Important Deadline for Employers: Annual Unclaimed Property Reports Due by April 15 Deadline

Thu, Apr 04, 2013 15:45 CET

PA Treasury has employer resources and information available online at www.patreasury.gov

Harrisburg – Businesses and organizations have until April 15 to report dormant financial assets and unclaimed tangible items to the Pennsylvania Treasury. This important annual deadline allows Treasury to return unclaimed property to the rightful owners or heirs.

“The annual April 15 deadline to report unclaimed property to Treasury is a real, legal obligation for all ‘holders,’ as they are called in the state unclaimed property law,” State Treasurer Rob McCord said. “Our team of compliance professionals is available to assist businesses and organizations in filing their report and we’ve compiled helpful resources at www.patreasury.gov.”

According to Pennsylvania’s Disposition of Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Act, all financial institutions, government agencies, businesses, organizations, and entities are required to remit unclaimed property to Treasury on an annual basis.

Treasurer McCord noted that in recent years, unclaimed property collections have increased steadily, a direct result of his department’s efforts to increase awareness of and compliance with Pennsylvania’s unclaimed property law. Last year alone Treasury collected nearly $272 million in unclaimed property, the second year in a row collections passed the $200 million mark.

“Working together with the business community, we now get more property back into the hands of the rightful owners,” Treasurer McCord said. “When filing their report, employers should also search www.patreasury.gov to see if we have money waiting for them to claim.”

Since January 2009, the McCord Treasury has collected more than $894 million in property and returned more than $425 million to rightful owners, including many businesses and local governments.

According to Pennsylvania’s unclaimed property law, any holder that does not file a report by April 15 may be subject to interest and penalties. First-time filers are required to report unclaimed property for the current dormancy period and all unclaimed property from prior reporting years. Writing off unclaimed property as income does not relieve this liability, the Treasurer noted.

Generally speaking, unclaimed property is any financial asset that has been left with a business or government agency without activity or contact for a specified period of time. Reportable assets include bank accounts, uncashed payroll checks, accounts payable or receivable checks, credit balances, expired gift cards, escrow accounts, money orders, utility refunds, insurance proceeds, stocks and bonds and tangible items including those from police departments, hospitals, nursing homes, universities and safe deposit boxes. Visit www.patreasury.gov for a “dormancy matrix” that lists the holding periods for various property types, as well as examples of types of property reported by industry.

Treasury offers webinars to help guide holders through the details of Pennsylvania’s unclaimed property law. Thousands of employers have participated in these webinars to date. These presentations are available for view at a holder’s convenience at www.patreasury.gov under the “Unclaimed Property” tab. There, holders will also find other reporting resources such as FAQs, detailed reporting instructions, a link to free electronic reporting software (required for reporting more than 10 accounts), a copy of the Disposition of Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Act, and information for companies voluntarily coming into compliance for the first time.

Holders with questions or in need of assistance can reach Treasury’s compliance team at 1-800-379-3999 or report@patreasury.gov.

Media contact: Elizabeth Foose, 717-787-2991 or news@patreasury.gov

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Editor’s note: Below please find direct links to Treasury’s holder compliance resources.