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The Deadline For Filing For A Tax Refund

By Amy E. Feldman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - You know the deadline to file 2012 taxes is FAST approaching. But another deadline - for your 2009 tax filing - is also coming and it's one you'll want to know about.

Many people who didn't file a tax return for years past owe the IRS money. Tisk tisk. You can talk to your lawyer or your priest or your mother about your guilt on that one. But today's topic is about all those who didn't file a tax return who would have gotten a tax refund.

Under the law, there is no penalty for failure to file if you are due a refund. But, if you wait to file a return or otherwise claim a refund, you risk losing a refund altogether.

An original return claiming a refund must be filed within 3 years of its due date for a refund to be allowed in most instances. So if your 2009 taxes were due April 15, 2010, then your three year deadline to file a return to get back money owed to you from 2009 is fast approaching. So get that old tax return in by the tax filing deadline!

You know the IRS wouldn't hesitate to collect money that YOU owe — why would you hesitate to collect the money that the IRS owes you?

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