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IEEPA tariff refund · 15% contingency

The IEEPA tariffs were struck down. CBP is paying them back.

In February 2026 the Supreme Court ruled the 2025 IEEPA emergency tariffs unlawful. CBP opened a refund portal, CAPE, in April 2026 and is now returning the money, billions already paid. If you imported in 2025, we find what's recoverable, a licensed broker files it, and you only pay when CBP pays you.

The government has moved to appeal the order that lets all importers claim. While it stands, the path is open to everyone who paid. Filing now protects your claim.

Free audit. Just your email to start.

  • Free audit. No card, no obligation.
  • A licensed broker files. You sign, we submit.
  • 15% only if CBP pays you. Otherwise nothing.

We reply within 24 hours with a first read. Full audit takes 3 to 7 business days.

What an IEEPA refund actually is

In 2025 the administration used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose broad new import tariffs fast: the "reciprocal" and emergency duties that stacked on top of normal duty and pushed effective rates on common categories sharply higher. That use of IEEPA is what the Supreme Court struck down in February 2026, ruling it exceeded the president's authority. The Court of International Trade ordered CBP to return the duties, and CBP built a dedicated refund system to do it.

What is refundable, and what is not

  • IEEPA emergency / reciprocal tariffs (2025): refundable. This is the layer the Court voided and CBP is now paying back.
  • Section 301 China tariffs: not refundable. Separate authority, still in force. A refund here is the rare exception (a granted exclusion or a provable misclassification).
  • Section 232 steel and aluminum: not refundable. Also still in force.
  • Plain classification overpayments: sometimes recoverable on their own, separate from the IEEPA question.

The single most valuable thing an audit does is separate the refundable IEEPA layer from the Section 301 duty that stays. Anyone telling you all your China tariffs are coming back is wrong. This page is general information, not legal advice.

How the CAPE refund works

  1. Identify the entries. Pull your CBP 7501 entries or an ACE export for 2025 and flag the lines that carried IEEPA duty.
  2. File a CAPE Declaration. The importer of record, or the broker who filed the entry, uploads the list of entry numbers through CBP's ACE portal. CBP does not need anything else in the file.
  3. CBP validates and reliquidates. Accepted entries are reliquidated without the IEEPA duty.
  4. You get paid. Refunds are generally issued within 60 to 90 days of acceptance, electronically, principal plus interest. Your ACH bank details must be set up in ACE first, or a clean filing still pays nothing.

Can you claim? The importer-of-record rule

One rule decides it. Only the importer of record on the entry (box 22 of the CBP 7501), or the licensed broker who filed it, can claim. If you imported under your own name or EIN, that is you. If you shipped DDP and your supplier was the importer of record, the refund right sits with them unless they assign it to you. This is the most common reason a claim fails, and the first thing our free audit checks.

Why moving now matters

Each entry has its own deadline tied to when it liquidated, so the oldest entries close first. On top of that, the government has moved to appeal the order that currently lets importers who were not named plaintiffs claim. While that order stands, the path is open to everyone who paid. If a court narrows it, the easy route could close for importers who have not yet filed. Getting your claim in now protects it.

How HS Mate helps

  • Free audit. We tell you, per entry, what is recoverable and by when.
  • A licensed broker files. You sign, the broker submits through CAPE.
  • 15% contingency. If CBP refunds you, we take 15%. If nothing comes back, you owe nothing.

Start the free audit →

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