Out of Sight, Out of Pocket: How Assets Become Unclaimed Property

Each year, millions of dollars in assets go unclaimed—not because of fraud or theft, but due to everyday oversights and administrative mishaps. From missed mail following a move to forgotten checks or uncashed refunds, there are many ways property can slip through the cracks. Whether caused by lack of communication, clerical errors, or corporate restructuring, these scenarios can lead to assets becoming dormant and eventually reported as unclaimed property. Understanding how these situations arise is key to preventing valuable assets from going unnoticed. 

• Business relocation without proper address updates – Businesses that move office locations without properly notifying vendors, financial institutions, or state agencies may miss critical mailings – such as refund checks, dividend payments, or tax documents – resulting in unclaimed assets.  

• Data entry or clerical errors – Incorrect input of a business name or mailing address (e.g., a misspelled company name or wrong suite number) can prevent correspondence from reaching the intended recipient, leading to assets being flagged as undeliverable. 

• Lack of centralized recordkeeping – In larger organizations or those with decentralized operations, it’s common for departments to overlook small credits, refunds, or accounts not actively monitored—causing them to fall into dormancy. 

• Uncashed disbursements – Businesses often issue checks for vendor refunds, employee reimbursements, or dividend payments that are never deposited, especially if the recipient is no longer affiliated with the company.  

• Corporate events and restructuring - During mergers, acquisitions, or dissolutions, assets like vendor credits, customer refunds, or payroll checks may be lost due to incomplete records or overlooked accounts. 

• Misapplied or unidentified payments - Customer or vendor payments that are received without sufficient identifying information may remain unapplied and eventually become dormant if not reconciled. 

Contributor: Megan Bryarly  

Tips for the Taxpayer 

Businesses need to have a solid process in place to determine whether they have funds that need to be escheated. Stay current on state unclaimed property reporting requirements.  Look for planning opportunities and VDA’s that might be applicable to your company. On the reverse side, businesses should conduct annual reviews to uncover funds owed to them.  If your company doesn’t have the time or expertise available to dedicate to unclaimed property reporting and review, seek a consultant with experience. 

How Can We Help?  

Allyn’s tax team is staffed with seasoned tax professionals experienced in all aspects of multi-state and local tax compliance and consulting for both US and global corporations. We perform unclaimed property reviews and routine compliance duties regularly for businesses located throughout the US and Canada. We are well-versed in technical unclaimed property tax regulations, procedures, and practices. We use that experience to your advantage. 

Allyn has the experience necessary to conduct a full review of your unclaimed property obligations and develop a strong process going forward. Our team will ensure that you are in complete compliance with applicable tax law while reducing your tax liability to your fair share - and nothing more. While we’re at it, we can conduct a review of funds escheated by others and owed to you, turning liabilities into refunds. 

It’s very easy for a company to engage us - just reach out and we’ll only require minimal data from you to get us started. We minimize the time that you’ll spend on unclaimed property issues; we’ll focus on the details and keep you apprised of the progress and findings. Further, we do it all with our recognized dedication to customer service - rated over 350% higher than current industry averages. 

Contact us and we can provide a customized cost-effective solution to meet your company’s needs. For further information on Allyn tax services, please contact: tax@allynintl.com. 

For More Information 

If you are interested in learning more about this topic or other tax topics, please visit our Tax Publications under News and Events at www.allynintl.com. 

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About Allyn International

Allyn International provides high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance. Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. Allyn’s regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.A., Shanghai, P.R. China, Prague, Czech Republic, and Dubai, U.A.E. For more information, visit  www.allynintl.com.