10 million Americans got overcharged by the IRS, and you might be one of them

If you filed your 2020 federal tax return before March 11, listen up -- the IRS just issued some of the best news that it's possible to receive from the tax agency. Namely, that millions of Americans are about to get an unexpected IRS refund.

Here's why: Unemployment insurance benefits that taxpayers receive when they lose their job usually count as taxable income that must be reported on your next federal tax return. Taxpayers who received that UI benefit last year would no doubt have done so if they filed their 2020 return before the March date we noted above -- and that's why they might be getting a refund from the IRS. That's because the American Rescue Plan — the stimulus legislation which President Biden signed into law on March 11 — excluded UI benefits of up to $10,200 from being taxed for 2020. And with that one stroke of the pen, Biden ensured that at least 10 million people, according to the IRS's estimate, qualify for a reduced tax bill or even a refund.