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The Daily Insight

What do I do with uncashed payroll checks?

Author

Ava Robinson

Published Feb 09, 2026

The funds from an uncashed payroll check should never be returned to the company’s payroll checking account. Employers must keep the funds available to pay the employee or to submit to the state.

How do you handle stale dated payroll checks?

In the event a stale dated check becomes void, an employee can usually request a replacement check. At that point, a replacement check might be issued, and a stop payment process on the original check takes place.

What happens if you never cash a payroll check?

Generally, paychecks expire after six months. If an employee tries to cash an expired paycheck, their bank can choose whether to cash it or not. If a paycheck has been unclaimed for a long period of time, the payor must hand over the funds to the state in a process known as escheatment.

When salary is paid after it is due it is called?

Arrears refers to payments that are overdue and that are supposed to be made at the end of a given period after missing out on the required payments. Total arrears equals the sum of all the payments that have accumulated over time since the first payment was due.

Why do I have an uncashed cheque in my account?

For example, someone may have moved and not updated their address, or the cheque may have been lost, stolen, or destroyed. Individuals and their legal representatives can now view their uncashed cheques in My Account and, if necessary, ask for a duplicate payment.

Where do you mail a pay by cheque in Canada?

Pay by cheque You can make a payment to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with a cheque from your Canadian bank account. Make the cheque payable to the Receiver General for Canada. Mail it with your remittance voucher to the address on the back of your voucher.

How to check if you have an uncashed CRA cheque?

To see if you have an uncashed CRA cheque: Sign into or register for My Account. If you are registering for My Account, you will need to enter your CRA security code to access the uncashed cheques feature. Select “Uncashed Cheques” under “Related Services”.

Do you have to cash old Canada Revenue Agency cheques?

Government cheques never expire or stale-date, so cash any cheques you have. But, if you are having issues cashing an old CRA cheque, mail the cheque to the Imaging and Receiver General Operations Directorate and ask to have the payment reissued with a current date.