Conn. hunts taxpayers owed $6.5m

The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services has begun notifying more than 25,000 taxpayers in Connecticut of some $6.5 million in unclaimed refunds, prior to the money being transferred next March to the state treasurer’s unclaimed property division.

Taxpayers have three years to reclaim refunds they were owed before the money becomes state property, with refunds including debit cards that have lapsed.

For the 2015 fiscal year that ended last June, the treasurer’s unclaimed property division received $148 million in unclaimed property, returning $61 million to nearly 17,900 rightful owners and depositing $69 million in money that remained unclaimed in the state’s General Fund. As of June, some $710 million in property remained unclaimed by 1.3 million owners.

The state maintains a searchable database for unclaimed property online at www.ctbiglist.com.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-964-2236; www.twitter.com/casoulman