Florida ranks 5th for highest tax refunds in US

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — April 18 is tax day. Ahead of the deadline, a study by LendingTree found that among all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Florida taxpayers have the fifth highest refunds in the country.

LendingTree said the average refund for 2019 was $3,651 across the country. According to their study, Floridians usually get back about $4,300 on average, with 75% of taxpayers getting a refund. Wyoming get’s the most back, at $5,027.

“After Wyoming, the states with the largest average tax refunds were Connecticut, New York, the District of Columbia and Florida,” LendingTree reported. “With representation from the Northeast, South and West, no single region received a disproportionate average refund amount.”

The LendingTree data is based on analysis of 2019 tax information from the Internal Revenue Service. The company said in 2019, a little more than one-fifth of Americans owed the government money, with Massachusetts leading the states with highest amounts owed at $7,605.

While the deadline to file your taxes is coming up in just a few days, the past two years have been complicated due to economic upheaval during the COVID-19 pandemic. With additional items like stimulus checks, child tax credit payments, and emergency rental assistance, sometimes filing can be a struggle.

“Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we can’t make the deadline. If that’s the case, you can request a six-month extension to file until Oct. 17, 2022,” LendingTree said. “However, that doesn’t mean you get an extension to pay your taxes — in fact, you’ll have to pay estimated taxes to avoid any late fees. Extension requests are due by April 18, the standard filing deadline.”

According to the company’s chief credit analyst, Matt Schulz, a main reason to ask for an extension is to reduce penalties for paying your tax bill late.

“You’ll still be charged interest and a late-payment penalty if you pay late, but the amount you owe will be significantly less if you are granted an extension,” Schulz said.

The IRS allows extensions to be filed, giving taxpayers until October to pay up, but it means you’ll still have to pay them something. The extension can be requested with a Form 4868. The IRS said in a reminder about the tax deadline that they expect about 15 million taxpayers will ask for an extension.

The federal agency also said there was about $1.5 billion from 2018 that was never claimed, with 1.5 million taxpayers never filing their taxes that year. If those Americans don’t file their taxes for 2018 by the April 18 deadline this year, the $1.5 billion will belong to the U.S. Treasury Department. As long as the 2018 tax return is postmarked by April 18, 2022, the money can still be claimed, even if it’s sent as a hard-copy filing.

A full ranking of the 2019 tax refunds and amounts owed can be read below.