Key Takeaways
- July 10, 2026 was the deadline for most taxpayers to file a claim for COVID-era penalty and interest refunds tied to tax years 2019-2022, and that date has now passed.
- If July 10 really was your personal deadline, that specific window is closed - courts don't have discretion to grant reasonable-cause or 'I didn't know' extensions on statutory refund-claim deadlines.
- But July 10 wasn't everyone's deadline. Your actual cutoff depends on when you paid the penalty or interest, not one universal date - some taxpayers who paid more recently still have until 2027 or later.
- If your penalties or interest were assessed but never paid, that's an abatement request, not a refund claim - it isn't bound by the July 10 deadline at all, and you can still ask.
- Separate from penalties, if you're missing withholding, estimated payments, refundable credits, or a Recovery Rebate Credit for 2019-2022, those follow their own refund-statute math tied to when you filed or paid - worth checking before writing off the whole period.
- The IRS disagrees with the Kwong ruling and is expected to appeal, so the underlying legal question is still unresolved - but that appeal doesn't reopen a missed refund-claim deadline for you individually.
July 10, 2026 came and went. That was the deadline the National Taxpayer Advocate flagged 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.
If you’re reading this now, you’re probably asking one of two things: did I just lose my shot, or is there still something I can do? The honest answer is it depends on your specific situation, and it’s worth spending five minutes to find out before you assume the worst.
The Deadline Has Passed — What This Actually Means
Let’s start with the part most people searching this actually want to know: is it too late for you specifically?
If July 10, 2026 was genuinely your deadline, that window is closed. Refund-claim deadlines under IRC § 6511 are strict statutory limits, not the kind of thing the IRS or a court can waive for reasonable cause, hardship, or not knowing the rule existed. The Supreme Court settled this decades ago in United States v. Brockamp — equitable exceptions don’t apply to these deadlines the way they might to a penalty. If your three-year clock ran from the Kwong-adjusted July 10, 2023 due date, filing a new claim today won’t work, even if the IRS eventually loses its appeal.
That’s the sobering part. Here’s the part worth checking before you assume it applies to you.
Your deadline might not have actually been July 10. The rule is the later of three years from when your return was treated as filed, or two years from when you paid the tax, penalty, or interest. If you paid your COVID-era penalties or interest anytime after July 10, 2024, the two-year clock gives you more time than the headline date — some taxpayers have until 2027 or later. Check your payment date before assuming you missed anything; see the two worked examples later in this post for how this actually plays out.
If you never paid the penalties, this deadline doesn’t apply to you at all. Assessed-but-unpaid penalties and interest are handled through an abatement request, not a refund claim, and abatement requests aren’t governed by the same statute of limitations. You can still ask — see my post on what happens if you can’t pay your taxes for how installment agreements and Currently Not Collectible status interact with an open penalty balance.
And penalties and interest aren’t the only thing on the table. If you’re also missing withholding credits, estimated tax payments, refundable credits, or a Recovery Rebate Credit for tax years 2019 through 2022, those follow their own separate refund-statute clock tied to when you actually filed or paid — not necessarily July 10. The National Taxpayer Advocate’s guidance on this is worth reading directly if this applies to you.
If none of the above gives you an opening, I won’t sugarcoat it: for most people whose personal deadline really was July 10, this specific avenue is now closed. Be wary of anyone — a preparer, a “tax relief” firm, an ad — telling you otherwise for a fee. There’s no special late-filing workaround for this one.
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 — which is exactly why the refund-claim deadline mattered regardless of how the appeal turns out.
Why July 10, 2026 Was the Number That Mattered
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 closed 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 may give you more time. That’s the distinction that actually determines whether you’re out of options or not.
Who This Could Actually Affect
This wasn’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 could 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 someone never hears about it until after their window closes — which is exactly the situation you might be in right now.
If You Still Have Time: How to File Form 843
If you checked your payment date above and you’re still within your window, here’s the mechanical process.
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; see my guide on where’s my amended tax return for that process.
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
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?
If you’re still inside your window but aren’t sure of your exact refund amount, you don’t need to know it 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 — 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 ran from that due date — giving him until July 10, 2026, later than the two-year deadline from his payment. If Jason didn’t file by then, his window is now shut.
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 applied to most people. If you’re in a situation closer to Priya’s, you’re likely still fine.
The takeaway: your specific deadline depends on when you actually paid, not one date that applied to everyone. If you’re unsure which situation you’re in, pull your IRS account transcript and check the payment date before assuming either way.
Don’t Overlook Missed Refunds Beyond Just Penalties
This was never 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 a different — and possibly later — deadline than the one that applied to penalties.
Pull your free IRS tax transcript and look for payment, withholding, and refund activity from that stretch before ruling yourself out.
Common Issues to Watch Out For
I get questions about deadlines like this a lot, and a few mistakes come up repeatedly — including now that July 10 has passed.
Assuming July 10 was universal. It wasn’t. Your deadline depended on when you paid, and plenty of people still have time under the two-year rule. Don’t assume you’re out of options without checking your actual payment date.
Assuming reasonable cause can reopen a missed refund-claim deadline. It generally can’t. Statutory refund-claim deadlines aren’t the same as penalty deadlines — courts have consistently held they aren’t subject to equitable exceptions, no matter how good the excuse.
Confusing an abatement request with a refund claim. If you never paid the penalty, you’re asking the IRS not to collect it — that’s not bound by July 10. If you already paid and want the money back, that’s the refund claim that had the deadline.
Filing a vague protective claim (for those still in their window). “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’s being disputed.
Falling for a guaranteed-refund pitch. This is a confusing, unsettled legal issue, and confusion plus a missed deadline is exactly what scammers look for. Be wary of anyone promising they can still get you a refund after the fact, charging fees based on your refund size, or pressuring you into something you don’t understand.
Looking Ahead: What Happens After July 10
The deadline didn’t resolve anything on its own — it just determined 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 that were filed on time 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 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.
Neither recommendation has happened as of this update. If Congress or the IRS ever does announce systemic relief or a reopened window for people who missed July 10, I’ll update this page immediately — that’s genuinely the only scenario where missing the deadline wouldn’t be final. What I’m watching: how the DOJ’s appeal proceeds, whether the IRS expands electronic filing beyond the “already paid in full” category, and whether the National Taxpayer Advocate’s systemic-relief recommendation gets any traction in her next report to Congress.
If you’re dealing with a current-year late filing instead, see what happens if you file your taxes late for the standard penalty rules, or contact a live IRS agent if you need to check on an existing claim’s status.
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.
