Here's What You Need to Remember: The agency has estimated that approximately ten million Americans likely overpaid on their unemployment taxes last year and could be in line to receive refunds. But do keep in mind that since many individuals had already filed their tax returns before the law change, estimates now are as high as thirteen million.

Much like the frustrations some Americans had to endure in getting their hands on the coronavirus stimulus checks under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, those who are still waiting for their refunds from 2020 unemployment benefits are also voicing their complaints.

But after weeks of making their unfortunate situation known in interviews and on social media platforms like Twitter, the Internal Revenue Service finally came through in a big way recently by disbursing nearly three million refunds to eligible Americans.

For most people still without the refunds, the IRS says the best course of action is to wait patiently—as it has already confirmed that it will automatically adjust tax returns if they qualify for the unemployment refund. Thanks to Biden’s legislation, the funds are from the waiving of federal tax on up to $10,200 of unemployment benefits—or $20,400 for married couples filing jointly—that were received by taxpayers last year.

“Because the (approval of the refund) occurred after some people filed their taxes, the IRS will take steps in the spring and summer to make the appropriate change to their return, which may result in a refund,” the IRS stated.

It also noted that “taxpayers will receive letters from the IRS, generally within thirty days of the adjustment, informing them of what kind of adjustment was made (such as refund, payment of IRS debt payment or payment offset for other authorized debts) and the amount of the adjustment.”

The agency has estimated that approximately ten million Americans likely overpaid on their unemployment taxes last year and could be in line to receive refunds. But do keep in mind that since many individuals had already filed their tax returns before the law change, estimates now are as high as thirteen million.

“The IRS plans to issue the next set of refunds in mid-June,” the agency said.

“The review of returns and processing corrections will continue during the summer as the IRS continues to review the simplest returns and then turns to more complex returns,” it added.

Also, be aware that the IRS has already sent out more than eight million of the so-called “plus-up” or supplemental checks. These top-off funds, according to the agency, are for taxpayers “who earlier in March received payments based on their 2019 tax returns but are eligible for a new or larger payment based on their recently processed 2020 tax returns.”

For example, these potentially sizeable checks “could include a situation where a person’s income dropped in 2020 compared to 2019, or a person had a new child or dependent on their 2020 tax return, and other situations,” it added.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn. This article first appeared earlier this year.

Image: Reuters.