TENNESSEE - The Tennessee Department of Treasury is sending letters you will be happy to get from your boss. Employers across Tennessee are receiving letters addressed to many employees who have unclaimed property available to claim.
The Unclaimed Property program is a consumer protection service of the Tennessee Department of Treasury that works to return missing money to the rightful owner. The program works to proactively locate owners through various means, including working with the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development to match information with employment records to help locate people with unclaimed property. Each year, thousands of letters are mailed in large batches to those owners via their current employers, who are asked to deliver the letters to those with missing money.
Unclaimed property is money that has been turned over to the State by businesses and organizations unable to locate the rightful owners, such as utility refunds, uncashed paychecks, credit balances for overpayments, rental deposit refunds, gift certificates, securities, and abandoned bank accounts.
The letter sent via employers directs the recipients to submit a claim through ClaimItTN.gov. A significant portion of claims each year are returned through the assistance of employers. About 70% of claims are paid in as little as two weeks, on average.
"For most of us, it's probably hard to believe that we might have money missing, but the 7 million names in our database show it happens to many of us," said State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. "We hope you’ll find this letter a welcome one, as we’re contacting you to let you know you have money that belongs in your bank account.”
Letters are also mailed by the division to the address provided when the property was turned over from the business (holder). If you have received a letter, you can verify the information by visiting ClaimItTN.gov.
The quickest way to find out if you have missing money is to visit, ClaimItTN.gov, where you can search your name in a secure online database, locate missing money, and submit a claim in a matter of minutes. Treasury recommends searching for common misspellings of your name and addresses as well, as that may be why the business was unable to return the money to you initially.
There was over $1.2 billion waiting to be claimed, as of June 30, 2022, and more missing money has been turned over by businesses throughout the past fiscal year. Last year, the Division returned 50,337 claims totaling $57.6 million in cash property to the owners or their heirs, businesses, and local governments.
There is no time limit on claiming the property, and there is never a fee to claim it in Tennessee. Beware of any service asking you to pay them to help you get your money back. If you are ever contacted about unclaimed property in Tennessee and would like to check the validity, go to ClaimItTN.gov.
