Hundreds of bills move through the legislative process each year, and many eventually become new laws. There’s one new law in particular that deals with the Treasury and our Unclaimed Property Program, and I’m asking for your help to spread the word about it.
Act 339 of the 2018 Regular Legislative Session allowed the State Treasury and the Louisiana Department of Revenue to work together to return more money to more Louisiana citizens. The new law helped us update the addresses we have on file and clear out a backlog of unclaimed property we have on the books.
One of the main reasons items are turned over to the state as unclaimed property is because of incorrect or old addresses. Businesses from all over the country are required by law to report unclaimed property to us and provide us with the last known address of the owner. Sometimes, the address the company has on record is no longer correct.
Most Louisiana residents are required by law to file state income tax returns each year with their most recent addresses. Act 339 permitted the Department of Revenue to share the current and correct addresses of residents who file Louisiana state tax returns with the Department of the Treasury.
We cross-referenced our database of individuals who are owed unclaimed property with the Department of Revenue’s address information. We sent the Department of Revenue our list of names, and they gave us updated addresses. As a result, we were able to match 85,000 individuals who are owed $15 million in unclaimed property!
Recipients on the list can expect an official check from the State Treasurer’s Office in the mail beginning in October and throughout the months of November and December. Refunds will range anywhere from $10 to $1,500. Each check will include the state seal and the Unclaimed Property Division’s address and website at the top of the check. The check stub contains a memo describing the Act 339 initiative.
The Treasury hasn’t done a large unclaimed property check mail-out of this magnitude since the Unclaimed Property Division issued 165,000 “Refund the Tolls” checks several years ago. If you have any questions about this initiative or the unclaimed property program, call us toll-free at 1-888-925-4127. You can also search our website at www.latreasury.com for unclaimed property.
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