TL;DR: Two court rulings (Kwong and Abdo) held that the IRS interpreted COVID-era disaster relief too narrowly, meaning penalties and interest tied to deadlines in the window of Jan 20, 2020 – July 10, 2023 may have been improperly charged. This mainly covers tax years 2019–2022. The IRS is appealing, so to preserve your right to a refund if the appeal fails, you'll need to file a protective Form 843 by July 10, 2026.

Recent court decisions (Kwong and Abdo) and a new federal law (P.L. 119-64) have opened the door for some taxpayers to recover IRS penalties and interest charged during the COVID period — specifically anything tied to a tax deadline between January 20, 2020 and July 10, 2023.

Important: the IRS is appealing this decision, so this is about preserving your right to a refund, not a guaranteed payout. To stay eligible, you need to file a protective Form 843 for each affected year before the July 10, 2026 deadline. If the appeal goes the taxpayers' way, your claim is already on file and you get paid. If you miss the deadline, the option is gone for good.

Why July 10, 2026 specifically? IRC §6511 only allows a refund claim within three years of the return's due date (or two years from the payment date, if later). Since the disaster window pushed the relevant deadline to July 10, 2023, the three-year clock runs out on July 10, 2026.

If you paid late-filing penalties, late-payment penalties, estimated-tax penalties, or interest in those years, you may be eligible. If you think you qualify — or just want a second set of eyes — send me your account transcripts as soon as possible through the portal and I'll verify for you. To get your transcripts, log in to your account at irs.gov.

What I'm charging: just a $150 non-refundable deposit toward next year's tax filing, plus the actual cost of mailing the claim via certified mail (usually ~$25). For returning clients, that means the service is effectively free.

Have questions? Call or email me at (240) 806-1829 and [email protected].