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IRS COVID Penalty Refund Deadline: July 10, 2026 Looms for Millions
A federal ruling in Kwong vs. US shifts refund windows for COVID-era IRS penalties and interest. Taxpayers have until July 10, 2026 to file protective claims. Here's who qualifies and how to act.
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A federal court ruling has rewired the refund clock for millions of taxpayers hit with COVID-era penalties and interest. The case is Kwong vs. United States. A judge found the IRS improperly assessed interest between 2020 and 2023. The logic: federal tax deadlines should have run from the end of the national emergency, not from the agency's own administrative extensions.
The national emergency ended May 11, 2023. The court gave taxpayers 60 extra days after that to file. That pushes the effective deadline for 2019 through 2022 returns to July 10, 2023. Taxpayers have three years from the filing deadline to claim refunds. July 10, 2026 is the cutoff.
Who qualifies? Anyone who incurred penalties for late filing, late payment, or underpayment between Jan. 20, 2020 and July 11, 2023. Interest charged on those penalties also qualifies. The IRS has not publicly accepted or rejected the ruling's broader application, tax professionals said. That silence makes the window uncertain. Filing a protective claim preserves the right to a refund even if the agency initially pushes back.