Between February 2025 and February 2026, U.S. importers paid an estimated $166 billion in IEEPA tariffs that the Supreme Court has now declared unconstitutional. If you imported goods during that period, you’re likely owed a refund — and the window to claim it is narrowing. Some protest deadlines have already passed. Others expire in weeks.
This guide covers everything: what happened, who qualifies, how much you can recover, which filing path fits your situation, and what to do right now. Whether you’re a CFO modeling the balance sheet impact or a trade compliance manager pulling ACE data, this is the resource you’ll come back to.
What Were IEEPA Tariffs?
On February 4, 2025, the Trump administration invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs on imports from China, Canada, Mexico, and eventually dozens of other countries. IEEPA had never before been used to impose broad-based import tariffs — it was designed for asset freezes and sanctions during national emergencies, not trade policy.
The tariffs ranged from 10% to 145% depending on the country of origin, layered on top of existing duties. For many importers, this meant total duty rates of 40-60% or more on goods from China. The additional IEEPA duties appeared in entry summaries under HTS headings 9903.01 and 9903.02 and their subheadings.
The scope was enormous. Nearly every product category was affected — electronics, industrial components, consumer goods, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles. Unlike Section 301 tariffs (which targeted specific product lists) or Section 232 tariffs (which focused on steel and aluminum), IEEPA tariffs were applied across the board to virtually all merchandise from affected countries.
For twelve months, importers absorbed these costs, passed them through to customers, or restructured supply chains to avoid them. Many did all three. The financial impact was staggering — not just the duty payments themselves, but the downstream effects on pricing, inventory management, and capital allocation.
The Supreme Court Ruling That Changed Everything
On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court issued its 6-3 decision in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, holding that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs on imports. The Supreme Court IEEPA ruling was unambiguous: the tariffs were unlawful from the day they were imposed.
Justice Barrett, writing for the majority, drew a clear line between IEEPA’s emergency economic powers and the tariff-setting authority that the Constitution vests in Congress. The Court found that tariffs are a form of taxation, and that IEEPA’s grant of authority to “regulate” international economic transactions does not encompass the power to tax imports.
The practical effect: every dollar collected under IEEPA tariff authority between February 4, 2025, and February 24, 2026, was collected without legal basis. CBP is now obligated to return those funds to importers.
On March 4, 2026, the Court of International Trade issued an implementing order directing CBP to process refunds for all affected entries. This order established the framework for the mass refund process, including the use of CBP’s CAPE (Centralized Automated Processing of Entries) system to handle the unprecedented volume of claims.
The impact on supply chains extends well beyond the refunds themselves. Companies are reevaluating sourcing strategies, renegotiating supplier contracts, and reconsidering inventory positions that were built around tariff avoidance.
Who Qualifies for a Refund
The short answer: if you were the importer of record on entries that included IEEPA duties between February 4, 2025, and February 24, 2026, you likely qualify.
The longer answer involves a few key conditions. For a thorough breakdown, see our full eligibility guide.
You must be the importer of record. Under U.S. customs law, refunds go to the entity listed as the importer of record (IOR) on the entry summary. If you used a freight forwarder or third-party logistics provider as the IOR, the refund technically belongs to them — though contractual arrangements may redirect it to you. Check your entry summaries.
Your entries must include IEEPA-specific duties. Look for HTS headings 9903.01, 9903.02, and their subheadings on your entry summaries. These are the IEEPA-specific codes. Standard MFN duties, Section 301 tariffs (China product lists), and Section 232 tariffs (steel and aluminum) are not part of this refund.
Date range matters. Only entries with IEEPA duties assessed between February 4, 2025, and February 24, 2026, are covered by the ruling. Entries before or after this period are outside the scope.
Entry status determines your recovery path, not your eligibility. Whether your entries are unliquidated, recently liquidated, or finally liquidated, there’s a path to recovery. The status affects how you file, not whether you qualify. More on this in the recovery paths section below.
