Spring unclaimed property deadlines are coming up

There’s no rest in Finance! For some companies, the next few months bring important spring unclaimed property reporting deadlines.

This time of year, things are already busy for your finance team as they handle other critical responsibilities, like year-end filing and EEO-1 reporting. And in 2021, your team’s probably even busier, given the added pandemic concerns and remote processes.

So, as CFO, you’ll want to check in and make sure your team’s on track. That way, spring unclaimed property reporting doesn’t fall by the wayside.

Which states have deadlines?

Here’s a roundup from Sovos of all the states that require your company to report unclaimed property during March, April or May of 2021:

• March: Delaware.
• April: Arizona, Arkansas, District of Columbia, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
• May: Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Vermont and Virginia.

What property’s due?

Note that many of the states listed above only require reporting for life insurance in the spring.

There are some locations that require reporting of other property in the spring (e.g., all insurance, brokerage, corporation, government, financial institutions, petroleum, utility). Those locations include Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Virginia.

What now?

With spring unclaimed property deadlines coming up, CFOs should remind their finance staff to:

• Check state agency websites for specific guidelines (e.g., what’s due, what filing format is accepted).
• Review the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators’ COVID-19 Information page, which contains details on how the pandemic is currently affecting unclaimed property procedures in different states.
• Take into account not just outstanding payments, but other types of unclaimed property that could be found in other departments. For instance, consider A/R credits, commissions, bonuses and workers’ compensation.

As you know, failure to report unclaimed property can result in sizeable penalties. And since states need revenue now more than ever due to the pandemic, you can bet they’ll be cracking down on compliance.