The CRA Is Sitting On $1.4 Billion In Uncashed Cheques & You Could Receive Hundreds Very Soon
Check out these super simple hacks to collect unclaimed payments.💰
A CRA form. Right: Canadian hundred dollar bills.
If inflation has you feeling light on the pockets lately, take respite in the fact that you might receive money from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) very soon!
According to the CRA, as of May 2022, there are approximately 8.9 million uncashed cheques sitting with the government agency. Their total worth? A whopping $1.4 billion.
And the organization says it wants to ensure that this money ends up "in taxpayers' pockets" ASAP.
Here's how it works: every year, the CRA issues payments in the form of refunds and cheques.
However, in case of incidents like a taxpayer changing addresses and forgetting to inform the government, or misplacing a cheque, amounts have gone uncashed in the past.
According to the CRA, the average amount per uncashed cheque is $158.
Over the next few months, the CRA will be notifying some recipients of uncashed cheques they have via email.
Approximately 25,000 e-notifications will be issued in August, with another 25,000 coming in November 2022 and then again in May 2023.
The recipients will mainly be of the Canada Child Benefit and related provincial/ territorial programs, GST/HST credit and Alberta Energy Tax Refund (AETR).
Moreover, the CRA has a feature to help you view if you have any uncashed cheques, and then collect benefits of payments that may belong to you.
All you have to do is log into My Account. Go to "Related Services" under the "Uncashed Cheques" section and you'll be able to see if you have an uncashed cheque – even if it's dating as far back as 1998.
You can check this regardless of whether you've received a notification from the feds.
If you are owed money, simply complete and submit the online form.
Even better, you can register for their direct deposit feature to sure you don't miss a payment in the future. This way, the money goes directly into your bank account.
If you're not signed up for online for My Account, there's a solution there too – simply call 1-800-959-8281.
Fingers crossed, a payday might be right around the corner!
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.