right at home. You can even do it on your lunch break too, as long as you have your income statements at hand. If you don’t, you can easily save your progress and continue when you’re ready to log back into your account. Here’s what to do:
- Create an account.
- Enter your tax information.
- Submit your account with payment.
- Download, print, sign and mail your tax return to the IRS.
Be aware that if you have back taxes due to the IRS, they can hold your refund until the full amount is paid off. They can also hold your refund if you did not file the last two consecutive tax years which are tax years 2016 and 2017.
Many taxpayers run out of time to claim their prior year tax refunds.
Don’t let that happen with your 2015 refund. After filing your taxes, get a move on your other returns so you can prepare for the new tax season. You can also start your 2018 tax return in January with PriorTax!
Tags: 2015 refund, 2015 tax calculator, 2015 taxes, contact the IRS, e-file, form 4506, form 4506-T, income and wage statement, IRS, late taxes, paperfile, prior year tax, statute of limitations, tax refund, tax transcript
Thank you for helping out, excellent information.
Three years to the deadline would be 4/18/19?
Hello Roxann,
The IRS refers to three years to the original tax deadline; which is the 15th.
What if I was in jail and was not able to do my tax refund from 2014 and 2015 as well as 2016 and 2017?
Hello Luis,
According to the IRS, you’re still responsible for filing your taxes regardless of being incarcerated. You should still file your taxes for those years as long as you meet the income threshold for each tax year. However, you will only be able to claim any eligible tax refunds for prior years 2016 and 2017; due to the IRS statute of limitations for refunds.