Key keywords: IRS COVID refund, July 10 tax deadline, unclaimed COVID relief funds, 2020-2021 tax returns, Recovery Rebate Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, IRS Free File program, low-income taxpayer assistance The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a critical public alert this month, confirming that millions of U.S. residents have a strict cutoff date of July 10, 2024, to submit required documentation to claim billions in unclaimed COVID-19 era tax refunds. According to official IRS data, approximately 1.2 million taxpayers across the country are eligible for unclaimed funds totaling more than $1.5 billion, with an average refund amount of $1,273 per eligible filer, and some families with qualifying children receiving upwards of $3,000 in unclaimed credits. These unclaimed refunds are tied to multiple COVID-19 relief measures implemented in 2020 and 2021, including the Recovery Rebate Credit for unclaimed stimulus payments, the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low- to moderate-income workers, and the enhanced Child Tax Credit (CTC) that provided up to $3,600 per qualifying child during the pandemic. The majority of eligible individuals who have not yet claimed these funds are people who earned less than the federal income tax filing threshold in 2020 or 2021: for single filers, that threshold was $12,400 in 2020 and $12,550 in 2021, while for married couples filing jointly, it was $24,800 in 2020 and $25,100 in 2021. Because these filers were not legally required to submit tax returns in those years, most never received notification that they qualified for pandemic-era relief credits. To claim the refunds, eligible individuals must file a 2020 or 2021 federal income tax return, or an amended Form 1040-X if they previously filed a return but did not claim applicable credits, no later than July 10. For paper returns, the envelope must be postmarked by the July 10 cutoff date, while electronic returns must be submitted and confirmed as received by the IRS system before midnight ET on the same day. The IRS is encouraging all eligible filers to use the agency’s free Free File program, which is available to all taxpayers with a 2023 adjusted gross income of $79,000 or less, and allows users to fill out and submit past-year returns at no cost. There are no penalties for filing late returns for years where a filer is owed a refund, but any unclaimed funds after the July 10 deadline will be permanently forfeited to the U.S. Treasury. Filers should gather all relevant documentation before starting their returns, including W-2 forms, 1099 forms for gig or freelance income, Social Security numbers for all qualifying dependents, and records of any stimulus payments received in 2020 and 2021 to avoid processing delays.