A Reddit post by user hdrons brought to light a little known feature about Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and unclaimed cheques. Those who have an account with the CRA can find a link through My Account and see if they are eligible for any uncashed cheques from the past. This article discusses how to find unclaimed cheques from CRA.
Unclaimed Cheques from CRA
First of all, you will need to have an online account with CRA. It’s free to get one. Visit CRA site to sign up for one. If you already have an account, login using your credentials.
Once you are logged in, look for a section called Related Services. This section has a whole bunch of links.
Scroll down and look for Uncashed Cheques link. It’s the last link under Related Services. Click on the link.
On the Uncashed Cheques page, you will see a list of any outstanding balances owed to you. If you do see an amount, simply click on the form # to fill out the form to claim the amount.
Uncashed cheques could appear in this list for several reasons including, lost cheques in the mail or cheques which you received but forgot to cash out. Nonetheless, these are benefits which are owed to you and you are legally eligible to claim them. As you can see, I had $51.25 owed from 2001. It’s not much but hey, it’s money that should’ve been mine years ago.
While I am owed only $51.25, Twitter users have reported even thousands of dollars in uncashed cheques. Why not try out your luck by checking what’s waiting in store for you?
Update: If you have a spouse or older children, you can also encourage them to check their account for any outstanding balance owed to you. Same applies to older relatives who have lived through the days when direct deposit was not common. So, encourage your parents and grandparents to check as well.
What to do with Form PWGSC 535?
If you have an uncashed check, a link to generating Form PWGSC 535 will be shown beside it. Once the form is filled out, you will need to sign it and have a witness sign it as well. Then you can scan the form and submit it through Submit Documents section in My Account. The Submit Document link can be found on top right portion of the home page of My Account. Alternatively, you can mail the form to CRA office. The address can be found by clicking on Instructions for Requesting Duplicate Payments located in Uncashed Cheques page.
