Received a NYS unclaimed money check. Where do I include on my Turbo Tax form the check's total amount and the "Taxable Interest" shown on the check?

[ColeenD3]

Please see this answer from NicoleU. Interest is entered in the interest section.

The easiest place to list it is as Other Reportable Income, especially since you have no idea whether taxes were withheld or how that income was reported by the company or person who paid you.

• Click on your Federal Taxes tab and then the Wages & Income tab in that section.
• Scroll all the way down to the section called Less Common Income.
• Choose Miscellaneous Income at the bottom of the list, and then
• Choose Other Reportable Income at the bottom of that section.
• You'll be prompted to enter a description and an amount.  You can name it "unclaimed property"
• TurboTax will calculate any applicable taxes for you.
• Click Continue when you are finished.

For the interest, say you did not get a 1099-INT. 

• In the upper right hand corner search box, Type 1099-INT; Click the Jump to 1099-INT link that appears in your search results.

• Click Yes when asked if you received any interest income.

• Choose your bank or brokerage from the list to import your 1099-INT and click/tap Continue or manually enter your 1099-INT  by clicking I'll type it in myself and click Continue

[kellykar2012]

Hello ColeenD3

Thank you for your response. The NYS unclaimed money check states the following:

Reported Amount $573.91

(+) Taxable Interested:  $139.47

Check Total: $713.38

Which amount shown above should be added to  Other Miscellaneous Income / Other Reportable Income?

Note: The Turbo form says: "Do not enter income reported on Form 1099-MISC." I do not have a such a form for this money which came from NYS Comptroller office. How do I report the income received and report the tax shown on the check?

Thanks in advance again for your response.

[DawnC]

If the income is taxable, you can enter the total amount ($713) under Other Reportable Income.   But if the amount is not taxable, you do not have to report it at all.   Do you know what the money was for?   It may not be taxable at all and if so, you don't enter it anywhere on your tax return.   

[kellykar2012]

Hello Dawn C.

The check was for NYS unclaimed money. The check states the following:

Reported Amount $573.91

(+) Taxable Interest:  $139.47

Check Total: $713.38

So it appears $139.47 is taxable. I am asking what amount shown above should be added to  Other Miscellaneous Income / Other Reportable Income?  If I am to write $713.38 there then where do I put the Taxable Interest: $139.47?

Note: The Turbo form says: "Do not enter income reported on Form 1099-MISC." I do not have a such a form for this money which came from NYS Comptroller office. How do I report the income received and report the tax shown on the check?

[Opus 17]

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@kellykar2012 wrote:

Hello Dawn C.

The check was for NYS unclaimed money. The check states the following:

Reported Amount $573.91

(+) Taxable Interest:  $139.47

Check Total: $713.38

So it appears $139.47 is taxable. I am asking what amount shown above should be added to  Other Miscellaneous Income / Other Reportable Income?  If I am to write $713.38 there then where do I put the Taxable Interest: $139.47?

Note: The Turbo form says: "Do not enter income reported on Form 1099-MISC." I do not have a such a form for this money which came from NYS Comptroller office. How do I report the income received and report the tax shown on the check?

---

The interest of $139 is taxable as bank interest, enter it in the Income section for bank interest.  I believe you enter the name of the payer (NY State) and there may be a check box for "I did not get a 1099-INT".

The $573 may or may not be taxable depending on what it is from (I will explain more below).  However, if you can't prove it is from a non-taxable source, then you probably should assume it is taxable.   In the section for "Less Common Income", choose "Miscellaneous income", then choose "Other reportable income."  Answer yes, give a brief description such as "NY recovered funds" and enter the amount.

If you can identify the source, the money may not be taxable, it depends on where it came from.  (The interest earned is always taxable but the base amount may not be.)

For example, it might be a refund of excess medical insurance premiums, if you lived in NY and the NY Insurance Commission determined your insurance company overcharged its subscribers.  In this case, the money is taxable if you deducted the original insurance premiums or they were paid by your employer pre-tax, but if you paid after-tax, the money is not deductible.  It might be a refund of life insurance premiums if you had a small life insurance policy and the company went out of business.  Since the life insurance policies were not tax deductible when you paid them, the refund is not taxable.  It might be a state income tax refund, in which case the taxability would depend on if you used itemized deductions in the year you originally paid the tax that was refunded.  And so on.  If you can determine the source, you should be able to determine if the base recovery amount really is taxable or not.  If you have no idea the source, the IRS will assume that it is taxable. 

[kellykar2012]

The base amount of $573.91 was from an inactive bank account. I was able to go into the website "Unclained Money" to retrieve the money. 

The breakdown on the check is as I wrote. The total amount of the check is $713. That amount is the Reported Amount and the Taxable Interest added together. It states the amount that is taxable interest. Are you stating I must pay additional interest on the base amount?

Again, what dollar amount goes where on the Turbo tax form?

I truly appreciate all the responses!

[Opus 17]

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@kellykar2012 wrote:

The base amount of $573.91 was from an inactive bank account. I was able to go into the website "Unclained Money" to retrieve the money. 

The breakdown on the check is as I wrote. The total amount of the check is $713. That amount is the Reported Amount and the Taxable Interest added together. It states the amount that is taxable interest. Are you stating I must pay additional interest on the base amount?

Again, what dollar amount goes where on the Turbo tax form?

I truly appreciate all the responses!

---

Since this was originally your money you deposited in a bank account, the base amount of $573 is not taxable.  You already paid tax on that money when you originally earned it.

The interest amount is taxable income.  Enter it on the Wages and Income page under "Interest on 1099-INT" even though you don't have a 1099-INT, this will put it in the correct place on your tax return.  

[kellykar2012]

This is not money I personally earned. This is money from my deceased relative's dormant bank account. The bank sent the money to NYS Comptroller office to be claimed.  I was able to claim the money. So I understand the need to report it on my taxes, but need to know exactly where to put each amount. Please advise. Thanks again.

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

Money that you inherit is never taxable to you.

If the interest was earned before your relative’s death, that counts as part of the inheritance and is not taxable to you. Only the amount of interest that was earned after your relative’s death is taxable to you. If you don’t know how much that is, you may be safer assuming that all the interest is taxable to you. 

If you think the interest is taxable, it is reported on the income page listed under the section for “interest reported on a 1099-INT“. Even though you don’t actually have a 1099-INT, that is the correct place to put it.