American money | USAGov (2024)

FAQs

What is the best website to look for unclaimed money? ›

www.unclaimed.org is the website of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. This is a legitimate site created by state officials to help people search for funds that may belong to you or your relatives. Searches are free.

Missingmoney.com is legit and can help you find potential unclaimed property that's owed to you. The site is free to use and is endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAPUA.) And it's helped people file $3+ billion in missing money claims last year.

To search for unclaimed funds being held by the State of Texas, please visit the Texas State Comptroller's website or contact their office at 1-800-654-FIND (3463).

To access the unclaimed property database by telephone, contact the State Controller's Customer Service Unit. California residents can call toll-free, at 800-992-4647 between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday (except holidays). Those outside California may call (916) 323-2827.

What if my stimulus money was issued, but was lost, stolen or destroyed? You can start a payment trace by calling the IRS at 800-919-9835. Or mail or fax a completed Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund, to the IRS. For more information about payment tracing go to IRS Payment Trace.

You may pay third-party organizations to search if you wish—and for some, this is advantageous. However, remember that all the information is accessible free of charge by searching each state's unclaimed property database or MissingMoney.com, or by contacting the state's unclaimed property office.

Unclaimed funds in Texas get turned over to the Texas Comptroller's Office. https://www.claimittexas.gov/ is the Comptroller's own website. You can safely give out your SSN and driver's license numbers to claim your funds.

According to the Texas Property Code, personal property is considered to be abandoned if, after three years, you have been unable to find the original owner, or no claim has been initiated asserting ownership of it. Once that time passes, you are legally entitled to assume ownership of it.

How long does the state of Texas hold unclaimed money? ›

Texas law has no statute of limitations on unclaimed property.

In Texas, it's called Adverse Possession and there is a lot you have to do to be successful in the process: Gather all legal documents associated with the property - This increases your chances of proving the current land owner has abandoned the property.

Someone could be owed money from pennies to thousands of dollars. SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California State Controller's office keeps a database of Unclaimed Property and officials are saying the state has more than $8 billion it's trying to return to rightful owners.

Fill up the “claim form” with all relevant details about yourself and the account. Submit the form along with relevant documents such as KYC documents, deposit receipts and photographs. If you are a legal heir, you will also have to submit a copy of the death certificate of the account holder.

Rely on trusted sources. To search for unclaimed property, we encourage individuals to use trusted sources such as unclaimed.org and missingmoney.com. These websites are official resources endorsed by NAUPA and NAST, providing accurate and safe unclaimed property searches. Report fraudulent attempts.

Our Unclaimed Property Program's annual "Checks Without Claims" initiative proactively returns unclaimed property to current and former Oregonians. In 2023, the initiative returned millions of dollars in unclaimed funds to over 18,000 individuals.

Those interested can check through the Colorado State Treasurer's Office website. It may appear as a phishing scam — just another website attempting to get your information and hard-earned cash — but the state's unclaimed property website is anything but.

New York State has over $13 billion in lost money. Every day we return $1 million to those who file a claim. Lost or unclaimed money gets turned over by organizations required to report dormant accounts to the New York State Office of the State Comptroller.