Finding extra money is as easy as searching the Tennessee Treasury's Unclaimed Property Division online database and submitting a claim.
Unclaimed property is money that has been turned over to the State by businesses and organizations unable to locate the rightful owners.
Every year, millions of missing dollars are turned over, and the Unclaimed Property Division works to return it to the rightful owner.
There was $976.8 million waiting to be claimed, as of June 30, 2019, and more missing money has been turned over by businesses throughout the past fiscal year.
In Tennessee, unclaimed property is intangible assets, such as utility refunds, uncashed paychecks, credit balances for overpayments, rental deposit refunds, gift certificates, securities, bank accounts, etc.
Once businesses have turned over property, the Department of Treasury uses various proactive measures to locate the owners.
The easiest way to find out if you have missing money is through our searchable database of the owners’ names available on the division’s website: ClaimItTN.gov.
The Tennessee Department of Treasury works to return unclaimed property through various methods throughout the year:
- Letters to Last Known Addresses: We mail letters to the address provided when the property was turned over from the business (holder). The Unclaimed Property Division has mailed approximately 200,000 letters to potential claimants since November 2019. If you have received a letter, you can verify the information by visiting ClaimItTN.gov.
- Social Security Match through Labor & Workforce Records: Treasury works with the TN Department of Labor & Workforce to match social security numbers with employment records. We mail letters to any owners via their current employers. When this happens, the employer delivers the letter to the owner of the unclaimed property.
- ClaimItTN.gov: This searchable online database contains all unclaimed property in Tennessee dating to the beginning of the program. 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.
During the last fiscal year, the Division returned a record-breaking 62,549 claims totaling $65.4 million in cash property to the owners or their heirs, local governments, and states.
Officials with the Tennessee Department of Treasury's Unclaimed Property Division will be participating in events across the state to help residents claim missing money.
Officials with the division say they will set up Unclaimed Property booths at popular events that will be held across the state throughout 2019.
Residents are encouraged to stop by and see if they have money that belongs to them.
Officials say the division returned almost $33-million to more than 48,000 people last year. One of those people ended up with $13,466.04, the largest amount claimed by a person at these events.
"With nearly $1 billion in unclaimed property in Tennessee, the need to connect with local communities is greater than ever. These events have been an excellent way to help increase awareness for this program,” said State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr.
The first stop for the Unclaimed Property Division will be in Memphis this Friday.
The Unclaimed Property Division will be in Chattanooga in September during the Hamilton County Fair. No specific date has been given for this year's county fair.
To learn more about the events or see if you have money waiting for you to claim, visit the Tennessee Department of Treasury's website.
This story originally appeared on WRCB.com.