CRA looking for the owner of 160 cheques worth over $100K. Could it be you?

OTTAWA — If only they’d signed up for direct deposit. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is searching for the owners of 160 cheques each worth over $100,000 as part of a massive stash of more than 10 million uncashed cheques waiting to be claimed. As of late April, the CRA was sitting on a total of $1.7 billion payments that it once unsuccessfully tried to send to their rightful owners going back nearly three decades, according to data compiled by the agency for National Post. “Each year, the Canada Revenue Agency issues millions of payments in the form of refunds and benefits. These are issued either by direct deposit or by cheque,” CRA spokesperson Nina Ioussoupova wrote to National Post. “Over time, some payments remain uncashed for a variety of reasons such as the recipient misplacing the cheque or moving without updating their address.” The vast majority of the 10.2 million uncashed cheques are worth less than $1,000. But there are still nearly 190,000 individual payments worth between $1,000 and $100,000 sitting in the CRA’s metaphorical coffers waiting to be claimed by their rightful owner. And then there are 160 cheques worth at least $100,000 — or a solid down payment on a house anywhere outside of Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal — still looking for their rightful owner. “Cheques can date back as far as 1998 and, because government-issued cheques never expire or stale date, the CRA can reissue a payment once requested by the taxpayer,” Ioussoupova wrote. To access the online tool to see if you’re one of 160 Canadians sitting on a home down payment, visit CRA’s website and look for the agency’s “My Account” service. Once logged in, click on the “Uncashed Cheques” link towards the bottom of the right side column on the “Overview” page. Any unpaid amounts that have sat dormant for more than six months will be listed on that page, as well as the necessary forms to claim your money. For years after 2020, the year the tax agency launched the online uncashed cheques, the balance of uncashed payments grew steadily. The first year, the agency had just over $1 billion in uncashed cheques linked to long-standing benefit programs such as GST/HST reimbursements, the Canada Child Benefit or even income tax refunds. By April 2021, the total had grown at a rate of $500,000 daily for one year to hit roughly $1.2 billion in unclaimed payments. The amount hit a record high by April 30, 2024, with an estimated 10.3 million uncashed cheques valued at a staggering $1.8 billion waiting to be claimed, according to CRA. For the first time since 2020, the total amount of unclaimed payments dropped slightly in the last year. The CRA’s unclaimed balances stands at roughly $1.7 billion over 10.2 million uncashed cheques. “Since the initiative was launched, Canadians have reclaimed approximately 4,500,000 uncashed cheques valued at $1.6B as of March 2025,” Ioussoupova wrote. After claiming any uncashed cheques, taxpayers should sign up for direct deposit to ensure they don’t miss out on any further payments. In the meantime, the money from the unclaimed cheques doesn’t simply sit in an account waiting to be paid. Instead, it goes back into the government’s general coffers to be used elsewhere until a taxpayer cashes their cheque. National Post cnardi@postmedia.com

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