You’ve heard that U.S. importers may be owed billions in tariff refunds. You’ve seen the headlines about the Supreme Court ruling. But you’ve never filed a tariff refund in your life, you’re not entirely sure what a “customs entry” is, and the alphabet soup of CBP, HTS, IEEPA, PSC, and CIT makes your head spin. That’s okay. This guide is for you.
We’re going to walk through everything from the absolute basics — what tariffs are, why these specific tariffs were struck down, and why you might be owed money — to the practical steps for getting your refund. No customs expertise required. No jargon without explanation. Just a clear path from “I think I might qualify” to “my refund is being processed.”
What Are Tariffs and Why Do They Exist?
A tariff is a tax on imported goods. When a U.S. company brings products into the country from overseas, the federal government charges a percentage of the goods’ value (or sometimes a flat per-unit fee) at the border. These taxes are collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — the government agency responsible for regulating what comes in and out of the country.
Tariffs serve several purposes: they generate government revenue, they protect domestic industries from cheaper foreign competition, and they’re used as a tool of foreign policy. The U.S. has had tariffs for as long as it’s had a government — they were the federal government’s primary revenue source before the income tax was established in 1913.
Most tariffs are set by Congress through legislation. The rates are published in something called the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) — essentially a massive catalog that assigns a code and a duty rate to every conceivable product. Your customs broker looks up the HTS code for your product and calculates the duty based on the rate assigned to that code.
This is where IEEPA comes in.
What Is IEEPA and Why Did It Matter?
IEEPA stands for the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. It’s a law from 1977 that gives the President broad authority to regulate commerce during a declared national emergency. It’s been used to freeze assets of foreign adversaries, impose financial sanctions, and block transactions with designated entities.
In early 2025, IEEPA was used to impose tariffs — something it had never been used for before. Beginning February 4, 2025, the executive branch declared various trade situations to be national emergencies and used IEEPA authority to impose additional tariffs on imports from multiple countries, with rates ranging from 10% to 145% depending on the country and product.
These IEEPA tariffs were collected on top of any existing tariffs. So if your product already had a 5% regular tariff, and IEEPA added 25%, you were paying 30% total. For imports from China, the IEEPA rates were especially high — reaching 145% at peak levels.
The key point: these tariffs were assessed under HTS headings 9903.01 and 9903.02. If those codes appear on your customs entries from the covered period, you paid IEEPA tariffs.
What the Supreme Court Did
On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in a case called Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that using IEEPA to impose tariffs was unconstitutional. The Court held that IEEPA doesn’t give the President the power to levy tariffs — that power belongs to Congress.
The ruling means that every dollar collected under IEEPA tariff authority between February 4, 2025, and February 24, 2026 (when the tariffs were officially suspended) was collected without legal authority. The total: approximately $166 billion across more than 330,000 importers.
Two weeks after the ruling, on March 4, 2026, the Court of International Trade (CIT — the federal court that handles trade cases) issued an order directing CBP to process refunds for affected entries. The full analysis of the Supreme Court ruling explains the legal reasoning in detail, but the bottom line is simple: if you paid IEEPA tariffs, you’re owed that money back, plus interest.
How Do You Know If You Paid IEEPA Tariffs?
This is the first practical question, and it’s easier to answer than you might think.
If you imported goods into the United States between February 4, 2025, and February 24, 2026, you may have paid IEEPA tariffs. Not every import during this period was affected — it depended on the country of origin and the product type. But imports from China, the EU, Canada, Mexico, and many other countries were subject to IEEPA tariffs at various rates and during various periods.
Here’s how to check:
Option 1: Ask your customs broker. If you use a customs broker (and most importers do), they have all your entry records. Ask them: “Do any of my entries from 2025-2026 include duties under HTS headings 9903.01 or 9903.02?” If yes, you paid IEEPA tariffs.
Option 2: Check the ACE portal. ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) is CBP’s online system. If you have an ACE account, you can pull an Entry Summary Report (ES-003) that shows every entry, the HTS codes applied, and the duty amounts. Look for codes under 9903.01 or 9903.02.
Option 3: Use the eligibility screening tool. The eligibility checker asks a few simple questions about your import activity and tells you whether you likely qualify. It takes about two minutes and doesn’t require any document uploads.
