Canadians miss tax refunds and benefits as paper cheques sit idle despite rising cost pressures
Canadians have left more than $2bn in federal payments unclaimed, even as many are cutting back and dipping into savings to cover basic expenses.
According to BNN Bloomberg, roughly 3.9m federal paper cheques issued over the past four fiscal years went uncashed, totalling $2,159,665,155.
Those payments include tax refunds, pension cheques and benefits mailed by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and other departments, and they never expire.
Public Services and Procurement Canada data cited by Global News show that since 2022 alone, more than four million paper cheques worth over $2bn have gone uncashed.
That pool includes more than 725,000 former Canada Carbon Rebate cheques worth over $141m, nearly 850,000 uncashed GST/HST tax credits totalling more than $118m, and about 130,500 uncashed Canada Child Benefit cheques worth nearly $43m.
Global News also reports that more than 450,000 paper T1 income tax refund cheques remain uncashed since 2022, worth nearly $392m, along with almost 4,500 uncashed GST rebate cheques totalling more than $25m.
National Post reports that the CRA lists 42 types of payments with uncashed cheques, from standard T1 refunds and the Canada Child Benefit to niche items like the Newfoundland and Labrador Income Supplement, the Yukon Child Benefit and the Alberta 2005 Resource Rebate.
A CRA spokesperson told National Post that “cheques can date back as far as 1998 and, because government-issued cheques never expire or stale date, the CRA can reissue a payment once requested by the taxpayer.”
The same reporting notes that unclaimed money does not sit in a separate fund; it stays in the federal government’s general coffers until taxpayers request it.
Since the CRA launched its online uncashed‑cheque tool in 2020, Canadians have reclaimed 4,960,380 cheques worth just over $1.8bn, even as the unclaimed total peaked at $1.8bn in 2024 before easing slightly.
The mechanics to recover missed payments are straightforward.
BNN Bloomberg reports that taxpayers can check their CRA accounts online to see whether they were issued cheques they never cashed or call the agency by phone.
National Post adds that the CRA’s “My Account” portal includes an “uncashed cheques” link, and that those who cannot access the account online must call to confirm and request reissued payments.
