Aug 1, 2024 Current Resources

Federal Rebates And Refunds: Are You Owed Money?

(TheDailyCurrents.com) – Does the government owe you money? Each year, millions of taxpayer dollars go unclaimed since most people are unaware of unclaimed money and don’t know where to search for unclaimed cash. Worse, the government still hasn’t designated a specific website for finding unclaimed money.

Currently, taxpayers can only search for unclaimed money on specific official government databases. This post highlights the avenues to find unclaimed government money or money from any other institution nationwide.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

A report by the IRS revealed that about $1.5 billion worth of refunds go unclaimed or undelivered annually.

If you requested a tax refund and have not received it due to changing addresses or bank account information, look for it through the IRS’ “Where’s my Refund?” page. You can also call the IRS customer representatives to confirm the location of your refund. You can do the same thing, or call the IRS, if you haven’t filed last year’s returns, too.

However, note that tax refunds are only claimable for un-filed returns within the last three years. For example, all unclaimed refunds for 2019 and before cannot be claimed after this year’s April 18 filing deadline, as three years will have passed.

State Taxation or Revenue Department

State tax rebates and refunds often go unclaimed or undelivered for the same reasons as federal refunds. These include – addresses and name changes, disconnected and unreachable phone numbers. Luckily, there are two ways to search for unclaimed funds held by the state. These include:

Multi-state database: The unclaimed.org or missingmoney.com websites have ways to search for unclaimed assets by state, province, and territory.
State unclaimed property office: Money held by various state entities for too long can be deposited to the state’s revenue department or unclaimed property office.

The U.S Department of Treasury

The Treasury Department holds billions of dollars in matured savings bonds that stopped accruing interest but remains unredeemed. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also lists companies and people that owe investors money. To search for redeemable investments and savings bonds held by both entities; visit TreasuryHunt.gov or the Bureau of Fiscal Service.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

Old accounts with unclaimed funds from failed banks and credit unions closed between January 1989 and June 1993 are claimable. You can search for these unclaimed funds through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) provided the bank remains under FDIC receivership and the deposits were insured.

Employer-Based Organizations

The Department of Labor (DOL) database can help find up to three years’ worth of unpaid wages by current and previous employers who were in breach of labor laws. You can also find all unclaimed pensions and retirement benefits from former employers or failed pension schemes through the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation or the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits.

Insurance Databases

All unclaimed VA life insurance funds from 1965 can be searched in the Department of Veteran Affairs database. In addition, unclaimed life insurance benefits from a demutualized insurance company can also be claimed at demutualization-claims.com, whereas unclaimed FHA insurance refunds from previously held FHA-insured mortgages can be accessed through the Department of Housing and Urban Development database.

Court Database

If someone or a business owes you money and declares bankruptcy, the funds may remain undistributed by the court for various reasons. Unclaimed money from bankruptcy cases can be searched for and claimed through the U.S. Courts Unclaimed Funds Locator.

These are the avenues to look for unclaimed refunds, rebates, and other unclaimed monetary assets from various institutions nationwide. Begin searching the databases that you or a loved one suspects to have unclaimed money. In the end, ensure you cover as many databases as possible since many people stumble upon unclaimed money they never even expected.