Stimulus 2023: Washington residents to receive $1.8 billion in total unclaimed money
Rachel Schilke
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Washington state residents could receive unclaimed property claims after the Department of Revenue announced it holds close to $2 billion in unclaimed cash and property.
Joe Gisler, the unclaimed property claims and outreach manager, told KREM 2 News that the unclaimed property program is a consumer protection entity that prevents businesses from writing off money.
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Businesses and government entities can send the money to the program to hold until it is matched to a consumer. Properties can come from a variety of methods, including closed bank accounts, uncashed checks, utility deposits, money orders, refunds, rebates, credit balances, or stocks and dividends.
Gisler said the department holds about $1.8 billion in unclaimed property that it is looking to return to residents. The average claim amount is about $131, but claims can range from as low as $5 to over $1 million, he said.
“It’s kind of fun to kind of convince people, ‘Hey, you know, this is not a scam. This is money that’s owed to you.’ And you know, they’re really surprised,” Gisler said.
Residents can go to ClaimYourCash.org to the property search page. Washington residents can search for their property and click on the claim to see how much money it is worth. Several of the property claims require documentation, Gisler said.
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“We would like a signed claim form, a copy of photo ID, those kinds of things, but then, people’s names change, people move,” he said. “So it is not the easiest thing in the world to just refund money to people because it does take a lot of work.”
The unclaimed property program launched a match program in January 2023 to reunite people with their claims. So far, it has sent out about 2,000 checks to residents upon verification of their property ownership.