COVID-Era IRS Refund Deadline Is Here — How to File Form 843 Before It’s Too Late

July 10, 2026 is the date to circle if you filed or paid taxes anytime between 2020 and 2023. That’s the deadline the National Taxpayer Advocate is flagging for tens of millions of taxpayers who may be owed refunds — or abatements — of penalties and interest the IRS assessed during the COVID-19 disaster period.

I’ll be direct about this one: it’s a genuinely unusual situation, the deadline is real, and most people who qualify have never heard of it.

What’s Actually Going On Here

This traces back to Kwong v. United States, a November 2025 ruling from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The case turns on IRC § 7508A(d), a tax code provision that automatically postpones filing and payment deadlines during a federal disaster declaration, plus 60 days afterward.

The COVID-19 federal disaster declaration ran from January 20, 2020, through May 11, 2023. Add the 60-day tail, and you land on July 10, 2023.

Under the court’s reasoning, tax returns and payments due anytime in that roughly 3.5-year window weren’t actually late until after that date.

If that holds up, the IRS shouldn’t have charged failure-to-file, failure-to-pay, or estimated tax penalties — or the interest tied to them — for that window, which mostly covers tax years 2019 through 2022. The government disagrees with a broader reading of the statute, and I’d expect the Department of Justice to appeal. This could take years to fully settle.

Why July 10, 2026 Is the Number That Matters

Refund claims run on a strict clock: generally, you have until the later of three years from when you filed your return, or two years from when you paid the tax, penalty, or interest.

Under Kwong‘s logic, if your 2019–2022 return was treated as due on July 10, 2023, then the three-year window closes on July 10, 2026 — even if you actually filed well before that date. The IRS treats early-filed returns as filed on the due date for this purpose.

If you paid your penalties or interest more recently, the two-year rule might give you more time. But for most people affected, July 10, 2026 is the hard stop.

Who This Could Actually Affect

This isn’t a narrow, specialized group. It reaches individuals, small businesses, corporations, estates, and trusts, and touches income, employment, estate, gift, and excise tax obligations. It can even affect taxpayers who filed late international information returns, where penalties can be steep even when no tax was owed.

Here’s the part that bothers me: the taxpayers most likely to be affected are often the ones least likely to have a tax professional watching for something like this. Without representation, there’s a real chance you never hear about it before the window closes.

How to File: Form 843

For Kwong-related penalty and interest claims — where you’re not changing your underlying tax liability — the form is Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement. If you need to change your income, deductions, credits, or filing status, use an amended return instead.

A few mechanical details matter here. Write “Kwong vs. United States” across the top so the IRS can route it correctly. File a separate Form 843 for each tax period and type of tax — don’t combine multiple years on one form.

Mail it to the IRS service center where you’d file a current-year return for that tax, which for most individual filers is:

Internal Revenue Service 1973 N Rulon White Blvd. Ogden, UT 84201

As of July 1, 2026, taxpayers with an existing IRS Online Account can submit certain Kwong-related Form 843 claims electronically through the Mobile-Friendly Forms tool on IRS.gov — but only for interest and penalties already paid in full. Everyone else still needs to mail the paper form.

If you’re mailing it, send it via certified mail with a return receipt. The IRS doesn’t confirm receipt of a paper claim, and proof of timely mailing is the only thing standing between you and an “it never arrived” problem later.

What Is a Protective Claim, and Why File One If You’re Not Sure?

Here’s the part I think is genuinely useful even if you’re not confident you qualify: you don’t have to know your exact refund amount to file. A protective claim preserves your right to a refund while the underlying legal question — whether Kwong holds up on appeal — is still unresolved.

A valid protective claim needs to be in writing and signed; include your name, address, Social Security number (or ITIN/EIN), and contact information; identify the legal issue (the Kwong case and IRC § 7508A(d)); clearly state the basis of the claim; and identify the specific tax year or years involved.

What it does not need is a precise dollar figure. Write “Protective Refund Claim Pursuant to Kwong Case” across the top, fill in as much detail as you reasonably can, and file it. A vague claim that just says “I reserve my right to a refund” generally isn’t enough — the IRS needs to be able to tell what’s actually being disputed.

