State Comptroller DiNapoli: Spend those Holiday Gift Cards

If you received gift cards this holiday season, New York is urging you to use them.

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says that unused gift card balances can eventually be turned over to the Office of Unclaimed Funds (OUF).

A law which went into effect in December increased the expiration date on gift cards to nine years from the card’s issuance date or when funds were last loaded. Funds can still be turned over to the OUF after five years of inactivity if the business is incorporated in New York.

“Unused gift cards have set a new record, as they make up a growing number of the accounts being held by our Office of Unclaimed Funds. My office is working to get these funds back in the hands of their rightful owners,” DiNapoli said. “This holiday season I encourage all New Yorkers to spend their gift cards in a timely manner to avoid possible inactivity fees or having the money turned over to my office.”

The office took in a record 48-million dollars from gift cards in 2022.

Unclaimed funds can be searched through the state’s unclaimed funds search portal.