Texas Comptroller Don Huffines reported more than $12.5 billion in unclaimed property, and dormant checking-account balances sit inside that statewide total, according to the Oct. 30, 2026 Comptroller announcement.
Unclaimed property means money left inactive and turned over to the state for safekeeping until owners claim it. That statewide pool covers checking accounts along with paychecks, deposits, insurance and securities. If you left a Texas checking account inactive, your balance may now be held as part of that total.
Table of Contents
- How does checking money reach the state?
- What does the statewide total include?
- How much does Texas return to owners?
- How do you search for checking money?
How does checking money reach the state?
Texas lists checking accounts with a 3-year dormancy period, according to the NAUPA Texas reporting page. After that period, an inactive account is presumed abandoned and turned over to the state.
The trigger is inactivity, not account size. A forgotten balance from a move, a bank change, or an unused second account can follow the same path.
What does the statewide total include?
The Texas Comptroller groups checking balances with other dormant assets in one aggregate figure. That aggregate was about $10.5 billion in late 2025, as reported by the Texas Comptroller via KXAN, before reaching more than $12.5 billion within roughly a year.
Texas also treats checking and savings accounts as unclaimed-property revenue. The Texas Comptroller projected $3.37 billion in biennial collections for 2026-27 from abandoned property including checking accounts in its Certification Revenue Estimate.
How much does Texas return to owners?
Texas returned more than $450 million in fiscal 2025, a record payout year, according to Comptroller spokesperson Kevin Lyons. Texas had returned over $4 billion since the program began in 1962, including a then-record $422 million in fiscal 2024, according to Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar.
Claim volume has stayed strong. The Comptroller processed 107,405 claims since Aug. 1, up 40% year-over-year.
How do you search for checking money?
Texans can search free at ClaimItTexas.gov and claim indefinitely, with the average Texas claim estimated at $500 to $1,000, according to the Texas Comptroller Unclaimed Property Division cited in the April 2026 KSAT report. Start with the free state search before using any paid finder.
- Search free at ClaimItTexas.gov using current and prior names.
- Check every Texas county where you held a checking account.
- File a claim at any time because held funds do not expire.