There’s no minimum threshold. Whether your IEEPA exposure is $5,000 or $50 million, you’re entitled to recovery. That said, the economics of filing change at different scales — an Impact Assessment helps determine the optimal approach for your specific portfolio size.
How Much You Can Recover
The article's recovery table turns abstract tariff percentages into operating-scale dollar ranges. Once annual imports reach eight figures, the refund often becomes balance-sheet material.
Your refund amount equals the total IEEPA duties you paid plus statutory interest under 19 U.S.C. Section 1505(c). For most importers, the actual number is higher than their initial estimate because they haven’t accounted for interest or have underestimated their IEEPA exposure.
The statutory interest rate is set quarterly by the IRS based on the federal short-term rate plus three percentage points. For the relevant period, rates have ranged from approximately 5-7%. Interest accrues from the date of each duty payment to the date of the refund — which means earlier entries carry more interest.
Here’s a rough framework:
| Annual Import Value | Estimated IEEPA Duties (20% avg rate) | Est. Interest (12 mo.) | Total Recovery |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2.5 million | $500,000 | $30,000 - $35,000 | ~$530,000 - $535,000 |
| $10 million | $2,000,000 | $120,000 - $140,000 | ~$2.12M - $2.14M |
| $50 million | $10,000,000 | $600,000 - $700,000 | ~$10.6M - $10.7M |
| $250 million | $50,000,000 | $3,000,000 - $3,500,000 | ~$53M - $53.5M |
These are illustrative. Your actual IEEPA duty rate depends on the countries of origin, product categories, and applicable tariff rates during the period. Some importers paid 10% IEEPA duties; others paid 145% on Chinese-origin goods. Our detailed walkthrough on how to calculate your IEEPA tariff refund amount covers the exact methodology.
The key insight: don’t estimate from memory. Pull your actual ACE data. Many importers discover their exposure is 20-40% higher than their back-of-envelope calculation suggested, because they forgot about entries processed by secondary brokers, consolidated shipments, or entries where IEEPA rates changed mid-period.
Get your free Impact Assessment →
The Four Recovery Paths
There are four distinct paths to recover IEEPA tariff refunds, and most importers will use more than one. Each entry in your portfolio may follow a different path depending on its liquidation status.
Path 1: Post-Summary Correction (PSC)
For: Unliquidated entries only.
A PSC is a correction to an entry summary that hasn’t yet been liquidated by CBP. Your customs broker files it through ACE, removing the IEEPA tariff codes. CBP recalculates duties without the IEEPA surcharge and returns the difference.
Timeline: Days to weeks. This is by far the fastest government path.
Why it matters: Entries typically liquidate approximately 314 days after filing, so entries from roughly mid-2025 onward may still be unliquidated. Every day that passes, more entries cross the liquidation threshold, removing them from this fastest path. If you have unliquidated entries, PSC should be your first priority.
Path 2: Formal CBP Protest
For: Liquidated entries within the 180-day protest window.
A formal protest under 19 U.S.C. Section 1514 challenges the liquidation of an entry. Your broker or trade attorney files through ACE within 180 days of the liquidation date. CBP then reviews and reliquidates the entry without IEEPA duties.
Timeline: 18-36 months for standard CBP processing. Accelerated disposition can shorten this — if CBP doesn’t respond within 30 days of an accelerated disposition request, the protest is deemed denied, allowing escalation to the CIT.
Critical warning: The 180-day window is a hard deadline that varies by entry. Entries that liquidated in early-to-mid 2025 may already be past this window. Entries liquidating now start the 180-day clock immediately. Missing this deadline eliminates Path 2 and forces you into Path 3, which is slower and more expensive.
Path 3: CIT Litigation
For: Entries outside the 180-day protest window.
If you missed the protest deadline — or if CBP denies your protest — the Court of International Trade is the backstop. This requires a trade attorney admitted to the CIT bar and involves filing a civil action under 28 U.S.C. Section 1581(i).
