State Controller’s Office (SCO) urges businesses to respond promptly to unclaimed property inquiries March 2021 Tax News

The California Unclaimed Property Law requires businesses to annually review their:

• Books
• Records
• Report any property to the State Controller’s Office (SCO) when there has been no activity for a period of time. Generally:
  • 3 years for most properties.
  • 1 year for payroll.

Common forms of unclaimed property include:

• Uncashed checks
• Payroll
• Commissions
• Customer refunds
• Vendor payments

During this time of year, businesses may receive calls or emails from individuals or organizations who received a letter from the SCO indicating their property may soon be sent to the state.

The business should make every effort to reunite the property with the owner and not remit it to SCO if:

• An owner makes contact with a business regarding their property.
• The business already included the property on a Notice Report.

For more information or to request one-on-one assistance with reporting unclaimed property to the state, email the Outreach and Compliance Unit of SCO’ Unclaimed Property Division.