IEEPA Tariff Refund: File It Right the First Time
The Supreme Court ruled IEEPA tariffs were collected without legal authority. Every U.S. importer who paid those tariffs is entitled to a full refund plus statutory interest. The CAPE portal is open. First refunds are being issued. The process was designed for institutional importers. TariffGuru.com makes it accessible for every business that qualifies.
Entries Age Out of Eligibility. File While Yours Still Qualify.
Phase 1 covers entries liquidated within 80 days of your filing date. Every day you wait, more of your entries cross that threshold and become ineligible for Phase 1. There is no pause button on the liquidation clock. The entries that qualify today may not qualify next month.
Of the 330,000 eligible U.S. importers, the vast majority have not filed. The large corporations with legal teams filed first. That leaves most small and medium importers still waiting, still losing eligibility on aging entries, and still without the trade counsel they need to file correctly. TariffGuru.com was built specifically for this gap.
What is the IEEPA tariff refund?
Do I need a customs broker to file?
What entries are excluded from Phase 1?
How is statutory interest calculated?
How long until I receive payment?
Three Steps to Your Refund
From eligibility verification to ACH payment. Here is exactly what is required at each stage.
Verify Your Eligibility
Phase 1 covers unliquidated entries and entries liquidated within 80 days of your filing date. You need an active ACE Secure Data Portal account with an Importer sub-account and a U.S. bank account registered for ACH refunds in ACE, separate from any account used to pay duties to CBP. Use TariffGuru's free eligibility diagnostic to confirm your status before you prepare a single file.
Prepare Your CAPE Declaration
A CAPE Declaration is a CSV file listing your eligible 11-digit entry numbers, submitted through the CAPE tab in the ACE Secure Data Portal. The file cannot exceed 1MB and is limited to 9,999 entries per declaration. One file-level formatting error rejects the entire declaration. The $97 Federal Recovery Toolkit includes a CBP-compliant CSV template and a 12-point pre-submission checklist to catch errors before you file.
File and Collect Your Refund
Submit your CAPE Declaration through the ACE Secure Data Portal. CBP validates your entries, removes IEEPA HTS Chapter 99 codes, reliquidates affected entries, calculates statutory interest at 7% annually for non-corporations or 6% for corporations compounded quarterly under 19 U.S.C. 1505 and 26 U.S.C. 6621, and issues payment via ACH within 60 to 90 days of acceptance.
Everything You Need, For Free
Before you spend a dollar, use our free tools to confirm your eligibility, estimate your refund, and get answers to technical questions.
Five Things Every Importer Must Know
The five technical pillars of IEEPA refund eligibility in plain English. Liquidation status, ACH enrollment, entry formatting, interest calculation, and the Phase 1 exclusions that catch many filers off guard.
Read the Quick Guide
2. ACH Enrollment: You must have a U.S. bank account registered in the ACE Secure Data Portal, separate from any account used to pay duties to CBP.
3. Entry Formatting: All entry numbers must be exactly 11 alphanumeric characters. One bad character rejects the line.
4. Interest Calculation: Statutory interest accrues from the original entry payment date at 7% annually (non-corp) or 6% (corp), compounded quarterly per 19 U.S.C. 1505.
5. Phase 1 Exclusions: Reconciliation entries, drawback entries, AD/CVD entries, open protest entries, and entries not filed in ACE are excluded from Phase 1.
Read the Full Filing Guide
CAPE Pre-Filing Eligibility Screener
Answer 6 questions and get an instant technical readiness assessment. Know your Phase 1 eligibility status, what steps to take next, and whether you need the toolkit or concierge service before you file a single form.
Check My EligibilityFree Professional Tariff Refund Guidance
TariffGuru's free AI Recovery Agent answers technical questions about IEEPA refund eligibility, CAPE filing requirements, entry validation, and interest calculations. Trained on CBP source documents. No account required.
Access Free Tools at TariffGuru.comFederal Statutory Interest Calculator
Calculated per 19 U.S.C. 1505 and 26 U.S.C. 6621 using IRS quarterly overpayment rates confirmed in Federal Register Vol. 90 No. 186 and Federal Register Document 2026-01175. Not a simple interest estimate. A statutory refund calculation.
Use the Full Calculator BelowFederal Statutory Interest Calculator: IEEPA Tariff Refund Overpayment Rates
Statutory interest on IEEPA tariff refunds accrues from the date the original duties were paid through the date CBP issues your refund. This is not optional. It is a legal entitlement under federal statute.
The applicable rates, confirmed across multiple Federal Register publications, are 7% annually for non-corporate importers and 6% annually for corporate importers, compounded quarterly.
For entries paid in the first half of 2025, this means more than a full year of interest accrues on top of your principal refund amount before CBP issues payment.
Source: 19 U.S.C. 1505 · 26 U.S.C. 6621 · Federal Register Vol. 90 No. 186 · Federal Register Document 2026-01175 · Revenue Ruling 2025-22
Estimate based on statutory rates per 19 U.S.C. 1505 and 26 U.S.C. 6621, compounded quarterly. Actual amounts depend on entry-level CBP data and the refund process established by the Court of International Trade.
File It Right the First Time
From the $97 self-filing toolkit to full institutional data formatting. TariffGuru.com provides the technical infrastructure for every type of importer.
Federal Recovery Toolkit
- Master CAPE CSV template (CBP-compliant, pre-formatted)
- ACE portal data extraction guide
- CBP error dictionary: every rejection code explained
- HTS reference library for IEEPA-subject goods
- USITC duty handbook and HTS classification guide
- Supreme Court ruling analysis (Learning Resources v. Trump)
- Federal Register interest rate documentation
- 12-point pre-submission filing readiness checklist
- Phase 1 exclusion reference guide
Institutional Data Services
- Professional CAPE CSV data formatting at $1 per line
- $1,500 minimum, covers up to 1,500 entry lines
- $4,500 Institutional Data Audit, pre-submission error scan
- PDF Risk Report identifying rejection risks before filing
- Section 301 / IEEPA duty stacking analysis
- AD/CVD suspension review and Phase 2 preparation
- Full concierge with licensed customs practitioners available
Free Professional Tariff Refund Guidance
TariffGuru's free AI Recovery Agent answers technical questions about IEEPA refund eligibility, CAPE filing requirements, entry validation, and interest calculations. Trained on CBP source documents. No account required.
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Filing intelligence derived directly from CIT court records and CBP agency filings. Dates, entry counts, and process details are all court-verified.
Stay Ahead of the Process
Court-sourced CAPE system analysis. Every article cites its source document.
Racing Against Your Broker: Why You Should File Your Own Refund
If your customs broker already submitted a CAPE Declaration listing your entry numbers, you cannot submit those same entries again. CBP flags duplicate entry numbers across declarations as "Rejected by batch validation," permanently removing them from your claim. Here is what to check before anyone files on your behalf.
Technical Guide, 2026 Phase 2The $2+ Billion in Frozen Tariff Refunds Nobody Is Explaining
Entries subject to AD/CVD suspension are explicitly excluded from Phase 1. Here is why, what statute governs it, and what importers should be doing now to prepare for Phase 2.
2026 TechnicalThe PSC Filing Prohibition Competitors Are Ignoring
CBP's Trade User Information Notice explicitly prohibits Post Summary Corrections for IEEPA refunds. Here is the exact language and why it matters for importers evaluating their options.
2026