Workers in the Bay of Plenty region are owed an estimated $37.76 million in unclaimed tax refunds – money which will be retained permanently by the IRD if not claimed within five years.
NZ Tax Refunds managing director Cilla Hegarty says the Bay of Plenty region has a workforce of about 124,000 people.

'That's on average just over $300 per person waiting to be claimed in tax refunds,” says Cilla.
NZ Tax Refunds is also recommending people who have recently joined the ranks of the unemployed to check for a tax credit if they have been made redundant.
Ceilia says the Bay of Plenty recorded a 0.3 per cent jump in unemployment in the June quarter to 5.8 per cent, that's about 7000 unemployed.
'It is important for anyone who has been made redundant to check whether they are eligible for a tax credit, as this is often the last thing they think of.
'Many people who have been made redundant in the past few months are probably due a tax credit now – they don't have to wait until the end of the financial year.
'As soon as a person is made redundant there is a government incentive to apply for tax credits up to the value of $3600.
If an employee has received redundancy payments they could have been taxed at almost 40 per cent,” says Celia.
She says one client who worked in the finance sector for many years was eligible for a redundancy tax credit of about $3500.
'Another who was made redundant from a government department received about $2000 in redundancy credits,” says Celia.