$1.5 billion of unclaimed tax refunds are about to expire

If you earned money in 2019 and didn't file your taxes in 2020, there may be some cash owed to you that you could lose out on if you don't try to collect it soon. If you have unclaimed taxes to collect, you could be in for a pleasant windfall, with the average unclaimed tax refund totaling $1,006.

In addition to a potential refund, many low- and moderate-income workers may also be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), worth as much as $6,557 in 2019. This tax credit is available to individuals with incomes that met the following criteria in 2019:

• $50,162 ($55,952 if married and filing jointly) for those with three or more qualifying children
• $46,703 ($52,493 if married and filing jointly) for people with two qualifying children
• $41,094 ($46,884 if married and filing jointly) for those with one qualifying child
• $15,570 ($21,370 if married and filing jointly) for people without qualifying children

Fortunately, you have options if you think the IRS does owe you a refund for the money you earned in 2019. The process for filing older tax returns is the same as filing for the current tax year; taking the following steps will jumpstart the process of receiving your 2019 returns before the July 17, 2023, deadline.

Gather essential documents.

To file your 2019 taxes, you'll need several documents, including any W-2 and 1099 forms for income earned that year. If you don't have copies of these and are unable to obtain them through other means, the IRS has a "Get Your Tax Record" page that allows you to request electronic transcripts of wage and income statements, past tax records and more.

File your refund.

Depending on how complicated your tax situation is, you can file online with tax preparation software or hire a tax accountant.

Receive your unclaimed tax cash.

Typically, most people who file their tax refunds electronically receive them within 21 days. However, if you file your tax return by mail, it could take up to four weeks to receive your refund.

MoneyGeek estimated the average amount of unclaimed tax cash each state has per affected resident to find the states with the most unclaimed cash left over from the 2020 tax season, which coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alaska residents with unclaimed tax refunds stand to gain the most by filing unclaimed refunds for 2019 earnings by the July 17 deadline — an average of $1,090. Many of the states on MoneyGeek's top 15 list are located in the Northeastern United States, where the population and cost of living are high.

This story was produced by MoneyGeek and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.