Unclaimed property can consist of stocks, bonds, cash or other property that your corporation has in its possession that may have reached the legal holding period. In addition, safe deposit box contents are delivered as unclaimed property too. Under a law passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 1967 and revised in 1995, personal property and money that has gone unclaimed for some time must be turned over to the Attorney General's Unclaimed Property Division. Under state law, unclaimed property must be returned to the state after it has been left with a "holder" such as a bank, insurance company, or other business or organization, and there has been no owner-generated activity in the account for a specific period of time and the company's attempts to contact the owner have been unsuccessful.
If your legal entity is a business association (corporation, partnership, etc.), governmental agency, or nonprofit you are probably required to file annual reports of unclaimed property.
Unclaimed property laws were enacted to prevent holders of unclaimed property from taking citizens' unclaimed property and recognizing it as business income. This law gives the state an opportunity to return money to its rightful owners and provides Indiana citizens with a single source, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General, for unclaimed property that has been reported by holders from Indiana and around the nation.
1. DOWNLOAD THE ONLINE REPORTING GUIDE
2. Register to access reporting software
3. Create your NAUPA formatted report
4. Submit your report via the Web site
5. Print remittance detail sheet, attach to physical check, send to:
Office of the Indiana Attorney General
Unclaimed Property Division
35 South Park Blvd
Greenwood, IN 46143
Remember: Indiana law requires that records be retained for ten (10) years after being remitted to the State.
Every state, including Indiana, has annual filing dates for which holders are expected to comply. Indiana has a November 1 annual reporting deadline. The one exception in Indiana is for life insurance companies, which must report on May 1. Indiana has the right to assess interest and penalties for noncompliance.
The first annual filing with a state is called "initial compliance." Thereafter, reporting falls under Annual Compliance. Initial compliance should take into account all property types held by a corporation. In other words, if a company asks its Stock Transfer Agent to commence reporting of Capital Stock and Dividends, the company should be prepared to analyze its books for other property such as payroll checks, vendor checks and customer credits and report them as well.
Property is reported based on its dormancy or abandonment period. States are generally known as three (3-), five (5-) or seven (7-) year states. Indiana is considered a three (3-) year state. After property goes unclaimed for the requisite number of years it is eligible for reporting. Within a given state, there can be different dormancy periods depending on the property type. For example, Indiana requires payroll checks be reported after a one (1-) year dormancy.
Companies that have a history of reporting should be sensitive to changes in business practices that can give rise to new property types. Also, when companies are acquired, an analysis of their operations should be made to identify all reportable property types. The acquiree should conform to the acquirer's reporting rules.
Our property codes and unclaimed property online reporting database have been updated to mirror the 2011 National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) codes.
Note: If you are using a property type code(s) that does not match our current property code listing, the system will give you an error message and an opportunity to individually correct or mass change the code(s) on your report to reflect the current applicable property code before uploading it to the system.
Indiana expects to receive property for the benefit of lost owners. How do they become lost? Addresses change, the property is lost or misplaced, records of amounts owed are destroyed, people pass away without adequate records of assets, etc.
Indiana does not want to receive the property of an owner who has an ongoing relationship with the holder or whose last known address in the holder's records is actually their current address. For this reason, Indiana and other states require that holders attempt to contact the owner about the property in advance of reporting it.
Indiana statute IC 32-34-1-26 (opens in new window) requires that due diligence be performed on all unclaimed property of $50 or more.
All holders are legally bound to perform due diligence.
Due diligence must be performed no more than one hundred twenty (120) days, or no less than sixty (60) days, prior to the filing of the report.
Mail notifications must be sent to property owners by first class mail or better at their last known address.
Due diligence checklist
If you have performed all of the tasks described below, you have fulfilled your due diligence responsibility as a holder:
Examine records to find all unclaimed property.
Determine the owner of the property.
Use other internal resources to locate owners. For example, if you work for a bank/financial institution and find an inactive account for Jane Smith, before you designate that account as unclaimed, please ensure that your institution does not have an active account for Jane Smith.
Verify that the owner has made no verbal or written contact with you concerning the property.
Attempt to contact the owners by first class mail at their last known address.
Complete in no less than sixty (60) days, but no more than one hundred twenty (120) days, before filing report.
In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. New Jersey that the last known address of the owner determines the state to which unclaimed property is reportable. Furthermore, where the owner address is missing or incomplete, the asset is reportable to the state of incorporation of the holder. In addition, if the last known address is in a foreign country, the asset is reportable to the state of incorporation of the holder. Based on these rules, the addresses contained in a holder's database of dormant property determine which states should receive a filing. In addition, requires a zero report even if there is nothing to report. The practical effect of these rules is that property can be reportable to many more states than those in which the company has a presence or does business.
