The Canada Revenue Agency Has Millions $ In Uncashed Cheques & It's Letting Canadians Know

On August 8, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) released a statement notifying the population about the staggering value of uncashed cheques in its possession.

The federal agency estimates taxpayers are missing out on a total of $1.4 billion sitting in an estimated 8.9 million cheques it issued. The average value of each cheque is $158.

"Each year, the CRA issues millions of payments in the form of refunds and benefits. These payments are issued by either direct deposit or by cheque. Over time, payments can remain uncashed for various reasons, such as the taxpayer misplacing the cheque or even a change of address which did not allow for delivery," the CRA wrote.

In order to help Canadians get their money in the coming months, the CRA is sending email notices to recipients of the Canada Child Benefit and associated provincial programs, the GST/HST Credit and the Alberta Energy Tax Refund (AETR) who have yet to claim their payments.

The agency plans to send around 75,000 emails in total, 25,000 each in August and November 2022 and May 2023.

Canadians redeemed about two million uncashed cheques with a total value of $802 million between February 2020 and May 2022 thanks to the CRA's notification efforts, it says.

Even without receiving any email, taxpayers can call 1-800-959-828 or login into My Account to check if their money, including uncashed cheques, unclaimed benefits and credit payments, is sitting in the CRA's coffers. There's an option to view
"uncashed cheques" under the "related services" option on the online account page.