Option 4: Request an Impact Assessment. A free, confidential Impact Assessment analyzes your actual entry data and tells you exactly how much you’re owed, entry by entry. This is the most precise method and it costs nothing.
Get your free Impact Assessment →
Key Terms You’ll Need to Know
Before we go further, here are the terms that will come up repeatedly. Think of this as your cheat sheet:
| Term | Plain-Language Definition |
|---|---|
| CBP | U.S. Customs and Border Protection — the agency that collects tariffs |
| Entry | A single import shipment’s paperwork filed with CBP |
| Entry Summary (CF 7501) | The official form that shows what was imported, the HTS codes, and the duties owed |
| HTS Code | A number assigned to every product that determines its tariff rate |
| Importer of Record (IOR) | The company legally responsible for the entry — this is who gets the refund |
| Liquidation | When CBP finalizes the duties on an entry — usually about 314 days after filing |
| Unliquidated | An entry where CBP hasn’t finalized the duties yet |
| Liquidated | An entry where CBP has finalized the duties |
| Protest | A formal challenge to CBP’s duty determination on a liquidated entry |
| PSC | Post-Summary Correction — an amendment to an unliquidated entry |
| CIT | Court of International Trade — the federal court for trade disputes |
| CAPE | Claims Automation and Processing Engine — CBP’s new system for processing IEEPA refunds |
| ACE | Automated Commercial Environment — CBP’s online trade processing system |
Understanding Your Import Entries
Every time goods enter the United States, someone files an “entry” with CBP. This is the fundamental unit of customs compliance. An entry contains information about what’s being imported (the product description and HTS code), where it’s coming from (country of origin), how much it’s worth (declared value), and how much duty is owed.
Your customs broker typically files entries on your behalf. Each entry gets a unique entry number and goes through several stages:
- Filing: The entry is submitted to CBP when the goods arrive.
- Release: CBP clears the goods for entry into the country.
- Liquidation: CBP finalizes the duty amount, usually about 314 days later.
- Final liquidation: If no one protests within 180 days of liquidation, the entry is considered final.
Why does this matter for your refund? Because the status of each entry — whether it’s unliquidated, recently liquidated, or finally liquidated — determines which refund path is available. The four recovery paths guide explains this in detail, but here’s the short version:
- Unliquidated entries → Your broker can file a Post-Summary Correction (PSC) to remove the IEEPA tariff. This is the fastest path.
- Liquidated entries within 180 days → You can file a formal protest with CBP. Still relatively straightforward.
- Finally liquidated entries (past 180 days) → You’d need to go to court (CIT litigation). More complex and expensive.
- Any entry → You can sell your claim for immediate cash through claim assignment.
The Refund Process: Step by Step
Here’s what the actual recovery process looks like, from start to finish. Don’t worry about memorizing every detail — the point is to give you a map of the territory.
Step 1: Determine Your Eligibility
As discussed above, you need to confirm that you paid IEEPA tariffs during the covered period. The eligibility checker is the fastest way to get an initial answer.
Step 2: Gather Your Entry Data
You’ll need your entry summary data from CBP. Your customs broker can pull this from the ACE system. The key report is the ES-003, filtered for HTS headings 9903.01 and 9903.02. This report shows every affected entry, the duty amounts, and the liquidation status. Our documentation guide lists exactly what data you need.
Step 3: Get an Impact Assessment
A free Impact Assessment takes your entry data and produces an entry-by-entry analysis: total estimated refund, liquidation status of each entry, applicable recovery path, and any deadline concerns. This is the step where vague “I think I’m owed money” becomes a precise dollar figure with a concrete recovery plan.
Step 4: Choose Your Recovery Path
Based on the assessment, you’ll decide how to proceed for each entry. Most importers use a combination of paths — PSC for unliquidated entries, protests for recently liquidated entries, and possibly immediate capital for entries where the timeline value matters most. The CFO guide to IEEPA recovery helps you evaluate the financial trade-offs.
Step 5: File Your Claims
For PSC and protest filings, your customs broker handles the actual submission through the ACE system. For CAPE claims (CBP’s new mass-processing system, expected to launch mid-April 2026), you or your broker will submit validated declarations through the CAPE portal.
