Will You Get a Tariff Refund After the Supreme Court Ruling?

The short answer: refunds are real, but they are not for shoppers

The refund is real and large, roughly $122 billion certified by September 2026, but it is paid to businesses that imported goods, not to households. Unless you were the importer of record on a customs entry, or paid a duty bill to a courier like UPS or FedEx, there is no form for you to file and no cheque coming.

The Supreme Court’s February ruling made one thing clear: the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unlawful. It did not say who gets the money back. The Court of International Trade and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) filled that gap, and they built a refund system for importers of record, the companies legally liable for duties.

By 17 September 2026, CBP told the trade court it had accepted about $134.7 billion of potential and certified refunds into its new CAPE system, and certified about $122 billion, including interest, for payment. Big importers such as Apple ($2.2 billion), Ford ($1.3 billion) and Amazon ($600 million) are among the recipients, according to reporting on court filings.

For shoppers, the bigger question is prices. Here the news is weaker: the IEEPA tariffs were replaced within days, first by a 10% Section 122 tariff and then, from 24 July 2026, by new Section 301 tariffs of 10% to 12.5%. Yale’s Budget Lab puts the average statutory tariff rate at 11.0%, far above the 2.4% at the start of 2025.

What did the Supreme Court tariff ruling actually say?

On 20 February 2026 the Supreme Court held 6-3 in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that IEEPA does not give the president power to impose tariffs. That struck down the 'reciprocal' tariffs and the IEEPA tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, but left tariffs under other laws, such as Section 232 and Section 301, untouched.

Chief Justice Roberts wrote the controlling opinion, joined by Justices Gorsuch and Barrett, relying on the major questions doctrine. Justice Kagan, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, agreed on the text alone. Justice Kavanaugh dissented, joined by Justices Thomas and Alito, according to Jones Day’s summary of the opinions.

The Court did not order refunds. Justice Kavanaugh’s dissent noted the majority 'says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the government should go about returning the billions of dollars it has collected,' as quoted by Kiplinger. The Court did confirm that the Court of International Trade has exclusive jurisdiction over IEEPA tariff challenges, which is why refunds were sorted out there.

Tariff refund timeline: from ruling to refund cheques for importers

It took about two months from the ruling for CBP to open its refund portal (20 April 2026) and roughly three months for money to start flowing (May 2026). Refunds for older, 'finally liquidated' entries are still being fought over in court.

How much tariff money was collected, and how much has been refunded?

US importers paid as much as $166 billion in IEEPA duties, and Treasury data show $144.6 billion of customs refunds in fiscal 2026, with $134.4 billion paid out between May and September alone. Net customs receipts fell to $173.2 billion in fiscal 2026, down from $194.9 billion in fiscal 2025.

The Monthly Treasury Statement splits customs duties into gross receipts, refunds and net receipts. Before the ruling, refunds were small, about $7.5 billion for the whole of fiscal 2025. After CAPE opened, they surged. In June 2026 alone, CBP paid back $49.2 billion, twice what it collected that month, so net customs receipts were negative.

Who gets the IEEPA tariff refund, and how does it work?

Only the importer of record, or the customs broker that filed its entries, can claim an IEEPA refund, through CBP’s CAPE system in the ACE Portal. CBP recalculates each entry without the IEEPA duty, adds interest under 19 CFR 24.36, and pays one lump sum by bank transfer, generally 60 to 90 days after a claim is accepted.

Tariffs are legally paid by the importer of record when goods clear customs. That company is the only party CBP owes. CBP’s CSMS message 68340863 says a CAPE Declaration 'may only be submitted by the IOR associated with the entry summaries,' or by the broker who filed them.

• Phase 1 (20 April 2026) Unliquidated entries and entries within 80 days of liquidation. Expected to reach about 63% of IEEPA-affected entries.
• Phase 2 (29 June 2026) Adds entries flagged for reconciliation that have no reconciliation entry filed yet.
• Phase 3 (6 October 2026) Finally liquidated entries covered by court-ordered reliquidation, for eligible plaintiffs that gave CBP a valid importer number by 30 July 2026.
• Still contested CBP appealed on 2 June 2026, arguing it cannot refund finally liquidated entries unless the importer has a pending lawsuit. That appeal affects who qualifies for Phase 3.

Scale matters here. There are more than 53 million IEEPA-affected entries across roughly 330,000 importers of record. By mid-September CBP had received more than 286,000 CAPE declarations covering about 27.2 million entries. About 20,184 refunds worth $1.3 billion were on hold because importers had not given CBP bank details.

What would the tariff refund be worth per household?

If the $122 billion certified so far were split evenly across 134.8 million US households, it would come to about $905 each, or about $1,232 on the full $166 billion. That is close to what households are estimated to have paid in tariff costs, about $1,000 in 2025, but none of it is being paid to households.

The two sides do not match neatly. The refund pool covers only IEEPA duties, while household cost estimates cover all tariffs, including Section 232 steel and auto duties that remain. And households did not pay 100% of tariffs: Yale’s review of price data puts pass-through to consumers between 40% and 76%, with the rest absorbed by importers, retailers or foreign suppliers.

Are companies passing tariff refunds on to customers?

