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Pennsylvania’s Disposition of Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Act (DAUPA) requires many different types of entities, including all nonprofit organizations, to file a report if they have unclaimed property. However, if the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization examines its records and finds that no reportable unclaimed property exists, the organization is exempt from filing a negative report.

Common types of unclaimed property include savings or checking accounts, stocks, dividends, un-cashed payroll and expense checks, certificates of deposit, unclaimed insurance benefits, and expired gift certificates. The dormancy period for most property to qualify as unclaimed is five years, meaning that no contact has been made with the owner, or there has been no customer-generated activity on the account for five years. A few exceptions do exist, and they can be found on a dormancy matrix on the PA Treasury Department’s website, www.patreasury.org.

The following are important items to note:

• The deadline to file unclaimed property is April 15th each year;
• The Pennsylvania Treasury Department’s Bureau of Unclaimed Property accepts unclaimed property reports in written as well as electronic format; and
• Any amount is reportable to the Treasury.

If you are a first-time filer, the Treasury Department recommends that you review at least 10 years of your records.

Sources:
http://www.patreasury.org/unclaimedPropertyReports.html  
http://www.patreasury.org/assets/pdf/UnclaimedPropertyManual2009-reporting.pdf  

Schneider Downs provides accounting, tax, wealth management and business advisory services through innovative thought leaders who deliver the expertise to meet the individual needs of each client. Our offices are located in Pittsburgh, PA, and Columbus, OH.

This advice is not intended or written to be used for, and it cannot be used for, the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties that may be imposed, or for promoting, marketing or recommending to another person, any tax-related matter.

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