Unclaimed Property – Gift Cards
With the holiday season approaching, it’s time to start thinking about what to get everyone on your shopping list. Chances are the shopping list will include a gift card or two. While gift cards have great utility for the issuer (cash upfront, entices customers to patronize its business), they can be a trap for the unwary on the accounting side of the table.
While there are a number of accounting issues that surround income related to unused gift cards, one often less glamourous area that must be explored is the possibility that they are potentially escheatable as unclaimed property.
We are pleased to continue our gift card accounting series by exploring the importance of state escheatment priority rules when determining whether a gift card must be reported as unclaimed property.
