PA Treasury Reminds Businesses to File Annual Unclaimed Property Reports by April 15 to Avoid Penalties

Most property types are required to be reported once the account, transaction, property, etc. is dormant for three years; More information and webinars available at patreasury.gov

Harrisburg – (RealEstateRama) — State Treasurer Timothy A. Reese reminds Pennsylvania businesses that April 15 is the deadline to turn over any abandoned money or property after three years of inactivity or dormancy to the Pennsylvania Treasury. This can include financial assets or forgotten tangible items. Holders that do not file a report by April 15 may be subject to interest and penalties.

Pennsylvania’s Disposition of Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Act requires financial institutions, government agencies, businesses, organizations and entities to remit unclaimed property to Treasury on an annual basis. Under the Act, property is presumed abandoned or unclaimed if the owner had not taken specific action about the property within the previous three years for most property types and to verify its rightful legal owner.

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 contents of safe deposit boxes.

Every year, Treasury receives millions of dollars in unclaimed property and serves as the custodian of unclaimed property until it can find and verify its rightful legal owner. Unclaimed property remains available to be claimed by the rightful owners or their heirs in perpetuity.

“Treasury is committed to returning unclaimed property to its rightful owners. The first step is to make businesses aware of their obligation to report any dormant property they are holding and then assist them with the reporting process. I urge all businesses to contact Treasury to make sure they comply with the reporting requirements.”

Timothy A. Reese, State Treasurer

Treasury offers webinars to help guide property holders through the details of Pennsylvania’s unclaimed property law. The presentations are available at www.patreasury.gov by dropping down the “Unclaimed Property” menu. Other reporting resources such as FAQs, detailed reporting instructions, a link to free electronic reporting software (required for reporting more than ten accounts), a copy of the Act and information for companies voluntarily coming into compliance for the first time are available at the site. Holders with questions can reach Treasury’s compliance team at (800) 379-3999 or ">.

To help businesses that have never filed or may have overlooked certain property types, Treasury offers a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement (VDA) to bring companies up-to-date with their annual filing while receiving a waiver of penalties and interest. Holders with overdue property that should be reported or those that would like more information on the VDA program should contact Treasury’s compliance team (800) 379-3999.

Media contact: Debra S. Tingley, APR, 717-787-2991 or ">

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The Pennsylvania Treasury is an independent department of state government led by the state treasurer, who is elected every four years. The department’s primary duty is to safeguard and manage the state’s public funds. It invests state money to generate income on behalf of the citizens of Pennsylvania, reviews and processes payments for state government agencies, and serves as custodian of more than $100 billion in state funds. Key Treasury programs include Unclaimed Property, PA 529 College Savings Program and the Board of Finance and Revenue.