How to Find Money Owed to You
Search for unclaimed tax refunds., Check state publications and events., Search local treasuries., Locate federal mortgage refunds., Search nongovernmental databases., Locate unclaimed savings bonds.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Search for unclaimed tax refunds.
If you changed your address or your tax refund was otherwise undeliverable, you might be able to find it by contacting the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Alternately, if you didn’t earn enough to pay certain taxes, you might be owed an Earned Income Credit.
Finally, If you did not file a tax return but had taxes withheld from your pay, you can still file for a refund.Use the IRS refund claim tool online at https://www.irs.gov/Refunds to file for your tax refund. -
Step 2: Check state publications and events.
States often publish lists of individuals whose money they are holding in newspapers.
State fairs often have booths which allow you to inquire if the state owes you any money.
Finally, states might hold telethons in an effort to contact owners of state-held money., Finding money held by counties or municipalities – usually city tax refunds or utility overages
-- works basically the same way that finding money at the state level works, except that there is no centralized database to search for it.
Locally held money may not be held in perpetuity, either, so some urgency is required if you want to collect it.An internet search of your city or county name followed by a word string such as “unclaimed money” or “refund claims” or “abandoned accounts” is a good starting point.Contact your municipal Treasury Department to find out if you may be owed money. , Some mortgages insured by the Fair Housing Administration (FHA) offer refunds to qualifying individuals.
If you paid a lump sum on your mortgage at closing but also paid monthly, or if you refinanced your FHA loan into a conventional loan, you might be owed money from the FHA.These refunds fall into two types, distributive shares and premium refunds.Premium refunds provide the mortgagor with a refund on a portion of what they paid for FHA mortgage insurance.
Distributive shares give the mortgagor a share of earnings from the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.
Distributive shares are only available for 6 years beyond the date when notification was first sent to the mortgagor.
As of 2014, unclaimed FHA refunds had swelled to $412 million.Check https://entp.hud.gov/dsrs/refunds/ to see if you have an FHA refund owed to you. , There are two nongovernmental databases which enable you to find money owed to you by various states and some Canadian provinces: missingmoney.com and unclaimed.org.
Both were established in 1999 by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA).
Their database allows you to search almost any state’s unclaimed property databases.
The sites are virtually the same, but unclaimed.org operates more like an information database, while missingmoney.com is more akin to a search engine.
Both sites search the same holdings.
The NAUPA databases help you find money owed to you from things like unclaimed checks, abandoned security deposit boxes, and rental deposits, in addition to money owed to you by the government.
Not every state is included in the NAUPA search.
Check to ensure your state is included., To find unclaimed savings bonds, use the Treasury Hunt database at http://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/tools/tools_treasuryhunt.htm.
The database was designed by the Treasury Department to help individuals locate forgotten or otherwise lost savings bonds.
All you need to search the database is your Social Security number. -
Step 3: Search local treasuries.
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Step 4: Locate federal mortgage refunds.
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Step 5: Search nongovernmental databases.
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Step 6: Locate unclaimed savings bonds.
Detailed Guide
If you changed your address or your tax refund was otherwise undeliverable, you might be able to find it by contacting the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Alternately, if you didn’t earn enough to pay certain taxes, you might be owed an Earned Income Credit.
Finally, If you did not file a tax return but had taxes withheld from your pay, you can still file for a refund.Use the IRS refund claim tool online at https://www.irs.gov/Refunds to file for your tax refund.
States often publish lists of individuals whose money they are holding in newspapers.
State fairs often have booths which allow you to inquire if the state owes you any money.
Finally, states might hold telethons in an effort to contact owners of state-held money., Finding money held by counties or municipalities – usually city tax refunds or utility overages
-- works basically the same way that finding money at the state level works, except that there is no centralized database to search for it.
Locally held money may not be held in perpetuity, either, so some urgency is required if you want to collect it.An internet search of your city or county name followed by a word string such as “unclaimed money” or “refund claims” or “abandoned accounts” is a good starting point.Contact your municipal Treasury Department to find out if you may be owed money. , Some mortgages insured by the Fair Housing Administration (FHA) offer refunds to qualifying individuals.
If you paid a lump sum on your mortgage at closing but also paid monthly, or if you refinanced your FHA loan into a conventional loan, you might be owed money from the FHA.These refunds fall into two types, distributive shares and premium refunds.Premium refunds provide the mortgagor with a refund on a portion of what they paid for FHA mortgage insurance.
Distributive shares give the mortgagor a share of earnings from the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.
Distributive shares are only available for 6 years beyond the date when notification was first sent to the mortgagor.
As of 2014, unclaimed FHA refunds had swelled to $412 million.Check https://entp.hud.gov/dsrs/refunds/ to see if you have an FHA refund owed to you. , There are two nongovernmental databases which enable you to find money owed to you by various states and some Canadian provinces: missingmoney.com and unclaimed.org.
Both were established in 1999 by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA).
Their database allows you to search almost any state’s unclaimed property databases.
The sites are virtually the same, but unclaimed.org operates more like an information database, while missingmoney.com is more akin to a search engine.
Both sites search the same holdings.
The NAUPA databases help you find money owed to you from things like unclaimed checks, abandoned security deposit boxes, and rental deposits, in addition to money owed to you by the government.
Not every state is included in the NAUPA search.
Check to ensure your state is included., To find unclaimed savings bonds, use the Treasury Hunt database at http://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/tools/tools_treasuryhunt.htm.
The database was designed by the Treasury Department to help individuals locate forgotten or otherwise lost savings bonds.
All you need to search the database is your Social Security number.
About the Author
Joshua Nelson
Brings years of experience writing about cooking and related subjects.
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