Property types
Unclaimed Tax Refunds & Rebates
Updated July 25, 2026
Refund money goes unclaimed more often than you would think — a state tax refund mailed to an old address, a rebate you never cashed, an overpayment to a vendor or government office. Depending on the source, it may be held by the state as unclaimed property or handled through a separate government process.
Search your name for refunds reported to the state — and read the important state-vs-IRS distinction below.
State tax refunds and rebates
An undelivered state income-tax refund or rebate can be reported to that state's unclaimed-property program if the check is never cashed. These show up in the records like any other uncashed check, and you claim them the normal way with no deadline.
Federal (IRS) refunds are different
A federal refund is not escheated to a state. The IRS holds undelivered refunds and lets you track them, but there is a hard catch: if you do not file the return to claim a refund within three years, the money is forfeited to the U.S. Treasury. So federal refunds have a deadline that state unclaimed property does not — check the IRS separately and do not wait.
Vendor, court, and overpayment refunds
Credit balances and overpayments — to utilities, retailers, courts, medical providers, or government offices — are frequently escheated when the refund cannot be delivered. If you overpaid something and never saw the money come back, search your name.
Frequently asked questions
Can an old tax refund be unclaimed property?
A state tax refund that was never cashed can be turned over to the state as unclaimed property. Federal IRS refunds are handled separately and must be claimed within three years of the return's due date.
Is there a deadline to claim a refund?
State unclaimed property has no deadline. Federal IRS refunds do — you generally lose the refund if you do not file to claim it within three years.
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