Unclaimed Property Holder Report Guide

1 Unclaimed Property Holder Report Guide Publication 82 (02/22) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION 2021 WISCONSIN ACT 87 ..3 2. OVERVIEW OF Unclaimed Property ..5 A. What Is Unclaimed Property ? .. 5 B. Who Must Report Unclaimed Property ? .. 5 C. Reporting and Remitting Unclaimed Property to DOR .. 5 D. Extension of Time to File .. 6 E. Holder Appeal Rights .. 6 3. Unclaimed Property REPORTING PROCESS ..6 A. Step 1: Identify Abandoned Properties .. 6 B. Step 2: Attempt to Locate the Owners .. 6 C. Step 3: Prepare and File Your Report .. 7 D. Step 4: Submit Payment, Securities, and Safe Deposit Box Contents.

2 10 4. STAY CURRENT WITH Unclaimed Property REPORTING INFORMATION .. 13 5. CONTACT THE Unclaimed Property UNIT .. 13 APPENDIX 1 .. 14 Wisconsin Property Codes With Dormancy Periods (in years) .. 14 APPENDIX 2 .. 15 Wisconsin Owner Type and Relationship Codes .. 15 APPENDIX 3 .. 17 Sample Due Diligence Letter .. 17 APPENDIX 4 .. 18 OTHER STATE CONTACTS FOR RECIPROCAL REPORTING .. 18 Unclaimed Property Holder Report Guide Publication 82 Back to Table of Contents 3 IMPORTANT REMINDER If you enter payment information with the Holder Report submitted via My Tax Account, your payment will be processed. It may take 24-48 hours for the funds to be withdrawn from your account.

3 DO NOT initiate another ACH debit payment as both payments will be processed resulting in an overpayment on your account. 1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION 2021 WISCONSIN ACT 87 2021 Wis. Act 87 became effective November 7, 2021. The Act conforms Wisconsin's Unclaimed Property laws in ch. 177 to many of the provisions in the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act of 2016. The full text of the Act can be found here: Chapter 177 of the Wisconsin Statutes can be found here: Listed below are some of the major provisions affecting Holder reporting. Definitions The Act provides for additional defined terms, including loyalty cards, gift cards, and stored-value cards.

4 The definition of Property has also been expanded to make clear that these types of cards are not included in Property (sec. , Wis. Stats.). Dormancy Period Changes Money orders and similar instruments decreased from 7 years to 5 years (sec. (2), Wis. Stats.) Amounts owed by an insurance company on a life or endowment insurance policy or an annuity contract that has matured or terminated decreased from 5 years to 3 years (sec. (7), Wis. Stats.) Tax-deferred retirement accounts decreased from 5 years to 3 years (sec. , Wis. Stats.) Exempt Property Payments, credits, and other transactions of record between two businesses (sec. (2)(b), Wis.)

5 Stats.) Gift cards, stored-value cards, loyalty cards (sec. (13b)(c), Wis. Stats.) Holder Notices to Apparent Owners Required to be sent by 1st class mail to the apparent owner's last-known address for all properties $50 or more (sec. (1), Wis. Stats.) May also be sent via email if the apparent owner has consented to receive email delivery from the Holder . Note: The notice must also be sent via 1st class mail to the owner's last-known address (sec. (2), Wis. Stats.) Holder notices must do all of the following (sec. , Wis. Stats.): o Contain a heading that reads substantially like: "Notice. The State of Wisconsin requires us to notify you that your Property may be transferred to the custody of the state's Unclaimed Property administrator if you do not contact us before [the date that is 30 days after the date of the notice]

6 " o Identify the nature and value of the Property , unless the Property does not have a fixed value o State that the Property will be turned over to the administrator o State that after the Property is turned over to the administrator an apparent owner that seeks return of the Property shall file a claim with the administrator o State that the Property may be sold by the administrator Unclaimed Property Holder Report Guide Publication 82 Back to Table of Contents 4 o Provide instructions that the apparent owner shall follow to prevent the Holder from reporting and paying or delivering the Property to the administrator Holder Reporting Obligations Holders are required to provide

7 The name, last-known address, social security number or taxpayer identification number, and date of birth of the Property owner, if such information is known or readily available (sec. , Wis. Stats.) Holders are required to provide written notice to DOR thirty days before delivering any hazardous or dangerous items found in safe deposit box contents, such as guns, chemicals, or explosives (sec. , Wis. Stats.) Holders may aggregate items only if they are valued less than $5 and the apparent owner is unknown (sec. (2), Wis. Stats.) Holder Interest and Penalties Interest on failure to timely pay or deliver Property has been repealed Late filed reports are subject to a $150 penalty (sec.)

8 (1)(a), Wis. Stats.) Late payments are subject to a penalty equal to 15% of the value of the Property (sec. (2)(a), Wis. Stats.) Additional penalties may be imposed for $100 each day past the due date of a written request by the department to file a Report or pay or delivery Property (secs. (1)(b) and (2)(b), Wis. Stats.) Delinquent Balances DOR is authorized to take collection action on balances not paid in full 60 days after the Notice of Amount Due was issued (sec. (1), Wis. Stats.). DOR will also assess a collection fee of 6 percent of the amount due or a minimum of $35 (sec. (1), Wis.

9 Stats.). Delinquent balances are also subject to collection actions, including offsetting tax refunds, levying bank accounts, and filing tax liens (sec. (1), Wis. Stats.). Voluntary Disclosure Program Limited-time opportunity to Report Unclaimed Property from the previous five years without penalty. Application is available from February 1, 2022 through February 28, 2023 See beginning February 1, 2022 for a link to the application Eligibility: o You have Unclaimed Property to Report from any of the five most recent reporting periods. o You have not been audited for Unclaimed Property since July 1, 2016 or received notice of an upcoming audit.

10 O You do not have a balance due on your Unclaimed Property Holder account. Other Holder Changes Required to retain records for 10 years (sec. , Wis. Stats.) Unclaimed Property Holder Report Guide Publication 82 Back to Table of Contents 5 Holder reimbursements are subject to set off against Holder 's debts of state agencies or municipalities (sec. (12), Wis. Stats.) DOR shall provide allowance or denial notice within 120 days to a Holder who files a claim for reimbursement if the Holder paid the money or Property in error, after paying or delivering Property to DOR it paid the money or delivered Property to a person believed was entitled to the apparent owner.