An estimated $5.4 million is waiting for approximately 6,100 Nebraskans who did not file a federal tax return for 2006, the Internal Revenue Service says.

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That is an average of nearly $900 per Nebraskan who didn’t file. The IRS estimates many are owed nearly $600.

To collect the money, a return for 2006 must be filed with the IRS no later than April 15.

“Maybe they didn’t file (initially) because they didn’t make enough money to require filing, but they could be leaving money on the table,” said IRS Nebraska spokesman Christopher Miller.

For example, most telephone customers, including most cell-phone users, qualify for the one-time telephone excise tax refund. Available only on the 2006 return, the special payment applies to long-distance excise taxes paid on phone service billed March 2003-July 2006. The government offers a standard refund amount of $30 to $60, or taxpayers can base their refund request on the actual amount of tax paid. For details, see the Telephone Excise Tax Refund page on IRS.gov.

Also, many low-and-moderate income workers may not have claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit. The EITC helps individuals and families whose incomes are below certain thresholds, which in 2006 were $38,348 for those with two or more children, $34,001 for people with one child and $14,120 for those with no children. For more information, visit the EITC Home Page.

Nationally, unclaimed refunds totaling more than $1.3 billion are awaiting nearly 1.4 million people, the IRS said.

“Especially in these tough times, we want to encourage people to review their records to see if they had tax withheld from their paychecks for 2006 but didn’t file a tax return,” Miller said.

If a return was not filed, the law allows most taxpayers three years to claim a refund. There is no penalty for filing a late return qualifying for a refund, but if no return is filed to claim the refund within three years, the money becomes property of the U.S. Treasury.

The law requires that the return be properly addressed, mailed and postmarked by that date. Though back-year tax returns cannot be filed electronically. Taxpayers can still speed up their refunds by choosing to have them deposited directly into a checking or savings account, the IRS says.

Current and prior year tax forms and instructions are available on the Forms and Publications page of IRS.gov or by calling toll-free 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676). Taxpayers who are missing Forms W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 for 2006, 2007 or 2008 should request copies from their employer, bank or other payer. If these efforts are unsuccessful, taxpayers can get a free transcript showing information from these year-end documents by calling 1-800-829-1040, or by filing Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return, with the IRS.