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Unclaimed Property (Escheat) Compliance

Every business holds unclaimed property: uncashed vendor checks, stale payroll, customer credits, unused gift cards. Every state requires it to be reported, and most businesses have never filed. We make it a routine annual compliance item for your clients.

Unclaimed property is not a tax, but states enforce it like one, with multi-year lookbacks, interest, penalties, and contingent-fee auditors. It is a risk most CPA firms are aware of and few have the capacity to address. We provide the annual process: identify what has gone dormant, send the required owner notices, and file the reports in each state by its deadline.

For clients who have never reported, we help your firm scope and prepare voluntary disclosure filings that limit the lookback and eliminate penalties.

What we handle

Dormancy analysisReview of accounts payable, payroll, accounts receivable credits, and other ledgers against each state's dormancy periods and property types.
Due diligence lettersStatutory owner notification mailings, timed and worded to meet each state's requirements, with response tracking.
Annual state reportingPreparation and electronic filing of holder reports in all states, in each state's required format (NAUPA), with remittance schedules.
Negative reportsFiling of zero reports where a state requires or expects one, to establish a compliance history.
Voluntary disclosure agreementsLookback schedules and filings for first-time reporters, including Delaware's VDA program.
Audit supportData compilation, sampling analysis, and workpaper support when a client is contacted by a state or third-party auditor.
Policies and proceduresWritten unclaimed property procedures so the client's staff know how to handle stale items going forward.
Gift card and customer credit programsAnalysis of exemptions and reporting positions for clients with consumer-facing programs.

The best time to raise unclaimed property with a client is before the audit letter arrives. Third-party auditors work on contingency and routinely open ten-year lookbacks.

Why firms use us for this

  • Annual fixed fee per client, scoped after a short initial review.
  • A calendar of fall and spring reporting deadlines across all states, managed for you.
  • Cleanly documented reports that stand up if the client is later examined.

Discuss your firm's needs