MOHAVE COUNTY – The Unclaimed Property program with the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) reunited $48 million to its rightful owners in fiscal year 2021 (July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021).
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and safety restrictions, ADOR’S Unclaimed Property Unit continued its efforts to assist taxpayers in recovering lost assets by providing virtual meeting options and in-person appointments. The team delivered $5 million more back to citizens than in fiscal year 2020. Additionally, Unclaimed Property officials developed a mass email solution to make customer communications faster and more efficient.
“Taxpayers entrust ADOR to safeguard unclaimed assets and return them to the rightful owners. Unclaimed property is one of the many extraordinary services that ADOR provides that is free, easy, and gives back to the community,” said Arizona Department of Revenue Director Rob Woods.
Amounts given back to individuals ranged from one dollar to $166,000. Approximately 83,000 properties were returned to over 13,000 claimants. Note that not all properties have a cash value as some are transfers from Mutual Funds and Securities and the return of safe deposit box items.
In the past three fiscal years, approximately $138 million worth of funds and property have been returned to individuals and businesses. Currently, the program still holds more than $1.8 billion in unclaimed property for individuals and businesses.
Unclaimed property generally consists of money due to an individual from sources including old bank accounts, uncashed payroll checks, tax refunds, credit balances, rebates, returned deposits, and dormant safe deposit boxes. Often the companies possessing the funds have an outdated address or the wrong forwarding address for the customer and are unable to return or contact the owner. Unfortunately, the owner may pass away without any family members aware of the assets. Most accounts are turned over to the state after several years of inactivity.
To search for unclaimed property, customers can search their names or business name at https://azdor.gov/unclaimed-property. ADOR encourages taxpayers to search their name each year as new properties come throughout the year to the program.
Claimants are required to provide documentation showing their right to claim the property, including the legal right for property in another person’s name. Claimants must include with their claim form a valid photo ID, such as a driver’s license or other applicable identification, and documentation linking them to the owner’s last known address.
Be advised that the Department of Revenue will never use text messages to locate the owners of unclaimed property. Taxpayers can confirm they received legitimate ADOR correspondence on the ADOR website.
