Unemployed people who overpaid taxes will get refunds starting in May, IRS says

Unemployed Americans who filed their taxes early this season and may have overpaid can expect a refund starting in May, the government said Wednesday.

Under the American Rescue Plan, up to $10,200 in unemployment benefits for single people (and $20,400 for married couples) is exempt from federal income tax. But the law was signed March 11 — more than a month after tax-filing season started and some 66 million people had already filed their tax returns. For those taxpayers who already filed and received unemployment benefits last year, "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 first refunds are expected to be made in May and will continue into the summer," the agency said Wednesday.