Inland Revenue wants to give you your cash back at Christmas

Inland Revenue wants to give you your cash back this Christmas!

Inland Revenue is encouraging everyone to check its unclaimed monies list this Christmas having successfully reunited more than 3,500 people with their cash this year.

Former TV and Radio News Presenter, John Hawkesby said it was a pleasant surprise to receive a letter from Inland Revenue about his unclaimed monies.

“This was not initiated by me and came completely out of the blue,” said Mr Hawkesby. “It related to some bygone long forgotten insurance-come-investment programme that for some reason vanished off the radar and for me, ceased to exist.

“The money, more than $3,500, was mine if I could prove who I was and indicate conclusively why I was the rightful owner. The necessary forms were completed and a cheque arrived not long after.

“It was wonderful to receive something back without asking from an organisation we normally associate with giving money to,” he said.
Patrick Crawford, Customer Services at Inland Revenue said at this time of year every dollar can count.

“It’s your money to spend!” said Mr Crawford. “We want the rightful owners to have it back. This time of year can be expensive and be it a few dollars or thousands, it all comes in handy,” he said.

Unclaimed money is not tax refunds. Most is transferred to Inland Revenue from deposits in banks or other financial institutions and includes insurance proceeds, cheques or wages.

Under the Unclaimed Monies Act 1971, funds left untouched for more than six years are required to be paid to Inland Revenue.

“It's the responsibility of the institution holding the funds to make every effort to locate the owner of the money,” said Mr Crawford. “However, sometimes, with people moving around and changing jobs, this can be difficult and the money is transferred to us if the owner cannot be found.

“Our records go back to 1973 and involve more than 289,000 cases. We’d love to reunite the remaining total of $131 million to the rightful owners.

“Inland Revenue does not keep unclaimed monies or make interest from it. It is the responsibility of individuals to check with us regarding any unclaimed money they think they may be entitled to.

“As you can see with John Hawkesby’s result, we also work hard to reunite people with their cash and in the interim the money is credited to the Public Fund to be held for future distribution.

“We encourage anyone this Christmas who thinks they may have a claim to check the unclaimed monies list on Inland Revenue’s website and to email their name, address, IRD number and proof of identity tounclaimed.monies@ird.govt.nz so we can also check our paper based files.

“There is no time limit to when the money can be claimed. Once a person’s details are checked, and the application approved, a letter of confirmation is sent out stating the amount and a refund issued,” he said.

ENDS

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