IRD holding $619m of unclaimed money - is some of it yours?

Author: NZ Herald ,
Publish Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2026, 2:17pm

Thousands of Kiwis are owed money from the IRD and have no idea. Photo / NZME

Thousands of Kiwis are owed money from the IRD and have no idea - some of them are owed several thousands of dollars and don’t even know it.

IRD’s pot of unclaimed money has been growing over the past few years and currently sits at around a whopping $619,000,000.

Unclaimed money is money held by organisations like banks, or with a person such as a solicitor, where the owner cannot be found.

Essentially, this is money that legally belongs to a Kiwi but, for whatever reason, the person or entity holding the money cannot find that legal owner and, if that remains the case after five years, the money goes to the IRD.

Once the money goes to the IRD, it has to be claimed by its legal owner within 20 years, or it goes to the Crown and no further claims can be made.

For many Kiwis, that clock is ticking – and the pot keeps growing bigger. In 2024, there was $574m on the list, up from $447m a year before that.

How do I know if I have unclaimed money?

There are two ways to check if you are owed money. One way is to log into your MyIR account, click on “I want to...”, go to “Registration, application and enrolment” and select “Apply for unclaimed money”.

The IRD also publishes a public list of the names of people owed money which you can search without logging into your MyIR account. This allows you to search on behalf of someone else, or by a previous name you’ve gone by.

My name is on the list - how do I claim the money?

Great news! To receive your money, you will need to provide information that helps prove that you, or the person you’re submitting on behalf of, are the legal owners of that money. This might include evidence of past addresses or old bank statements but can also include copies of wills and death certificates, depending on where the money originates from.

The IRD asks that you submit as much evidence as you can, to speed up the process.

Once you submit your claim, you will need to wait 12 weeks, or potentially a bit longer, before you receive the money in your account.

Note that not all claims are successful. A Consumer NZ report stated that “in 2023/24, IRD processed 23,000 claims for unclaimed money, approving 4300″.

Beware of scammers

While the idea of “free money” is usually too good to be true, this is the exception to the rule: the list of unclaimed money from the IRD is legitimate and will be very good news to many Kiwis.

However, the IRD warns people to beware of scammers trying to pose as the entity by contacting you and saying there’s unclaimed money waiting for you.