PA Treasury Reminds Employers April 15 is Deadline to File Annual Unclaimed Property Reports

Holder resources and information available online at www.patreasury.gov

Harrisburg – March 25, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Employers must report dormant financial assets and unclaimed tangible items to the Pennsylvania Treasury by April 15, State Treasurer Rob McCord reminded today. Compliance with this important annual deadline allows Treasury to return unclaimed property to the rightful owners, the Treasurer noted, as his department continues its concerted effort to educate businesses and organizations of their obligations under this state law.

“From my years as a business leader, I know there are many policies and deadlines that drive operations, and this includes the real, legal obligation for all employers to report unclaimed property to Treasury by April 15 each year,” Treasurer McCord said. “That’s why my staff and I continue to reach out to holders of unclaimed property, offering resources like interactive webinars, frequently asked questions and a hotline staffed by Treasury compliance professionals.

“As a result, more businesses and organizations are in compliance with this important consumer protection law and Treasury can carry out its legal duty of working to reunite unclaimed property with the rightful owner or heir,” the Treasurer continued.

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 $281 million in unclaimed property, the highest collection amount since he took office in 2009 and the third straight year collection passed the $200 million mark.

Since January 2009, the McCord Treasury has collected more than $1.1 billion in property and returned more than $526 million to rightful owners, including $82 million to businesses and local governments.

“Holders of unclaimed property can also be owners, too,” Treasurer McCord said. “I hope all holders who visit www.patreasury.gov to explore our holder resources also search their name and the name of their businesses to find out if we are holding any property in their name.”

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. Writing off unclaimed property as income does not relieve this liability, the Treasurer noted.

To assist 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 at 1-800-379-3999.

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, most commonly five years with some exceptions. 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 .

Media contact: Elizabeth Foose, 717-787-2991 or

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Editor’s note: Below please find direct links to Treasury’s holder compliance resources.
Holder resources home page: www.patreasury.gov/unclaimedProperty-Resources-for-Reporting.html

PA Unclaimed Property Law: www.patreasury.gov/assets/pdf/UnclaimedPropertyForms/UnclaimedPropertyLaw.pdf
Holder reporting webinars: www.patreasury.gov/newsMedia-webinars-Archived.html

FAQ – Holder reporting: www.patreasury.gov/unclaimedPropertyFAQ.html#holder

FAQ – Dormancy periods: www.patreasury.gov/unclaimedPropertyFAQ.html#dormancy
FAQ – Reporting tangible property: www.patreasury.gov/unclaimedPropertyFAQ.html#reporting

FAQ – Gift card reporting: www.patreasury.gov/assets/pdf/UnclaimedProperty-Gift-Card-FAQs.pdf
FAQ – Extensions: www.patreasury.gov/unclaimedPropertyFAQ.html#extensions