Uncashed Government Payments Total $2 Billion — Here’s How Canadians Can Claim What’s Theirs

You’ve probably seen the headlines: Canadians are sitting on $2 billion in uncashed federal cheques.

 

A report released recently in Parliament says that nearly four million paper cheques totalling $2,159,665,155 were sent to eligible Canadians in the past four fiscal years through refunds and federal benefit programs, but the cheques were never cashed.

 

The CRA issues millions of payments in the form of refunds and benefits, which are issued by direct deposit or by cheque. Payments can remain uncashed for a number of reasons — recipients can misplace cheques or move without updating their address.

 

So I set out to see if I had one, and to my surprise — I did. The catch? To get it, I’d need a printer, a scanner, a witness, and a whole lot of patience.

Older Canadians, parents and more missing out

Public Services and Procurement Canada broke down the number and values of uncashed cheques by government program.

 

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Uncashed T1 refunds, which are issued after tax returns are assessed, were worth more than $391 million. Small-business owners and self-employed Canadians are also missing out on $387 million in GST returns.

 

 

There was more than $141 million in uncashed cheques for the Canada Carbon Rebate. Those payments, which stopped last spring, aimed to help eligible individuals and families offset the cost of the federal pollution pricing.

 

Individuals and families with low income are also missing out on a lot of cash. There was more than $118 million in uncashed cheques for GST/HST credits, quarterly payments for individuals and families with low and modest incomes.

 

Older Canadians who collect Canada Pension Plan (CPP) had more than $91 million in uncashed payments.

 

Canadian parents are going without money that could help with child-care expenses. For the Canada Child Benefit, a tax-free monthly payment that aims to help with the cost of raising children younger than 18, there were more than 130,000 uncashed cheques worth some $42 million.

Millions of dollars in unclaimed Ontario benefits

For those who live in Ontario, there was more than $59 million in uncashed Ontario Trillium Benefit cheques. The OTB helps low- to moderate-income Ontario residents cover the costs of energy, sales and property taxes.

 

Parents who receive the Ontario Child Benefit, which supports more than 500,000 low- to moderate-income families, had close to $15 million in uncashed cheques.

 

For Ontario seniors, there were more than 2,000 uncashed cheques totalling $793,000 for the Ontario Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant.

 

Do you have unclaimed money?

You can find out if you have uncashed cheques (which may have been lost, damaged or stolen) through your online CRA My Account. This is where it gets tricky: to request a replacement cheque, you have to complete form PWGSC 535, Undertaking and Indemnity, which you can find and download in the “Uncashed cheques” section of your online account. To complete the form, you’ll need access to a printer, a scanner (or a scanning app) and someone to sign off as a witness.

 

 

After I printed the form (thankfully, I was in the office; like many Canadians, I haven’t owned a printer in years) and confirmed the details of the uncashed cheque, I signed it, provided my address and found a co-worker to act as my “witness” by signing it and adding their own address. I used a scanner app and my phone’s camera to upload the completed form through the CRA’s website. The form can also be mailed to the CRA, in which case you can skip the scanner.

 

If you don’t have access to My Account, you can call the CRA at 1-800-959-8281 to inquire about uncashed cheques. You also have to call to request uncashed cheques that are less than six months old, or for business cheques (corporate tax, business GST/HST), and trust cheques.

 

Government-issued cheques can date back as far as 1998 and they never expire, so the CRA can reissue a payment once requested by the taxpayer. You can cash your cheque for free at any financial institution in Canada.

 

If you have an outstanding balance with the CRA, the amount requested will be partially or fully applied to your debt, and any remaining balance will be refunded. Child and family benefits, including the Canada Child Benefit, will not be withheld due to tax debt, unless it’s used to pay benefit‑related debts.

 

Don’t miss out on future payments

The CRA says Canadian taxpayers can ensure they never miss a payment by registering for direct deposit using My Account or through many Canadian banks or credit unions. Direct deposit means payments will be quickly and securely delivered straight to your bank account. It’s also faster (it can take an additional 10 business days for a replacement cheque to arrive by mail) and cheaper than issuing cheques (the administrative cost to issue a cheque is about $1.83).

 

It will take the CRA eight to 10 weeks to process my request “due to an increase in volume.”

 

In the meantime, I registered for direct deposit so I don’t miss out on any refunds or benefits again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This article was first reported by The Star