19 agosto 2026
IEEPA tariff refunds in 2026: who gets money back, and how CAPE works
If your company imported goods under the IEEPA tariffs, the April 2025 reciprocal tariffs or the fentanyl and trafficking tariffs, you are likely owed a refund with interest. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on February 20, 2026 in Learning Resources v. Trump, consolidated with V.O.S. Selections, that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs, and CBP stopped collecting them on February 24, 2026. Refunds flow through CAPE, the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries system inside the ACE portal, and only the importer of record or the licensed customs broker who filed the original entries can file a CAPE declaration. Individual consumers cannot claim anything, because the refund goes to whoever paid the duty at the border, not to shoppers who paid higher prices. We handle tariff refunds: filing is customs business under 19 USC 1641, so we take care of it with the licensed customs broker we work with, and all you need to do is get in touch. Payouts have been running about 60 to 90 days from acceptance, and as of July 10, 2026 CBP had accepted roughly $121.75 billion in claims and repaid about $86.3 billion including interest.
What the Supreme Court actually decided
On February 20, 2026 the Supreme Court decided Learning Resources v. Trump, consolidated with V.O.S. Selections, by a 6-3 vote. The holding is simple: the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.
That ruling killed the April 2025 reciprocal tariffs and the fentanyl and trafficking tariffs. CBP stopped collecting them on February 24, 2026, four days after the decision.
One caveat worth knowing: an appeal on remedies continues at the Federal Circuit. It has not slowed the refund machinery so far, but it is a residual risk we mention because we would rather you hear it from us than be surprised.
Am I eligible, and can consumers claim anything?
The refund goes to the importer of record, the company legally responsible for the entry when the goods cleared. If your business was the importer of record on entries that paid IEEPA duties, you are the party CBP will pay.
Individual consumers cannot file. If you paid higher retail prices because of tariffs, there is no mechanism for you to recover that money; only the importer of record or its licensed broker can file, and the check goes to the importer.
Not everything called a tariff is covered. Section 301 duties, Section 232 duties, and antidumping and countervailing duties are outside CAPE entirely, so do not count on refunds for those through this process.
How CAPE works and who can file
CAPE stands for Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries. It lives inside CBP's ACE portal and runs under the supervision of the Court of International Trade.
A CAPE declaration is, at its core, a CSV file listing up to 9,999 entry numbers, and you can file multiple declarations if you have more entries than that. Only the importer of record or the licensed customs broker who filed the original entries can submit one.
Preparing and filing these declarations is customs business under 19 USC 1641 that requires a broker's license, which is why we handle refunds with the licensed customs broker we work with. Get in touch and we take care of it while your containers keep moving.
The three phases, and the finally liquidated problem
CBP opened CAPE in phases. Phase 1 began April 20, 2026 and covered unliquidated entries plus entries liquidated within the preceding 80 days, while excluding finally liquidated entries, reconciliation entries, entries with open protests, AD/CVD entries, and entries with open drawback claims. Phase 2 followed on June 29, 2026.
Phase 3, for finally liquidated entries, opened at the end of July 2026. On July 17, 2026 the Court of International Trade, through Senior Judge Richard Eaton in the lead case Freestyle World, Inc. v. United States, ordered CBP to reliquidate entries for plaintiffs with pending CIT cases.
The honest gap: the path for finally liquidated entries when the importer never filed a CIT case is still unsettled. If your entries are finally liquidated and you have no suit on file, get in touch now rather than assuming CAPE will eventually cover you. We take it up with the licensed customs broker we work with, and a case like this may also need trade counsel.
Timing, deadlines, and how big this is
Payouts have been running roughly 60 to 90 days from the date CBP accepts a declaration. CBP has not announced a CAPE filing deadline, but there are protective deadlines for filing suit at the CIT: February 4, 2027 for the fentanyl tariffs and April 5, 2027 for the reciprocal tariffs.
The scale is remarkable. As of July 10, 2026, CBP had accepted about $121.75 billion in claims and repaid about $86.3 billion including interest, across roughly 330,000 importers and 53 million entries, with the total pot estimated near $166 billion.
If you imported anything under these tariffs, the odds that money is sitting there with your company's name on it are high. The work is pulling your entry numbers together from the original filings, and we take care of that with you.
Interest, taxes, and what to do this week
Refunds carry statutory interest under 19 USC 1505(c). For the first quarter of 2026 the rates were 7 percent for non-corporate importers and 6 percent for corporations.
One tax note to raise with your accountant: if your business deducted the duties as an expense, the refund is likely taxable income when it arrives. Plan for that rather than treating the check as free money.
Practically: confirm you were the importer of record, gather your entry numbers, and get in touch. We handle the refund with the licensed customs broker we work with, and while it works its way through, we keep moving your containers out of the Miami terminals and into your warehouse on time.
tariffs · refunds · CAPE · IEEPA · customs
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Who can file a CAPE declaration?
Only the importer of record or the licensed customs broker who filed the original entries. CAPE, the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, lives inside CBP's ACE portal and runs under the supervision of the Court of International Trade. A declaration is at its core a CSV file listing up to 9,999 entry numbers, and you can file more than one if you have more entries than that. Preparing and filing it is customs business under 19 USC 1641 and requires a broker's license.
Can consumers claim an IEEPA tariff refund?
No. The refund goes to the importer of record, the company legally responsible for the entry when the goods cleared, because that is who paid the duty at the border. If you paid higher retail prices because of tariffs there is no mechanism to recover that, and no filing route exists for an individual. If your business was the importer of record on entries that paid IEEPA duties, then your business is the party CBP will pay.
Which tariffs are not covered by CAPE?
Not everything called a tariff is in scope. Section 301 duties, Section 232 duties, and antidumping and countervailing duties sit outside CAPE entirely, so no refund comes back for those through this process. What the Supreme Court struck down on February 20, 2026 in Learning Resources v. Trump, consolidated with V.O.S. Selections, was the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs, which killed the April 2025 reciprocal tariffs and the fentanyl and trafficking tariffs.
How long do CAPE refunds take, and is there a deadline to file?
Payouts have been running roughly 60 to 90 days from the date CBP accepts a declaration. CBP has not announced a CAPE filing deadline, but there are protective deadlines for filing suit at the Court of International Trade: February 4, 2027 for the fentanyl tariffs and April 5, 2027 for the reciprocal tariffs. Worth knowing too that an appeal on remedies continues at the Federal Circuit, which has not slowed the refund machinery so far.
Do IEEPA refunds carry interest, and is the refund taxable?
Refunds carry statutory interest under 19 USC 1505(c). For the first quarter of 2026 the rates were 7 percent for non-corporate importers and 6 percent for corporations. On the tax side, raise this with your accountant early: if your business deducted the duties as an expense, the refund is likely taxable income when it arrives, so it is worth planning for rather than treating the money as a windfall that arrives clean.
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