About 1,600 Mainers who collected proceeds from unclaimed stock last year through a state program received erroneous tax forms, according to the state treasurer’s office.
The Maine Office of the State Treasurer maintains a list of unclaimed property considered lost or abandoned when an owner cannot be located after a specified period. That can include jewelry and other items, stocks, bonds or uncashed checks.
Some of those affected by the error had multiple claims, putting the total mistaken tax forms at 2,000, said Matthew Colpitts, deputy state treasurer. The error affected people throughout the state.
Form 1099Bs mailed Jan. 19 were off by two digits, meaning someone who claimed $1,000 saw $100,000 on the tax form. The form is for the sale of stock and lets the recipient know how much money they’ve made so they can pay taxes on it, he said.
“None of the incorrect forms have been received by the IRS yet. The corrected forms have been sent out and should be received by the end of the week,” Colpitts said.
The treasurer’s office holds stock for a year, and then must sell it. Sometimes it holds onto the proceeds from stock sales for years until they are claimed, he said.
“We’re still looking into why it happened, whether it was a technical or operations issue,” Colpitts said.
The office’s unclaimed property phone line has a recorded message about the mistake.
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