Potentially millions of Americans are entitled to a tax refund, but only if they act by July 10, 2026 — and many may not know this. Last November, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled in Kwong v. United States that tax filing deadlines should have been postponed during the federal COVID-19 disaster declaration.
Americans who were charged penalties or interest for failing to file their taxes or filing late during that time period shouldn’t have been charged at all, and could be eligible for refunds, according to the article.
To learn more, the New York Post reached out to Nathan Goldman, the Dean’s Professor of Accounting at Poole College and a CPA.
Regarding the amount of people eligible, “I would suspect it’s a pretty big number. This happens to millions of people annually.” He says that someone who owes $20,000 in taxes could have had to pay $5,000 for a failure-to-pay penalty, and thus they’d be eligible for a refund of said $5,000.
While the case might still be appealed, the three-year deadline from the most recent ruling means taxpayers have until July 10 to ask for a refund. “Even if you’re not sure,” Goldman says, “once July 11 hits, you are no longer eligible. Now is the time to really be jumping on this.”
Goldman notes that many penalties were accrued through accident instead of malice. “Sometimes it’s just people who kind of mistakenly don’t file or it’s their first time owning a business and they didn’t realize some of this stuff was going to factor in and they should’ve filed a separate return. Sometimes it’s by complete mistake.”
Filers requesting refunds need to submit a Form 843, and Goldman thinks it is worth talking to a CPA: “When you’re trying to fight the government on getting some of your money back, it really can be just a worthwhile investment to spend that $500 to make sure you get back $10,000 or something.”
Read the article on nypost.com.
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