Does Texas Owe You Money? Comptroller Reports $6 Billion In Unclaimed Property

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Did you know you could be owed hundreds, if not thousands of dollars and the money is just sitting there? It's called Unclaimed Property and since 1962, the Texas Comptroller's office has returned close to $3 billion dollars to Texans.

So what is unclaimed property? Unclaimed property can include things like utility deposits that were forgotten about, payroll checks, dividends, dormant bank accounts and more. According to a press release from the Texas Comptrollers Office, $285 million in unclaimed property was approved and paid in the fiscal 2021.

The $285 million in unclaimed property returned in fiscal 2021 represents more than 538,000 properties. These belongings include things such as forgotten utility deposits or other refunds, insurance proceeds, payroll checks, cashier’s checks, dividends, mineral royalties, dormant bank accounts and abandoned safe-deposit box contents. Businesses generally turn property over to the unclaimed property program after it has been considered dormant for one to five years.

There is generally no statute of limitations for unclaimed property the state holds, which means there’s no time limit for owners to file a claim — they can do so at any time.

The State of Texas is currently holding more than $6 billion dollars in cash and other valuables through the Unclaimed Property program.

Now this doesn't mean everyone has money waiting for them and it also doesn't mean it's a huge amount of money for those who do have unclaimed property. There is no minimum or maximum amount that can be turned into the State.

To find out if you have any unclaimed property and then how to proceed forward, visit ClaimItTexas.org. You can also call 1-800-321-2274.