Over the course of our lives we are likely to move, change names, or simply lose documents. In some cases, this results in individuals losing access to cheques or other property with a financial value. Happily, there are a few ways to see if you have any uncashed cheques or unclaimed property.
Canada Revenue Agency Database of Uncashed Cheques
In February 2020, the Canadian Revenue Agency (“CRA”) unveiled a new tool designed to connect individuals with uncashed CRA cheques. Most often, the cheques are from uncashed tax returns owing to the taxpayer.
To make collection of the uncashed balances as easy as possible, the CRA has created an “Uncashed cheques” tab on each taxpayer’s online CRA account. To see if you have any uncashed cheques, login to your CRA Account and than click on “Uncashed Cheques”. To claim the uncashed amount (if any), you will be required to complete some CRA paperwork.
Provincial Databases for Unclaimed Property
Three provinces also have databases for unclaimed “property”. Typically, this unclaimed property stems from an unclaimed inheritance, though it could also be amounts from pensions or wages. Feel free to check out the following websites to see if there is any unclaimed property under your name in that province:
Bank of Canada Database for Unclaimed Balances
Lastly, the Bank of Canada maintains a searchable database for federally-regulated bank customers. If an individual has left money in a previous bank account or other bank instrument, after 10 years, it is transferred to the Bank of Canada and then identified in the searchable database.