Maine Amends Unclaimed Property Act to Exempt Gift Obligations Beginning in 2022

Amounts deemed abandoned to reduce from 60% to zero over four year period.

On January 30, the Governor of Maine signed Public Law 553, “An Act Regarding the Presumption of Abandonment of Gift Obligations.” Over a four year period, the new law will reduce — from sixty percent to zero — the dollar percentage of “gift obligations” that a holder must report and remit to Maine as unclaimed property.

Pursuant to the Maine Unclaimed Property Act, “gift obligations” (which include most gift certificates and gift cards that are not redeemable in cash) are deemed unclaimed property two years after December 31st of the year in which the obligation is sold or the most recent transaction occurs. Currently, holders of such items are required to report and remit 60% of the outstanding balance of these items as unclaimed property, keeping the remainder as income. Pursuant to the new law, the percentage to be reported will remain 60% for those items with last activity in 2019, but will drop to 40% for those obligations with a last activity in 2020, to 20% for those obligations with a last activity in 2021, and finally to zero for those items sold or last active in 2022 or later.