{"id":196,"date":"2026-05-25T05:20:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T05:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/?p=196"},"modified":"2026-05-25T05:20:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T05:20:16","slug":"irs-covid-era-refunds-penalties-interest-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/irs-covid-era-refunds-penalties-interest-claim\/","title":{"rendered":"IRS COVID-Era Refunds May Be Available for Millions of Taxpayers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Millions of taxpayers may have a chance to recover money from the IRS<\/a> for penalties and interest charged during the COVID-19 pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The possible refunds are connected to a legal dispute over whether certain tax filing and payment deadlines were automatically extended during the federal disaster period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue could affect individuals, small businesses, corporations, estates, trusts, and other taxpayers who were charged late-filing penalties, late-payment penalties, estimated tax penalties, or interest between January 20, 2020, and July 10, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, these refunds are not automatic. Many taxpayers who believe they qualify may need to file a claim before the July 10 deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why the IRS May Owe COVID-Era Refunds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The possible refunds are linked to court decisions that questioned how the IRS applied pandemic-related deadline relief. During the COVID-19 emergency, the federal disaster period began on January 20, 2020, and ended on May 11, 2023. Tax law then added another 60 days, extending the relevant period to July 10, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key court case,\u00a0Kwong v. United States<\/strong>, interpreted the law to mean that tax deadlines were automatically postponed for the full disaster period, plus the additional 60 days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If that interpretation is upheld, some tax returns and payments that the IRS treated as late may not have been late after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That could mean penalties and interest charged during that period may need to be refunded or removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Could Qualify for IRS Penalty Refunds?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Taxpayers who filed or paid certain taxes late during the pandemic period and were charged penalties or interest may want to review their records. The potential relief could apply to several tax types, including income tax, employment tax, estate tax, gift tax, and excise tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses may also be affected, especially if they paid payroll tax penalties or other pandemic-era charges. Some taxpayers who filed international information returns late may also have possible claims, since those penalties can be large even when no tax is owed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why the Deadline Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although the legal issue is still not fully settled, taxpayers may need to act now to protect their right to a refund. If they wait too long, they may lose the ability to claim money later, even if the courts eventually side with taxpayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why some tax professionals are encouraging eligible taxpayers to consider filing a protective claim. A protective claim helps preserve a taxpayer\u2019s refund rights while the legal matter continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Taxpayers Can Check Their Eligibility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A good first step is to review your IRS account transcript. This record can show penalties, interest, payments, account changes, and refunds. Taxpayers should look for charges dated between January 20, 2020, and July 10, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If penalty or interest charges appear during that window, the taxpayer may want to consider filing IRS Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement<\/strong>. This form is generally used to request refunds or reductions of certain penalties, interest, taxes, and fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a protective claim, taxpayers may write language such as \u201cProtective Refund Claim Pursuant to Kwong Case\u201d<\/strong> at the top of Form 843.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Important Caveat for Taxpayers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is no guarantee that every claim will result in a refund. The government may appeal the court ruling, and the final outcome could take years. The IRS may also continue to dispute broader refund eligibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, filing a timely claim may be important for taxpayers who want to keep their options open. Because the rules are complex, taxpayers should consider speaking with a qualified tax professional before filing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IRS COVID-era refund issue could become a major opportunity for taxpayers who were charged penalties or interest during the pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the legal battle is not over, taxpayers who may qualify should review their IRS transcripts, check relevant penalty dates, and consider filing Form 843 before the deadline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acting early may help protect the chance to recover money if the courts ultimately rule in favor of taxpayers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Millions of taxpayers may have a chance to recover money from the IRS for penalties and interest charged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The possible refunds are connected to a legal dispute over whether certain tax filing and payment deadlines were automatically extended during the federal disaster period. The issue could affect individuals, small businesses, corporations, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[188,193,189,187,192,194,195,196,190,191],"class_list":["post-196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","tag-covid-era-tax-refunds","tag-irs-form-843","tag-irs-penalty-relief","tag-irs-refunds","tag-kwong-case","tag-pandemic-tax-relief","tag-protective-refund-claim","tag-tax-deadline-relief","tag-tax-penalties","tag-taxpayer-refunds"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":202,"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196\/revisions\/202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}