NSW holds $138m in forgotten funds

If you think you have had a good day after finding $50 in last winter's coat pocket, spare a thought for the woman who discovered $108,000 in forgotten share dividends.

And with $138 million in unclaimed funds still held by the NSW Office of State Revenue (OSR), the state government wants other rightful owners to come forward.

The unclaimed funds come from deceased estates, dividends, bonds, overpayments and refunds.

Government agencies, superannuation funds, councils and state trustees send the funds to the OSR when it becomes impossible to find the owner.

The value of the 289,000 items of unclaimed money range from a $20 share dividend to more than $477,836 in property sale proceeds.

NSW Finance and Services Minister Andrew Constance said one woman was reunited recently with a forgotten deposit paid to a council worth almost $26,000.

Another woman searched the OSR's website and found she was entitled to more than $108,000 from 11 forgotten share dividends.

"The money is held until it is claimed by its rightful owners, so now is good time to check to see if some of it is yours," Mr Constance said in a statement.

In the past 12 months, the OSR has paid 7139 claims worth $11.92 million.