Step 6: Wait for Processing
This is the hard part. CBP processes claims sequentially. Importers who file early with validated data get processed first. Estimated processing time for all claims: 18-36 months. The cost of waiting analysis explains why filing position matters and what you can do to move faster.
Step 7: Receive Your Refund
CBP issues the refund to the importer of record, plus interest calculated under 19 U.S.C. Section 1505(c). The interest rate is set quarterly by the IRS.
Common Questions From First-Time Filers
“Do I need to hire anyone?” Not necessarily. Your existing customs broker can handle PSC and protest filings. An advisory firm like ours provides the analytical layer — the Impact Assessment, recovery path mapping, and deadline monitoring — at no upfront cost. You’d only need a trade attorney if your situation requires CIT litigation.
“How much does this cost?” The assessment is free. Filing costs vary by path: PSC filings are typically handled within your existing broker relationship, protests may involve nominal broker fees, and CIT litigation requires legal counsel. Many firms (including ours) work on contingency — they only get paid when you get your refund.
“What if my refund is small?” There’s no minimum. Whether your IEEPA exposure is $5,000 or $50 million, the process is the same. Smaller claims actually tend to be simpler because they involve fewer entries and fewer complications.
“What if I’m not sure my product was covered?” The IEEPA tariffs applied broadly — any product from affected countries during the covered period may have been subject to the surcharge. The eligibility check or Impact Assessment will confirm whether your specific entries were affected.
“Can I do this myself?” For simple situations — a few entries, all with the same status, clear IOR — yes, your customs broker can handle the filing without any outside help. For complex portfolios with mixed liquidation statuses, multiple IOR numbers, or tight deadlines, professional guidance significantly reduces the risk of errors and missed deadlines. The calculate your refund amount guide can help you estimate what’s at stake.
Understanding Interest on Your Refund
Here’s something many first-time filers don’t realize: you’re not just owed the tariff amount back. You’re also owed interest on that money for the entire time CBP held it.
Under 19 U.S.C. Section 1505(c), CBP pays interest on refunds from the date the duties were deposited to the date the refund is issued. The interest rate is set quarterly by the IRS and is tied to the federal short-term rate. As of early 2026, rates have been in the 4-5% range, though they fluctuate.
For a practical example: if you paid $100,000 in IEEPA tariffs in June 2025, and your refund is processed in December 2026, that’s approximately 18 months of interest — roughly $6,000-$7,500 depending on the rate. On larger claims, the interest alone can be a meaningful sum.
This is another reason why the cost of waiting matters. While CBP interest partially compensates for the delay, it typically runs below your company’s cost of capital. The sooner you file, the sooner you get both the principal and the accumulated interest back into your business.
What NOT to Do
A few common mistakes that first-time filers make:
Don’t wait for CBP to contact you. CBP isn’t going to send you a check automatically. You need to file a claim. The cost of waiting explains what you lose by delaying.
Don’t assume your broker is handling it. Some brokers are proactively filing on behalf of their clients. Many are not. Ask explicitly whether any action has been taken on your IEEPA entries.
Don’t share your data with unknown firms. The IEEPA refund has attracted scam operations. Before sharing entry data with anyone, verify their credentials and execute an NDA.
Don’t ignore your deadlines. The 180-day protest window is a real, hard deadline. If your entries are approaching liquidation or have recently liquidated, time matters.
Don’t file incomplete claims. A protest with incorrect entry numbers, wrong HTS codes, or missing information can be rejected — and re-filing takes time you may not have. Get the data right the first time.
The Simplest Path Forward
If you’ve never dealt with customs before and this all feels overwhelming, here’s the simplest possible path:
- Take 2 minutes to run through the eligibility checker.
- If you qualify, request a free Impact Assessment. We’ll handle the data analysis.
- Review the results. You’ll see exactly how much you’re owed, entry by entry.
- Decide how to proceed. We’ll recommend the best recovery path for each entry and handle the coordination with your broker.
You don’t need to understand HTS codes. You don’t need to know how CBP’s ACE system works. You don’t need to read 19 U.S.C. Section 1514. You just need to take the first step.
