If your client did not file a Montana individual income tax return for tax year 2012, they may have unclaimed payments for that year and could be due a refund. If they are, they must claim their refund by the April 15 tax deadline by filing a 2012 Montana income tax return.
Here are some facts about unclaimed refunds:
- Some people, such as students and part-time workers, may not have filed because they had too little income to require filing a tax return. They may have a refund waiting if they had taxes withheld from their wages or made quarterly estimated payments.
- If a taxpayer did not file a 2012 Montana tax return, Montana law provides a five-year window to claim a refund from that year. (Note: The statute of limitations is three years beginning with the 2015 tax year.) For 2012 returns, the window closes on April 15, 2018. For federal purposes, the statute of limitations is generally three years instead of five years.
- If a taxpayer doesn’t file a claim for a refund within the timeframe allowed for Montana individual income tax purposes, the money becomes the property of the state of Montana.
- The Department of Revenue may hold your 2012 refund if you have not filed tax returns for 2013 through 2016. The department will apply the refund to any federal or state tax you owe.
If you have a question about your client’s payment history for tax year 2012, and have a Power of Attorney on file for that year, contact us at (406) 444-6900.