Tax Tip of The Week | Did You Know All Ohio Businesses Must File An Annual Report of Unclaimed Funds?
It's that time of year again...
Time to report unclaimed funds! This one really gets business owners excited (sarcasm intended).
As stated by the Ohio Department of Commerce, "All businesses that are located and/or operate in the State of Ohio, or hold funds due to Ohio residents, are required to file an Annual Report of Unclaimed Funds."
Unclaimed Funds Reports are due by November 1st.
The Ohio Treasury wants Ohioans to recover money that is rightfully theirs. Every year 200,000 Ohioans lose track of their funds. They either put money in financial institutions and forget about it, or simply cannot track it in their records.
What is the Division of Unclaimed Funds?
The Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Unclaimed Funds exists to protect money lost by Ohioans in various financial institutions, find the people the money belongs to, and then returns it as quickly as possible. More than $1 billion currently is in the custody of the Division of Unclaimed Funds. The Ohio Treasury makes Ohioans aware of the Division of Unclaimed Funds, so that they get back money rightfully theirs. You can perform a search using the following link:
What types of accounts qualify as unclaimed funds?
We have a document from the Ohio Department of Commerce that helps explain what qualifies as "unclaimed funds," as well as how to report them, here:
HOW TO FILE AN UNCLAIMED FUNDS REPORT
Even if you have no unclaimed funds to report, a negative report must be filed.
What happens if your Ohio-based company does not report?
According to the Ohio Department of Commerce:
"For failing to report unclaimed funds or underreporting unclaimed funds, the company may incur civil penalties of $100.00 per day. The company may also have to pay interest at a rate up to 1% per month on the balance of unclaimed funds due per Ohio Revised Code section 169.12."
What is NAUPA?
The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) is a non-profit organization that maintains a national database, called Missing Money, to help people find unclaimed property.
MISSING MONEY
For additional assistance, contact the Ohio Department of Commerce's Division of Unclaimed Funds at 1-877-644-6823.
Still struggling in determining how to file an Unclaimed Funds Report?
At Bradstreet & Associates and Bradstreet & Company CPAs, we're here to help. If you need assistance filing your report, please call our Xenia office at 937-372-3504 or our Centerville office at 937-436-3133.
A complete information booklet on Reporting Unclaimed Funds is available here:
http://www.com.ohio.gov/documents/unfd_AnnualReportOfUnclaimedFunds.pdf
Thank you for all of your questions, comments and suggestions for future topics. As always, they are much appreciated. We also welcome and appreciate anyone who wishes to write a Tax Tip of the Week for our consideration. We may be reached in our Dayton office at 937-436-3133 or in our Xenia office at 937-372-3504. Or, visit our website.
This Week’s Co-Authors – Bobbie Haines & Linda Johannes, CPA
–until next week.