New Yorkers sitting on millions in unused gift cards, Comptroller warns

Got gift cards for the holidays? The state wants them spent or registered.

If a gift card remains inactive for five years, New York retailers are legally required to turn over the unspent balance to the State Comptroller's Office of Unclaimed Funds, where shoppers can reclaim their money.

The comptroller's office recovered more than $28 million in gift card funds in 2025, according to a news release, and returned more than $580 million. 

“Spend those gift cards you get this holiday season, so they don’t become unclaimed funds,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “Also consider taking the extra step of registering the gift card so if you do forget about it, it’s easier to return those funds to you. No one wants to lose money, and we want to make sure if you do, you know you can always claim it by going to our website. Funds sent to our office never expire and are free to claim.”

Since 1990, Long Islanders have racked up $12.7 million in unclaimed gift card balances — $6.2 million across nearly 193,000 accounts in Suffolk County, and $6.5 million from nearly 159,000 accounts in Nassau County, according to the state.

Many shoppers tend to spend just part of their gift cards, leaving some of the balance behind, said Andrew Forman, a marketing professor at Hofstra University in Hempstead. 

"In a lot of cases, the issuer of the cards are probably banking on the fact that some of that money will be left on the card," he said.

But, he added, New York has strong consumer protection laws for gift cardholders. 

State legislation passed in 2022 requires gift cards purchased from then onward to remain valid for at least nine years, prohibits inactivity fees and allows gift cards with a balance under $5 to be traded in for cash. 

The comptroller's office has encouraged shoppers to register their gift cards to connect the balance to their names, making it easier to reclaim the funds if unspent. Shoppers can also use the card number and balance to claim the funds through the state.

Details about how to register a gift card is usually on the card itself, Newsday has reported.

Gift cards with New York businesses that declared bankruptcy may be written off as outstanding debt, or, if a store shuttered willingly, the owners are supposed to provide advance public notice, according to the comptroller's office. 

When a business dissolves, as part of a final accounting required by the state, they should report outstanding gift card balances as unclaimed funds, the state said. 

Unclaimed gift cards can be retrieved online, at in-person events held by the state, by mail or by phone at 800-221-9311.

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers personal finance and affordability for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.