The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers that they have a limited time remaining to claim an estimated $1.2 billion in unclaimed tax refunds from 2022, with the deadline approaching in April.

The IRS estimates that the median refund amount for unclaimed returns is nearly $700, representing money that belongs to taxpayers who filed returns but have not yet received their refunds due to various administrative issues.

Meanwhile, some Americans are engaging in forms of tax resistance as a method of political protest. These tax resisters employ different strategies, with some withholding only symbolic amounts from their tax payments as a form of civil disobedience.

However, those who choose more dramatic forms of resistance by willfully refusing to file tax returns or pay taxes entirely face significant legal consequences. The IRS can impose both civil and criminal penalties on individuals who deliberately fail to meet their tax obligations.

The contrast highlights two different relationships Americans have with the tax system: those seeking to claim money owed to them by the government, and those refusing to participate in the system as a form of protest, despite potential legal ramifications.