Each year, businesses and organizations, commonly referred to as “Holders”, are required to review their records to determine if they are in possession of any unclaimed property. If property is found, Holders are required to complete and submit a report.
Parent organizations have a duty to ensure that unclaimed property held by their subsidiaries is reported. Principals have a duty to see that unclaimed property in the hands of their agents (including stock transfer, dividend, and payroll disbursing agents) is reported. Receivers and liquidating trustees have a duty to report for entities in receivership or liquidation.
Common holders of reportable property include, but are not limited to:
If you are holding unclaimed property belonging to Minnesota residents, you must file a report with the Minnesota Unclaimed Property Program, even if you are not registered or licensed to do business in Minnesota.
Businesses and other organizations are required to report and remit unclaimed property by November 1. Life Insurance companies and other fraternal organizations are required to report and remit unclaimed property by October 1.
The only tangible property that is reported is the contents of safe deposit boxes; real estate and other tangible property are NOT reportable to the State of Minnesota, but may be reported to local municipalities. According to the Minnesota Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, all unclaimed property must be reported to the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
Anyone who willfully fails to report is guilty of a misdemeanor. Anyone who refuses to pay or deliver abandoned property is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. Anyone failing to pay or deliver property by the reporting due date may be charged interest at the rate of 12% per year on the value of the unclaimed property. In addition, the Minnesota Department of Commerce has broader penalties that may apply.
Please see the 2023 Holder Reporting Guide and Instructions for reporting instructions and guidelines.
Minnesota’s Unclaimed Property Act was amended in 2019. Property owners are now entitled to interest and increments on abandoned property. Pursuant to the updated Act, owners of non-money property “entitled to receive from the commissioner income or gain realized or accrued on the property before the property is sold.” Minnesota Statutes § 345.451. Further, if the property was interest-bearing, owners are entitled to interest, which “begins to accrue when the property is delivered to the commissioner.” Thus, Minnesota law requires all holder reports to include “a description of the property, including whether the property is interest-bearing, and, if so, the rate of interest.” Minnesota Statutes § 345.41. Holders must also report increments (e.g., dividends, capital gains, etc.) earned on abandoned property in sufficient detail that the increments can be properly attributed and paid to the owner, both at the time a claim is made and when future increments are reported.
Holders may only report previously interest-bearing property as non-interest-bearing property if the holder has a contractual or similar legal right to stop the accrual of interest. Pending escheatment is not, in itself, a valid reason to stop the accrual of interest. For example, interest-bearing property transferred into a non-interest-bearing omnibus account for the purpose of escheatment must be reported as interest-bearing at the rate of interest it accrued prior to transfer to the omnibus account.
If property is increment-earning, holders must report the increments with sufficient detail to identify the principal property, the owner of the principal property, and any other information needed to connect the owner to the increment(s).
Whether property is increment-earning depends on the terms and conditions agreed upon between the holder and owner. Increment-earning property includes, but is not limited to: