The Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved the transfer of more than $400,000 in unclaimed property tax overpayments to the Riverside County government treasury to be spent on discretionary needs.
The board voted 5-0 without comment to make the deposit, after delaying action last month when the Office of the Treasurer-Tax Collector and the Office of the Auditor-Controller identified a minor discrepancy in the proposed allocation that has since been resolved.
According to the Office of the Treasurer-Tax Collector, a total $417,008 in refunds from 2013 and prior tax years is now county money.
About 550 individuals and businesses had been listed on the tax collector’s website as eligible to receive the funds, in amounts ranging from $10 to $22,000 per person or entity.
The county began circulating notices in April about the funds’ availability and how the people and businesses owed money should go about filing a claim.
According to officials, 16 claimants came forward over the summer and received a total $64,848, shaving the previous unclaimed sum of $481,856 by 13 percent.
In prior years, the board postponed transfers to give prospective recipients additional time to file a claim. However, beginning in 2017, the Office of the Treasurer-Tax Collector began advertising the funds’ availability via traditional media and county web portals for a full three months before a scheduled vote on whether to deposit the money into the general fund.
Additionally, officials have attempted to contact some prospective claimants by letter and phone to bring attention to the fact that the money was available to them, according to the agency.
Under state law, the county is only obligated to hold the unclaimed funds for four years before it becomes county property.
Officials said most of the refunds stem from changes in the property tax roll that occurred after a payment had been mailed, resulting in savings to the taxpayer.
When the county sends a refund check and it’s returned, it’s placed in a holding account.
The Office of the Treasurer-Tax Collector maintains an updated list of individuals and businesses eligible for refunds. It can be viewed at www.countytreasurer.org/TaxCollector/UnclaimedMoney/PropertyTaxUnclaimedRefund.aspx .