Landman
Unclaimed property reporting has strict reporting deadlines and failure to report could result in penalties and interest. These deadlines vary by state, and it is important to adhere to the reporting requirements for each state. Texas has a fast-approaching deadline of July 1st for all unclaimed property reporting. Have you completed your escheatment checklist to ensure your reporting and payments will be on time? If not, here are a few items you must complete before submitting your unclaimed property report to the State of Texas.
The State of Texas requires any owner funds that have been dormant for a period of three or more years to be escheated. Before reporting unclaimed property funds to the State of Texas, you are required to send due diligence letters to all owners with funds currently in suspense meeting the escheatment criteria. Due diligence letters help prove to the State that the operator attempted to make contact with the owner of the dormant funds prior to escheatment. Due diligence letters also aid in the recovery and identification of funds with the rightful owner and help minimize escheating funds to the State of Texas in error. All due diligence letters for the State of Texas are required to be postmarked by May 1st. Owners have until June 1st to contact the operator to reclaim the funds or risk having their funds sent to the State of Texas unclaimed property division.
After June 1st, operators should begin preparing their unclaimed property report to submit to the State of Texas for the owners that failed to initiate reclamation of their funds. Texas requires all reports to be submitted in the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) file format. Upon submission of the report to the State, funds must also be sent to the State. Texas allows for payment to be submitted via check, ACH, or wire. This process should be repeated every year as the dormancy period is met by additional owners. For owners with funds already escheated, future funds will continue to be escheated annually.
Each state has its own unclaimed reporting and deadline requirements, and it is important to adhere to those requirements to minimize the risk of costly penalties and interest.
Martindale has knowledgeable and experienced accountants that can handle the entire escheatment process regardless of the state requiring unclaimed property reporting. Martindale can help by:
➢ Navigating the unclaimed property process
➢ Keeping up with deadlines and reporting requirements for each state
➢ Reviewing suspense detail to identify owners requiring escheatment reporting
➢ Researching last known addresses for owners
➢ Sending due diligence letters
➢ Send accounting documents such as division orders, W-9s, etc. to owners that respond to the due diligence letter
➢ Updating accounting records
➢ Filing NAUPA reports with each state
➢ Submitting unclaimed funds to the state
Contact us at land@marticons.com for more information.
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