The Supreme Court settled the legal question on February 20, 2026, when it ruled in Learning Resources v. Trump that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize tariffs. Getting the money back has proven far more complicated. Refunds don’t arrive automatically, deadlines are already passing, and the right path depends on the status of each individual entry.
Here’s what the tariff refund process looks like, step by step.
Five Steps From Duties Paid to Refund Received
1. Gather Your Import Records
Start by pulling your entry data for everything imported between February 4, 2025, and February 24, 2026, the period when IEEPA duties were collected. If you worked with more than one customs broker or used several importer of record numbers, collect records from each. Gaps at this stage often lead to missed refunds later.
2. Separate IEEPA Duties From Everything Else
Not every tariff paid during that window qualifies. Section 301 duties on Chinese goods, Section 232 steel and aluminum duties, antidumping and countervailing duties, and the Section 122 replacement tariff are all excluded. Each entry has to be reviewed line by line to isolate the refundable amounts.
3. Check the Liquidation Status of Every Entry
This step decides which route each entry takes. Unliquidated entries and those liquidated within the past 80 days fall under Phase 1 of CAPE, the refund portal CBP launched on April 20, 2026. Entries liquidated more than 80 days ago currently sit outside Phase 1, but a protest filed within 180 days of liquidation keeps the claim alive. Entries past that window may depend on later CAPE phases or litigation at the Court of International Trade.
4. File Your CAPE Declaration or Protest
For Phase 1 entries, a CAPE Declaration must be submitted through CBP’s ACE system. When an entry is close to the 80-day cutoff, a protective protest can preserve your refund right while its CAPE eligibility is confirmed.
5. Track Your Claim Until Payment
CBP has said it expects to process accepted declarations in about 45 days, with payment following within 60 to 90 days. Refunds include interest, but timelines can shift as guidance and court rulings evolve, so every claim needs to be monitored until the money arrives.
Each step leaves room for costly mistakes, and most importers are small businesses without the time to sort through hundreds of entries on their own. Waiting on the refund can also strain cash flow, especially after more than a year of elevated duties.
The simplest way to move through every step without missing a deadline is to have experienced specialists handle each stage of your tariff refund claim, from the audit to the final payment. Done right, the process turns duties you never should have paid back into money for your business.
