How do we file an unclaimed property report for uncashed HOA checks and old credit balances?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 18, 2026

How an HOA board finds uncashed checks and old credit balances, sends the owner notice, and files the state unclaimed property report in TX, FL and CO.

Part of the HOA board handbook: treasurer and money.

The short answer

When the association owes money to someone it can no longer reach, that money does not become association income. After a waiting period set by state law, usually called the dormancy period, it is presumed abandoned. The association then has to send the owner a written notice, file a holder report with the state, and turn the money over. The state holds it until the owner claims it. For a small HOA the amounts are usually modest: a few uncashed vendor checks, a refund to a seller who moved, a rental deposit nobody came back for. The filing still has firm dates. Texas wants the report and the money on or before July 1. Florida wants the report before May 1. Colorado wants it before November 1. Rules vary by state, and your governing documents and accountant may add their own requirements. This is general education, not legal advice.

What a small HOA ends up holding

Run two reports from the books: the outstanding check list from the bank reconciliation, and every owner ledger with a credit balance. Most of what you will ever report shows up there. Vendor checks that were never cashed. The handyman who closed up shop, the one-time tree service, the plumber who lost the check. Refunds to sellers. An overpayment at closing, or a prorated refund the association mailed to the old house after the owner moved out. Credit balances left on a former owner's ledger after a sale. Clubhouse or amenity rental deposits that were never returned because the renter moved. Uncashed pay to a part-time employee such as a pool attendant. A credit on the account of an owner who still lives in the community and pays every month is different. Texas Property Code section 72.101(a) presumes property abandoned only when, for longer than three years, the owner's location is unknown to the holder and the owner has made no claim or act of ownership. An active owner fails both tests. Apply the credit to the next bill and move on.

Dormancy periods and filing dates in Texas, Florida and Colorado

Texas. Most property is presumed abandoned after three years under Property Code section 72.101(a). Unclaimed wages take one year under section 72.1015. Section 74.101 says each holder that holds reportable property on March 1 files its report on or before the following July 1, and section 74.301 requires the property to be delivered with the report. Amounts under $25 each may be reported in the aggregate. Florida. The general dormancy period is five years from the date the property became payable or distributable, under section 717.102. Do not assume a nonprofit is exempt: section 717.101 defines a business association to include any for-profit or nonprofit corporation other than a public corporation. Section 717.117 requires the report before May 1, covering the preceding calendar year, filed electronically. Items under $10 each may be reported in the aggregate. Colorado. Under C.R.S. 38-13-201(1)(d), a debt of a business association is presumed abandoned three years after the obligation to pay arises. Section 38-13-403 requires the report before November 1, covering the twelve months before July 1 of that year. Items under $25 each may be reported in the aggregate under section 38-13-402(2), and section 38-13-404 requires the holder to keep its records for six years. In other states, start with the state treasurer's or comptroller's holder page. California, for example, uses three years for most property under Code of Civil Procedure section 1520.

Send the owner notice first

Every one of these states requires a letter to the owner before you report, and each sets its own window and dollar floor. Texas, section 74.1011: for property worth more than $250, notify the owner by mail or email no later than the 60th day before you deliver the property to the comptroller. For a July 1 delivery that means by the first days of May. Florida, section 717.117(2) and (3): for property worth $50 or more, send written notice by first-class mail, or by email if the owner chose email, at least 90 and not more than 180 days before filing. If the property is worth more than $1,000, send a second notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 60 days before filing. Colorado, section 38-13-501: for property worth $25 or more, send notice by first-class mail not more than 180 nor less than 60 days before filing. Email works only if the owner consented to email from the association. Before you mail anything, look for a better address. Check the resale certificate or estoppel file, the closing statement, the title company's contact, and the vendor's W-9. A two-minute phone call to the title company often finds the seller. Sample notice paragraph: Our records show that Willow Creek Homeowners Association owes you $312.40, a refund of an overpayment made when 114 Elm Court closed on March 3, 2023. The check we mailed was never cashed. If we do not hear from you by May 15, 2027, state law may require us to report this money and deliver it to the state as unclaimed property. To receive it from us instead, reply with your current mailing address or call the association treasurer, Dana Ortiz, at 555-0142.

A sample year for a Texas association

January. The treasurer pulls the outstanding check list and the credit balance report and flags anything that will pass three years of silence by March 1. February. Look for current addresses and confirm with the bank that none of the flagged checks has cleared. March 1. This is the cutoff. Lock the list of property that is reportable this year. Late April. Mail notices for every item over $250, so they go out well before the 60-day mark. Smaller items can get the same letter; it costs a stamp and sometimes saves a filing. May. Pay anyone who responds. Place a stop payment on the original check before you issue a new one, and note both in the ledger. June. File the report on the comptroller's site and send the money, ahead of the July 1 deadline. The comptroller tells holders to keep records of each report for at least 10 years. Florida and Colorado move the same steps to different months. A Florida association filing at the end of April mails notices between early November and the end of January. A Colorado association filing at the end of October mails them between early May and the end of August.

Keep it on the books until it is gone

When a check goes stale, void it in the books and move the amount to a liability account named something like unclaimed property payable. Record the payee, the amount, the original check date and the last known address. The money stays a liability until the owner is paid or the state receives it. When you remit, clear the liability against cash and file the state's confirmation with the year's records. Do not charge a fee against it. Texas Property Code section 72.103 says a holder of abandoned property may not transfer it to its own assets or reduce it with a service, maintenance or other charge. If an owner calls after the money has gone to the state, send them to the state's claim site. Claiming from the state is free. Our guide on what happens to an uncashed HOA refund check walks through the owner's side, and our guide on reconciling the HOA bank statement covers the monthly outstanding check review that keeps this list short. Put the procedure in writing so it survives the next treasurer. Sample motion: Moved that the treasurer review outstanding checks and owner credit balances each January, send owner notices within the state deadlines, file the annual unclaimed property report, and report to the board at the next meeting after filing.

Mistakes boards make

Writing stale checks back to income at year end. It makes one year's numbers look better and leaves the association holding money it owes someone else. Reissuing a check without a stop payment on the original, then paying twice when both get cashed. Missing the notice window. A Florida letter mailed 45 days before filing does not meet the 90-day minimum. Skipping the small items. A $14 refund still belongs on the report, even if it goes in as part of an aggregate line. Assuming nonprofit status means the law does not apply. Florida's definition names nonprofit corporations outright. Losing the list in a treasurer handoff. Put the liability account and the last report on the turnover checklist. Waiting a year to deal with a fresh stale check. Chase any check older than 90 days while the payee is still easy to find. Most of these problems disappear with one phone call in the first few months.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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