Timeline: 12-24+ months depending on court scheduling and case complexity.
Cost: Legal fees are higher than protest filing, typically structured as a contingency percentage or flat fee plus contingency. The CIT path makes economic sense primarily for larger claims.
Path 4: Immediate Capital
For: Any eligible entry, regardless of status.
Rather than waiting 18-36 months for government processing, you can assign your refund claims to a capital provider in exchange for payment in 14-21 business days. The provider takes over the filing process and assumes all risk of delays, denials, or system failures.
Timeline: 14-21 business days to funding.
Trade-off: You receive a discounted amount (typically 75-90% of the estimated refund) rather than the full refund plus interest. But you eliminate all uncertainty and get capital now. For a detailed comparison, see our government filing vs. immediate capital analysis.
For importers considering this path, tariffbuyouts.com specializes in IEEPA claim acquisitions and can provide a non-binding offer within 48 hours of receiving your assessment data.
Which Path Is Right for You?
Most importers don’t choose just one path. The optimal strategy — what your CFO needs to understand — usually involves a hybrid approach:
- PSC for all unliquidated entries (fastest, simplest)
- Protest for recently liquidated entries within the 180-day window (preserves rights)
- Immediate capital for large, complex claims where the time value of money exceeds the discount
- CIT litigation as a backstop for entries outside the protest window
An Impact Assessment breaks down your entire portfolio entry by entry, showing which path applies to each entry and modeling the financial outcome of different allocation strategies.
The CAPE System: Where Things Stand
CBP’s Centralized Automated Processing of Entries (CAPE) system is the government’s mechanism for processing the mass refund. Understanding your position in the CAPE queue matters because it directly affects your timeline.
CAPE processes claims roughly in the order they’re filed. Early filers have a meaningful advantage — not just in queue position, but because CAPE’s processing capacity is finite and the volume of claims is unprecedented. CBP has never processed anything close to this number of refunds simultaneously.
As of early April 2026, CAPE is operational but processing slower than projected. The system was designed to handle standard post-summary corrections and protest resolutions at normal volumes. The IEEPA refund wave represents a volume increase of roughly 50x over normal operations. CBP has allocated additional resources, but the backlog is real.
What this means for you: if you haven’t filed yet, every week you wait pushes you further back in the queue. The difference between filing in April 2026 and filing in July 2026 could be six months or more in actual refund delivery. The cost of waiting is not just theoretical — it’s a measurable financial impact that compounds with time.
Documentation You’ll Need
Regardless of which recovery path you pursue, you’ll need the same core documentation. Start gathering this now — even before you’ve decided on a path. Incomplete documentation is one of the most common mistakes that delay refunds.
Entry summaries (CF 7501 or electronic equivalent). These show the duties paid on each entry, including IEEPA-specific line items. You can pull these from the ACE portal or request them from your customs broker.
ES-003 report from ACE. This is the entry summary status report that shows liquidation status, duty amounts, and HTS classifications for all entries in a date range. It’s the single most important document for determining your recovery strategy.
Proof of payment. ACH debit records, periodic monthly statement (PMS) records, or broker payment confirmations showing that IEEPA duties were actually paid (not just assessed).
Importer of record documentation. Power of attorney, customs bond, and any documentation confirming your IOR status for relevant entries.
Broker authorization. If your customs broker will be filing on your behalf (which is the case for Paths 1 and 2), you’ll need a current power of attorney on file with CBP.
For CIT litigation (Path 3): Additional documentation may include attorney engagement letters, summons filings, and any prior protest denials.
For a detailed walkthrough of each step, our 7 steps to file your IEEPA tariff refund guide covers the process from start to finish.
Timeline Expectations
Let’s be honest about timelines. The government is slow, and this process involves an unprecedented volume of claims moving through a system that wasn’t built for this.