"Negative" or "Zero" annual reports reflecting that no unclaimed property is held by the holder or business enterprise are not statutorily required. However, submission of such reports is strongly encouraged and deemed to be a best governance practice by most corporate legal and accounting advisors. Filing an annual "zero report" demonstrates an entity's awareness of the legal requirements of the unclaimed property act and compels a recurring annual book and records review to assure that the reporting entity maintains good standing with the State; and that appropriate properties or accounts are reported and turned over to the Unclaimed Property Division when appropriate. Click here to submit a zero report.
The penalties for failing to file a report are $100 per day the report is late, up to $5,000. A holder who intentionally fails to pay or deliver property is subject to an additional civil penalty of 10% of the value of the property that must be paid or delivered. A holder that willfully refuses to pay after written notice commits a Class B misdemeanor.
For additional information please see IC 32-34-1-45 (opens in new window).
If you submitted property in error, you can submit a request for reimbursement of the property. Click here (opens in new window) to review the procedures for submitting a request for reimbursement.
Mutual Funds
All Fund reports must contain the complete Fund name, FEIN number, and CUSIP number for the fund or stock. In addition, a statement showing shares in the correct name MUST accompany your Report of Unclaimed Property for your report to be considered complete.
OPEN END Mutual Fund accounts held for the State of Indiana MUST have an assigned account number for successful transfer to the State's account number.
Existing accounts: To obtain an existing account numbers for all funds to be transferred, please contact Marsela Strakosha at 617-371-9914 at least 48 hours prior to attempting delivery.
New accounts: To establish a new account number, please provide a detailed info list 48 hours in advance of reporting to upch.custody@acs-inc.com. The list MUST contain:
CUSIP#
Name of the fund
Share amount
Account number of the fund.
OPEN END Mutual Fund accounts should be registered in the name of Mac & Co. Mac & Co. Account # AUZF0217702 State of Indiana
Mutual Fund Operations
P.O. Box 3198
Pittsburgh, PA 15230-3198
Tax ID: 23-6019000
**All open end registrations MUST reference the State's account number AUZF0217702, as this identifies that the fund belongs to the State of Indiana.
CLOSED END Mutual Fund/DRP (Dividend Reinvestment Plans) accounts held for the State of Indiana should be registered in the name of STATE OF INDIANA.
STATE OF INDIANA
c/o ACS Unclaimed Property Clearinghouse
100 Hancock Street, 10th Floor
Quincy MA 02171
**ALL interested party statements must be sent to:
ACS Unclaimed Property Clearinghouse
100 Hancock Street, 10th Floor
Quincy MA 02171
Attn: Mutual Fund Operations
Click here to download the above instructions as a pdf.
Extensions may be considered but must be requested in writing no later than thirty (30) days prior to the reporting deadline. Extensions are requested on corporate letterhead and must include the company name, FEIN, length of extension and a reason why the extension is needed. Extensions can be submitted via fax or regular mail.
Generally speaking, foreign subsidiaries are not subject to U.S. unclaimed property laws. One exception could be dollar denominated disbursing accounts maintained in U.S. banks. However, as foreign governments enact unclaimed property laws, such as the recently enacted laws in Canadian provinces, additional levels of liability are created.
A copy of the dissolution should be sent to this office. You can find the appropriate forms by clicking the following link www.in.gov/sos/business/forms.html.
The Indiana online reporting software application guarantees secure access through the use of a dual set of operator IDs and passwords. When approved users of our system visit our site, they first have to enter a general operator ID and password. The online reportins software application will then require users to create their own specific operator ID and password that positively identifies them and their specific level of access. All passwords are generated and encrypted using industry-standard best practices and non-reversible encryption algorithms, and managed in different tiers within the application infrastructure. No staff member or external user is able to access a user's password. The system also employs user-initiated reminders and email activation techniques.
All system traffic is encrypted using an industry standard 128-bit SSL.
The Unclaimed Property Division will be offering FREE workshops designed to help your organization understand its reporting obligations to the State of Indiana. Workshop participants will learn how to identify and report unclaimed property.
UPCOMING HOLDER REPORTING EDUCATION SERIES SCHEDULE
Suggested Audience:
Managers
Accounting practitioners
Business professionals responsible for tracking and reporting unclaimed property
If you are new to our online reporting software or would just like a refresher, we are offering five webinars as guidance to using Indiana's online reporting software. This is the software necessary to submit your annual 2011 unclaimed property report to the State of Indiana. Please see dates below. Additional sessions can be scheduled according to interest, volume and request.
If you are interested in attending a webinar, please click here to register.
Each session will occur @ 2pm EST.
Wed August 3, 2011
Wed August 10, 2011
Wed August 17, 2011
Wed August 24, 2011
Wed August 31, 2011
