How CBP CAPE Refunds Work: Phase by Phase
A phase-by-phase explainer of CAPE, CBP's IEEPA tariff refund tool: who can file, which entries each phase covers, the 80-day line, exclusions, and ACH payment.
Tariff Refund Guides
Plain-English guides for importers on IEEPA tariff refunds: CAPE, denials, short refunds, liquidation, deadlines, and avoiding scams.
Start here and filing
How to Get ACE Portal Access to File or Track an IEEPA Refund
Importers without an ACE Portal account can apply online. How the automated importer account application works, what the Trade Account Owner does, and when your broker can file instead.
How to Pull Your IEEPA Refund Reports in ACE: ES-003, ES-022, and REV-603
Step-by-step: which ACE reports show IEEPA duties paid (ES-003), what is in your CAPE declarations (ES-022), and where each refund stands (REV-603, REV-613, REV-615).
How to Check Whether an Entry Has Liquidated, and Why It Matters for Refunds
Liquidation sets every IEEPA refund clock. How liquidation works, where CBP posts notices, which ACE reports show the date, and what CAPE does to liquidation.
Working With Your Customs Broker on an IEEPA Refund: What to Ask
Practical questions to ask your customs broker about IEEPA refunds: who files CAPE, whether a Form 4811 is on file, which reports they can pull, protests, and fees.
Can You Use a Post-Summary Correction to Get an IEEPA Refund? No.
Some early advice suggested post-summary corrections for unliquidated entries. CBP has since prohibited starting an IEEPA refund request by PSC. What PSCs are and what to use instead.
Excluded Entry Types and IEEPA Refunds: Where Each Stands
A type-by-type guide to entries CBP excluded from CAPE: AD/CVD, foreign trade zone, warehouse, drawback, reconciliation, informal, Section 321, and protested entries.
Refund status and payment
How to Set Up ACH Refunds in ACE (and When to Use CBP Form 4811)
CBP pays refunds only by ACH since February 6, 2026. How importers enroll for ACH refunds in the ACE Portal, what bank account CBP needs, and how Form 4811 notify parties work.
IEEPA Tariff Refund Came Back Short? How to Find the Gap
Why IEEPA refunds can be smaller than expected: Section 232 and 301 stacking, the steel and aluminum content split, missing entries, offsets, and interest.
Interest on IEEPA Tariff Refunds: How to Check It Was Included
CBP calculates interest on IEEPA refunds under 19 CFR 24.36 and 19 U.S.C. 1505. How to see principal and interest separately in ACE and what to do if interest looks missing.
IEEPA Refund Worked Examples: What Is Refunded and What Is Not
Four illustrative examples showing how much of a duty bill is IEEPA duty: a China entry with Section 301, an EU entry under the 15 percent all-in rule, a Canada entry, and a Section 232 line.
IEEPA vs Section 232, Section 301, and AD/CVD: Which Duties Are Refundable?
Only IEEPA duties are being refunded. How to tell IEEPA duties apart from Section 232, Section 301, antidumping and countervailing duties, Section 122, and ordinary duties on your entries.
Annex II and the Reciprocal Tariff: Which Goods Were Exempt, and When
Annex II exempted categories such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, energy, and certain minerals from the reciprocal tariff. How the list changed in April, September, and November 2025.
The Section 122 Surcharge Is Not an IEEPA Duty: What Importers Should Know
After IEEPA collection ended, a 10 percent Section 122 surcharge applied from February 24 to July 24, 2026. Why it is not refunded through CAPE and what the courts have said.
Deadlines and legal routes
Why IEEPA Refund Claims Get Rejected, and What Can Be Fixed
The common reasons CAPE rejects IEEPA refund entries: wrong filer, excluded entry types, the 80-day line, open protests, and non-IEEPA duties. What can be corrected.
How Customs Protests Work for IEEPA Duties
A plain-English guide to customs protests: CBP Form 19, electronic protests in ACE, who can file, the 180-day deadline, how long CBP has to decide, and what CBP has said about IEEPA protests.
Protest, Lawsuit, or Wait? A Decision Guide for IEEPA Refunds
How the CAPE window, the 180-day protest window, the 180-day court window after a denied protest, and the two-year lawsuit route fit together, entry by entry.
Finally Liquidated Entries and the July 2026 Court Orders
What "finally liquidated" means, why CBP says it needs a court order, what the Court of International Trade ordered in July 2026, and what remains unsettled.
The Two-Year Deadline for IEEPA Refund Lawsuits, and Why Firms Disagree
Suits under 28 U.S.C. 1581(i) must be filed within two years of accrual. Why practitioners disagree on when the clock starts and what the earliest dates may be.
Hiring help and avoiding scams
How to Verify a Customs Broker or Attorney Before You Hire One
Before anyone handles your IEEPA refund, check the license. How to verify a U.S. customs broker license and an attorney's bar admission, and what a broker must give you in writing.
What IEEPA Refund Help Costs: Broker Fees, Law Firm Fees, and What to Ask
How customs brokers and law firms charge for IEEPA refund work: per-entry fees, percentage fees, contingency, hourly, and blended arrangements, with published examples and the questions to ask.
CBP's Tariff Refund Scam Warning: Signs to Watch For
CBP warned importers about IEEPA refund scams in May 2026. The warning signs, the only official way to file, how to verify CBP contact, and where to report fraud.
Business, tax, and customers
How Companies Are Accounting for Expected IEEPA Refunds
What Deloitte and KPMG have published on accounting for expected IEEPA tariff refunds: loss-recovery versus gain-contingency models, interest, and inventory. General information only.
How IEEPA Refunds Are Taxed: The Tax Benefit Rule, Timing, and Interest
A general overview of the federal income tax treatment of IEEPA tariff refunds reported by CBIZ, CLA, and RSM: the tax benefit rule, cash vs accrual timing, inventory, and interest.
Selling or Borrowing Against an IEEPA Refund Claim: Risks to Know First
Investors have bought IEEPA refund rights at a discount, and lenders take them as collateral. What has been reported, the Anti-Assignment Act problem, and questions to ask before signing.
Do Importers Have to Pass IEEPA Refunds to Their Customers?
Customers who paid tariff surcharges are suing retailers and carriers for a share of IEEPA refunds. What the lawsuits claim, what contracts say, and what importers should review now.
Bought DDP or Paid Tariff Surcharges? What Non-Importers Can and Cannot Do
CBP pays IEEPA refunds only to the Importer of Record. What that means for DDP buyers, customers of carriers and brokers, and businesses that paid supplier tariff surcharges.
Background and rulings
What the Supreme Court IEEPA Ruling Means for Importers
A plain-English explanation of Learning Resources v. Trump, the February 2026 Supreme Court decision that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs, and how refunds followed.
IEEPA Tariffs and Refunds: A Complete Timeline, 2025 to 2026
Every key date in the IEEPA tariff story, from the February 2025 orders through the Supreme Court decision, the end of collection, CAPE phases, and the court orders on refunds.
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