Here are realistic estimates based on current CAPE processing rates and CBP guidance:
| Recovery Path | Filing to Completion | Key Variables |
|---|---|---|
| Post-Summary Correction | 2-6 weeks | Broker responsiveness, CBP review queue |
| Formal Protest | 18-36 months | CAPE queue position, CBP staffing, accelerated disposition |
| CIT Litigation | 12-24+ months | Court docket, case complexity, government response |
| Immediate Capital | 14-21 business days | Assessment completion, documentation readiness |
The IEEPA tariff refund timeline goes deeper on each path’s milestones and what can cause delays.
The interest question: For government paths, you do earn statutory interest under 19 U.S.C. 1505(c) for the duration. But that rate (5-7%) may be below your company’s weighted average cost of capital. If your WACC is 10-12% — common for mid-market importers — the time value erosion on a 24-month government timeline can exceed the interest earned. This is the core math behind the immediate capital option.
Common Questions
“Can I file myself without a customs broker or attorney?”
For PSC (Path 1) and protests (Path 2), you technically can, but it’s rarely advisable. These filings go through ACE, which requires a filer code and familiarity with CBP’s electronic filing requirements. Most importers work through their existing customs broker. CIT litigation (Path 3) requires an attorney. Review our FAQ covering 20 common IEEPA refund questions for more.
“What if I passed the tariff costs through to my customers?”
You’re still entitled to the refund from CBP — only the importer of record can claim it. However, depending on your contracts, your customers may have a contractual claim against you for a portion of the recovery. Review your supply agreements and any tariff surcharge provisions with counsel.
“What if I imported from China specifically?”
China-origin imports carried the highest IEEPA rates (up to 145%), so your recovery amount may be significantly larger. The same four paths apply, but the stakes are higher. For China-specific guidance, chinatariffrefund.com has resources tailored to that situation.
“Do I need to file separately for each entry?”
Not necessarily. PSCs and protests can be filed in batches. Your customs broker can process multiple entries simultaneously. But each entry has its own liquidation status and timeline, so the recovery path may differ across your portfolio.
“What happens if CBP denies my protest?”
You have 180 days from the denial to file a summons with the CIT (Path 3). A denied protest isn’t the end of the road — it’s a procedural step that opens the door to court review.
“Is there a deadline to file?”
Yes — and it’s different for each entry. Unliquidated entries should be corrected via PSC as soon as possible before they liquidate. Liquidated entries have a 180-day protest window from the date of liquidation. For CIT litigation, the statute of limitations is two years from the relevant government action. The bottom line: sooner is always better.
What to Do Right Now
If you’ve read this far, here’s the prioritized action list:
1. Pull your ACE data. Request an ES-003 report covering February 4, 2025, through February 24, 2026. If you don’t have ACE portal access, your customs broker can pull this for you.
2. Identify your IEEPA exposure. Filter for HTS headings 9903.01 and 9903.02 and their subheadings. Sum the IEEPA-specific duties paid.
3. Check liquidation status. For each entry, determine whether it’s unliquidated, recently liquidated (within 180 days), or finally liquidated. This determines your available paths.
4. Identify upcoming deadlines. Any entries approaching the 180-day protest window need immediate attention. Build a calendar of deadline dates.
5. Get a professional assessment. An Impact Assessment pulls all of this together — total exposure, entry-by-entry status, deadline calendar, recommended recovery path for each entry, and projected recovery timeline. It’s the foundation for every filing decision.
6. File immediately on unliquidated entries. PSCs are fast and straightforward. There’s no reason to wait on entries that are still unliquidated.
7. File protests on entries within the 180-day window. Even if you’re still deciding between government processing and immediate capital, filing a protective protest preserves your rights.
The single biggest mistake we see is waiting. Every day that passes, more entries liquidate (removing them from the fastest path), more protest deadlines expire, and your CAPE queue position moves further back. The cost of waiting is real and measurable.
