The Michigan Department of Treasury is currently issuing notices to taxpayers who have not previously reported or remitted abandoned and/or unclaimed property as of July 1, 2011. These notices are not an audit by the State, but describe a Voluntary Disclosure Program for taxpayers to comply with the Michigan statute and will waive all penalty and interest on property voluntarily remitted.
To report unclaimed property, taxpayers must complete Form 4869 - Michigan Unclaimed Property Voluntary Disclosure Agreement. If taxpayers do not have any unclaimed property to report, the Voluntary Disclosure Program is not necessary, but they must complete Form 4305 - Attestation of Compliance with Unclaimed Property Reporting. Reports containing more than ten properties must be submitted using a third-party software system located on the Department's website. The deadline for submitting either of these forms is January 31, 2012.
Unclaimed property is property (typically uncashed checks) in your custody that belongs to someone else and has gone unclaimed beyond the dormancy period. Below are the property types and dormancy periods which describe the more common types of unclaimed checks.
|
PROPERTY TYPES |
DORMANCY PERIOD |
|
Wages, Commissions |
1 Year |
|
Dividends |
3 Years |
|
Customer Overpayment |
3 Years |
|
Refunds Due |
3 Years |
|
Payments for Goods or Services, Vendor Checks |
3 Years |
Michigan law requires holders of unclaimed property to send written notice to owners at their last known address informing them that they hold property subject to being turned over to the State. Notice must be sent not less than 60 days, nor more than 365 days, before the filing of the report. This requirement only applies if all of the following conditions exist:
1. The address for the owner does not appear to be inaccurate.
2. The property has a value of $50 or more.
3. The statute of limitations does not bar the claim of the owner.
Any holder who fails to file a report of unclaimed property is subject to fines and penalties. Taxpayers are subject to a $100 per day penalty for failure to file, not to exceed $5,000. Additionally, the State can assess a penalty equal to 25 percent of the value of the property that should have been paid or delivered.
You may follow the link below or contact us for more specific information on reporting Michigan unclaimed property.
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/2013i_2598_7.pdf
