The Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday it has a total of $1 billion worth of unclaimed tax refunds waiting for people who have not filed a 2013 income tax return.

The IRS estimates half the refunds are over $763, while the other half are less than that amount. Taxpayers can claim their refunds by filing a 2013 federal return by Tuesday, April 18, 2017, the filing deadline for this year.

"We’re trying to connect a million people with their share of 1 billion dollars in unclaimed refunds for the 2013 tax year,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in a statement. “People across the nation haven’t filed tax returns to claim these refunds, and their window of opportunity is closing soon. Students and many others may not realize they’re due a tax refund. Remember, there’s no penalty for filing a late return if you’re due a refund.”

Treasury check

The tax laws give people three years to claim refunds for tax returns they have not yet filed. If they don’t file a return within that time, the refund becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury. To claim a 2013 tax refund, taxpayers need to properly address mail and postmark their tax return by April 18, 2017.

However, even then, they may not receive the money. The IRS warned it may still hold onto the 2013 tax refund check if taxpayers have not yet filed their tax returns for 2014 and 2015. The tax refund will also be applied to any amounts still owed to the IRS or a state tax authority. It could also be used for unpaid child support or past due federal debts, such as student loans.

Here are the state-by-state breakdowns of individuals who may be due 2013 tax refunds, according to IRS estimates:

State or District

Estimated

Number of

Individuals

Median

Potential

Refund

Total

Potential

Refunds*
Alabama

18,100

$729

$17,549,000
Alaska

4,700

$917

$5,665,000
Arizona

24,800

$650

$22,642,000
Arkansas

9,900

$722

$9,571,000
California

97,200

$696

$93,406,000
Colorado

20,200

$699

$19,454,000
Connecticut

11,500

$846

$12,691,000
Delaware

4,300

$776

$4,321,000
District of Columbia

3,200

$762

$3,341,000
Florida

66,900

$776

$67,758,000
Georgia

34,400

$671

$32,082,000
Hawaii

6,500

$793

$6,876,000
Idaho

4,500

$619

$3,919,000
Illinois

40,000

$834

$42,673,000
Indiana

21,700

$788

$22,060,000
Iowa

10,200

$808

$10,193,000
Kansas

11,100

$746

$10,700,000
Kentucky

12,900

$772

$12,627,000
Louisiana

20,300

$767

$21,209,000
Maine

4,000

$715

$3,645,000
Maryland

22,200

$770

$23,080,000
Massachusetts

23,000

$838

$24,950,000
Michigan

33,600

$763

$33,998,000
Minnesota

15,600

$691

$14,544,000
Mississippi

10,400

$702

$10,041,000
Missouri

22,400

$705

$20,787,000
Montana

3,600

$727

$3,480,000
Nebraska

5,300

$745

$5,084,000
Nevada

12,300

$753

$12,078,000
New Hampshire

4,400

$892

$4,930,000
New Jersey

29,900

$873

$33,207,000
New Mexico

8,100

$753

$8,162,000
New York

54,700

$847

$59,416,000
North Carolina

29,800

$656

$26,874,000
North Dakota

2,900

$888

$3,209,000
Ohio

36,000

$749

$34,547,000
Oklahoma

17,700

$773

$17,979,000
Oregon

15,500

$658

$14,188,000
Pennsylvania

39,400

$835

$41,078,000
Rhode Island

2,900

$796

$2,906,000
South Carolina

12,100

$674

$11,267,000
South Dakota

2,700

$823

$2,709,000
Tennessee

19,500

$743

$18,829,000
Texas

104,700

$829

$115,580,000
Utah

7,900

$667

$7,443,000
Vermont

2,000

$747

$1,859,000
Virginia

29,000

$752

$29,578,000
Washington

27,600

$829

$30,330,000
West Virginia

5,000

$855

$5,258,000
Wisconsin

12,700

$675

$11,619,000
Wyoming

2,800

$911

$3,189,000
Totals

1,042,100

$763

$1,054,581,000

* Excluding the Earned Income Tax Credit and other credits.

Michael Cohn

Michael Cohn, editor-in-chief of AccountingToday.com, has been covering business and technology for a variety of publications since 1985.