EDMONTON -- No, this isn’t a scam: A new 'uncashed cheques' feature on the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website has Canadians cashing in.
Sometimes refunds go unclaimed. A taxpayer may have moved or just misplaced their cheque and forgotten about it.
Now, in an effort to help taxpayers access previously unclaimed payments, the CRA has launched the new section on its website.
Once you have an online account, you can navigate to the 'unclaimed cheques' page to see if there are any cheques with your name on them.
That’s what CTV News Edmonton producer Jason Halbauer recently did.
He learned through the online feature that there were two government cheques in his name waiting to be claimed.
"It felt like winning the lottery," said Halbauer after learning he had a total $600 unclaimed.
"A couple of years ago when I was moving a bit and I didn’t remember getting my cheque in the mail."
Halbauer’s cheques were from 2014 and 2015, but the CRA tells CTV News Edmonton some uncashed cheques date as far back as 1998.
Government cheques never expire so the CRA is unable to void an original and reissue a new one without the recipient’s request.
"I had wondered for a couple of years whether there was some money out there. I tried calling them one time and didn’t really get a straight answer," Halbauer said.
The CRA issues millions of refunds and benefits to Canadian taxpayers every year.
"To see that I actually got a cheque that I hadn’t cashed yet was great. It was like a little bit of bonus money," Halbauer said.