The IRS typically holds protective claims in suspense until the courts resolve the underlying issue. That’s fine — the point isn’t to get paid quickly, it’s to make sure the clock doesn’t run out on you while you wait.

Subscribe or follow us and I’ll update this post as the Kwong appeal moves through the courts.

Two Examples of How the Deadline Actually Plays Out

Jason filed his 2021 return on August 30, 2022, without an extension, and paid what he owed. The IRS hit him with failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties, plus interest, treating the return as late against the original April 2022 deadline. He paid those penalties on October 1, 2022.

Under Kwong, his return wasn’t actually due until July 10, 2023, so the penalties shouldn’t have been assessed. His three-year deadline runs from that due date — giving him until July 10, 2026, later than the two-year deadline from his payment.

Priya has the same facts, except she didn’t pay her penalties and interest until July 1, 2025. Because her payment came so much later, the two-year rule from her payment date gives her until July 1, 2027 — well past the date that applies to most people.

The takeaway: your specific deadline depends on when you actually paid, not one date that applies to everyone. If you’re unsure, that’s exactly the situation a protective claim is designed for.

Don’t Overlook Missed Refunds Beyond Just Penalties

This isn’t only about penalty and interest refunds. If you had withholding, estimated tax payments, refundable credits, or a Recovery Rebate Credit you never claimed for tax years 2019 through 2022, the same postponed-deadline logic may give you more time than you’d assume to file an original or amended return. Don’t rule yourself out just because the headline issue here is about penalties — review your records for the whole stretch.

Common Issues to Watch Out For

I get questions about deadlines like this a lot, and a few mistakes come up repeatedly.

Missing the deadline entirely. This is the big one. Once July 10, 2026 (or your specific two-year date) passes, the IRS is barred from paying the refund even if Kwong is ultimately upheld on appeal.

Filing a vague protective claim. “I want to reserve my rights” isn’t a valid claim on its own. It has to name the legal issue, the tax years, and enough detail that the IRS understands what you’re disputing.

No proof of mailing. Form 843 can’t be e-filed unless you qualify for the new online option for already-paid amounts. If you’re mailing it, use certified mail and keep your receipt.

Sending it to the wrong address or combining years. File a separate Form 843 per tax period and tax type, and confirm you’re using the correct service center address.

Falling for a guaranteed-refund pitch. This is a confusing, unsettled legal issue, and that combination — confusion plus urgency — is exactly what scammers look for. Be wary of anyone promising a guaranteed refund, charging fees based on your refund size, or pressuring you to file something you don’t understand. It’s a legitimate taxpayer-rights issue grounded in a real court case, not a marketing gimmick — but that doesn’t mean everyone selling help with it is legitimate.

Looking Ahead: What Happens After July 10

The deadline doesn’t resolve anything on its own — it just determines who’s still in the game once the legal question is finally answered. I expect the Department of Justice to appeal Kwong, and a final answer could be years away.

In the meantime, protective claims sit in IRS suspense. If Kwong is upheld, the IRS and Treasury would still need to decide whether to process this fairly — the National Taxpayer Advocate has specifically asked the IRS to provide relief systemically rather than only to people who happened to file in time, and to build a real electronic filing option instead of relying on paper.

I don’t think either recommendation is guaranteed to happen. What I’ll be watching: whether electronic filing expands beyond the narrow “already paid in full” category, whether Congress steps in, and how the appeal plays out. I’ll update this page as any of that moves.

Common Questions

My post on getting a free copy of your IRS tax transcript walks through how to pull your account transcript — the first place to check for old penalty and interest assessments. If you need to fix an old return rather than just claim a penalty refund, see where’s my amended tax return for the 1040-X process. And for the standard penalty rules this situation is built on top of, see what happens if you file your taxes late.

This is a complex, still-developing legal issue, and nothing here should be read as legal or tax advice for your specific situation — consider a qualified tax professional if your case is substantial or complicated. For full detail, the National Taxpayer Advocate’s original blog post and the IRS’s official guidance on filing Form 843 for Kwong-related claims are worth reading directly before you file anything.