The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) is sending $3.9 million to unclaimed property owners in March, and for many, the delivery of a check will come as a surprise. DOR annually matches tax records against the state’s unclaimed property roll. If DOR can definitively match tax records to an owner on the unclaimed property roll, the agency sends out checks automatically for those owed property valued at $2,000 or less and will send letters to those owed property valued at greater than $2,000 explaining how to claim the property.
This year’s matching program has identified 34,078 unclaimed property owners and will be sending $3.9 million in refund checks to over 33,000 of them. The remaining taxpayers will be receiving letters explaining to them how to claim their over $6.5 million in unclaimed property that is just waiting for them. All told, DOR has matched $10.4 million in unclaimed property to tax records via this year’s annual matching process.
This year’s first round of checks and letters will be hitting mailboxes at the end of the week. Those receiving a check will receive a “Notice of Claim Refund for Unclaimed Property.” Taxpayers can immediately cash those checks. If a taxpayer has questions about the validity of their check, they can use the “Check Your Claim Status” page on DOR’s website to confirm.
