About Unclaimed Money

Abandoned property services send notices to consumers whose names are on lists of abandoned items and cash. Those services charge a fee to reveal the agency that has the property or cash that people might want to claim. However, associations and government agencies have made it easy for people to track down unclaimed cash themselves free of charge. Some common unclaimed cash that people are owed includes tax refunds, security deposits and bank funds.

Unclaimed Refunds

Some people have unclaimed tax refunds, because they didn't know they were entitled to a refund. For example, some workers may believe they didn't earn enough income to file a tax return, even though taxes were withheld from their pay. Yet they may be entitled to a refund because those taxes were withheld. In such cases, taxpayers need to file a return no later than three years from the original due date of a tax return to claim their refund.

Misdirected Refunds

Taxpayers are responsible for informing the Internal Revenue Service when they have a new address. People who never received a federal refund check they were expecting may not have had their correct address on file with the IRS or the U.S. Postal Service when their refund was mailed. The IRS website has a "Where's My Refund?" section where you can change your address and claim an past refund. However, you may have to contact the IRS directly to make a claim if more than a year has passed from the time you were expecting a refund check.

Deposits

Take time to retrace your steps over the last few years. Perhaps you never received a refund from a landlord for an apartment security deposit. You also may be owed refunds from an insurance company or a bank where you had a safe deposit box you no longer use. These types of unclaimed funds are turned over to the state government where you lived at the time the refunds were issued. Track down the appropriate state department that might have your refund at the free website managed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.

Bonds and Bank Funds

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's "Treasury Hunt" website is the place to search for any unclaimed savings bonds you may have. Type in your Social Security number on the website to find bonds that may belong to you. According to the Treasury Department, billions of dollars in savings bonds that no longer earn interest haven't been cashed. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) may be holding your cash if you used to have an account at a bank that went out of business. The FDIC's unclaimed funds website helps people track down money they didn't claim from their accounts when their banks went under.

References

• ABC News; Unclaimed Money: GMA Shares 11 Ways to Claim Your Cash; Elisabeth Leamy; March 24, 2011
• MSNBC; You Might be Rich! Here's How to Find Out; Tiki Barber; Feb. 21, 2007
• Internal Revenue Service: Does the IRS Owe You Money?
• U.S. Department of the Treasury: Unclaimed Money and Assets

Resources

• USA.gov: Government May Owe You Money
• Internal Revenue Service: Where's My Refund?
• National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators: Free Unclaimed Cash Search