I filed last year but never received my state income tax do I still need to claim it this year?

[ej_djmulv]

I was supposed to get a refund but they never sent it.

[KrisD · Accepted solution]

If it was garnished, or intercepted, you are responsible for the entire amount. 

If it was lost or never sent, you'll need to contact the State about finding it.

If you took the Standard Deduction on your 2017 Federal return, a state or local tax refund is not reported as taxable income this year. 

[Latte]

What do you mean responsible for? 

[KrisD15]

This thread is several years old, but what is being asked is this:

If you expected a state refund for last tax year, and also need to claim that state refund amount on your Federal Return THIS tax year, does the fact that you never received the refund mean you don't need to claim it. 

The answer is "No, if the state refund was intercepted or garnished for perhaps state child support or some other debt, it is the same as if you received the refund, then turned around and paid the debt. You would still be responsible for any tax due on the refund." 

State refunds are not always taxable, in fact if you took the Standard Deduction on your Federal Return for the Tax Year corresponding to the refund, it needn't be reported and it wouldn't be taxed. 

This means that if I take the Standard Deduction today on my 2021 Tax Year Return, and when I compute my state tax return I find I'm getting a refund, NEXT year when I do my 2022 Federal Return, the state refund (which I will receive in 2022) will not be taxable. 

THEREFORE, if you took the Standard Deduction last year when you filed your FEDERAL 2020 Tax Year return, and if you received a State Refund last year (Got it in 2021, but it was for Tax Year 2020) it is not needed. 

If you earned it, but the state took it away for some reason, it is the same as if you received it. You are "responsible" for it. 

If it was lost, you need to contact the state to try to find or replace it.