Mostly not. Amazon said it would send refunds to individual customers only in limited cases where it can identify who paid more, while Costco was reported as keeping its full refund. Customers have sued Ford and Costco, but a Stanford trade expert called those claims weak.

Companies say they are wary of cutting prices because replacement tariffs could themselves be struck down or changed. Economist Matilde Bombardini, quoted in August reporting, said importers that paid a 10% tariff typically passed about 3% on to customers, which would mean most of the IEEPA cost was absorbed before it reached the shelf.

• Apple, Ford, Amazon Reported refunds of $2.2 billion, $1.3 billion and $600 million respectively.
• Costco and FedEx Costco sued at the Court of International Trade before the ruling; FedEx sued on 23 February 2026 seeking a 'full refund'. At least 1,000 companies had filed protective lawsuits by late February.
• UPS and FedEx shipments If you personally paid duty on a parcel delivered by UPS or FedEx, you can check the tracking number on the carrier’s site. If the carrier got a refund for that shipment, it is supposed to pass it on.

What tariffs replaced IEEPA, and what is the tariff rate now?

The administration replaced IEEPA tariffs with a 10% Section 122 tariff from 24 February to 24 July 2026, then with Section 301 'forced-labour' tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on 60 economies. Yale’s Budget Lab estimates the average statutory tariff rate at 11.0% as of 24 August 2026, rising to 11.8% by year-end.

Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows a tariff of up to 15% for up to 150 days. The Court of International Trade ruled on 7 May 2026 that the 10% tariff was unlawful because a trade deficit is not a balance-of-payments deficit, but relief applied only to the plaintiff importers and the Federal Circuit stayed the decision. The tariff then expired on schedule.

The new Section 301 duties cover about 99% of US imports by the administration’s count, though the Tax Policy Center notes exemptions cover about half of imports from covered countries. Brazil faces an extra 25% Section 301 tariff, and a 50% Section 338 tariff hit specified Canadian goods from 19 August.

Will prices go down after the tariff ruling?

Do not expect noticeable price cuts. The average tariff rate fell from about 15.6% before the ruling to about 11%, not back to 2.4%, and core goods prices were up only 0.7% over the year to September 2026, so there is little tariff 'premium' left to unwind in official data.

Prices are sticky downward. Firms that raised prices in 2025 rarely cut them when a cost falls, especially when the replacement tariff is still in place and could change again. Yale’s estimate of the ultimate consumer price impact of current-law tariffs is about 0.7%, down from 2.3% in its April 2025 analysis.

Inflation itself is being driven by energy now. The September 2026 CPI showed all items up 3.7% and core goods up just 0.7%, with new vehicles +0.6% and used cars -1.5%. Import prices rose 8.1% over the year, mostly fuel; nonfuel import prices rose 6.0%. See our US inflation explainer.

How can a small business claim a tariff refund?

If your business was the importer of record, file a CAPE Declaration in the ACE Portal listing your IEEPA entry numbers, and make sure ACH refund banking details are on file. Refunds generally arrive 60 to 90 days after acceptance. Older, finally liquidated entries may need a protest or a court case.

1. 1
   Confirm you were the importer of record

   Check your customs entry summaries or ask your broker. If a supplier shipped 'delivered duty paid', the supplier, not you, was the importer and gets the refund.

2. 2
   Set up ACE and ACH refunds

   You need an ACE Portal account with refund bank details, which are separate from payment details. CBP will not process refunds without them; $1.3 billion was on hold for this reason in September.

3. 3
   List your IEEPA entries

   Only entries with at least one IEEPA Chapter 99 tariff number qualify. Do not include entries where a surety paid the IEEPA duty.

4. 4
   File the CAPE Declaration

   Upload a CSV with entry numbers only, up to 9,999 per declaration. Your broker can file for entries it submitted. Track payment with the REV-615 CAPE Refunds report.

5. 5
   Handle protests and PSCs correctly

   You cannot start an IEEPA refund through a Post Summary Correction. If you filed a protest only for IEEPA, CBP lets you withdraw it within 80 days of liquidation and move the entry into CAPE.

6. 6
   Get advice on finally liquidated entries

   Phase 3 covers eligible plaintiffs. Because CBP has appealed over refunds without a pending lawsuit, importers with large older entries should ask a trade lawyer whether to file at the Court of International Trade.

What can consumers do about tariff refunds?

Consumers have only narrow options: check whether you directly paid a duty on a parcel, and watch for retailers that offer refunds. Beware of anyone asking for fees or bank details to 'claim your tariff refund'; there is no government consumer refund programme.

The talked-about $2,000 'tariff dividend' was a political proposal, not a refund, according to Kiplinger. Track any change through official IRS or Treasury announcements rather than social media.

Tariff refund claims vs evidence

Frequently asked questions

How we built this analysis

• Ruling details come from the Supreme Court judgment in No. 24-1287 and law-firm summaries of the opinions (Jones Day); refund rules come from CBP CSMS #68340863 and the CBP IEEPA refunds fact sheet.
• Monthly refunds: May to July 2026 are Monthly Treasury Statement Table 4 figures as tabulated by eco3min.fr and checked against the July statement. August = FYTD refunds Sep ($144,586M) − FYTD Jul ($114,683M) − Sep month ($19,361M) = $10,542M. May to September total = $134.4B.
• Refund per household = refund pool ÷ 134.79 million households (Census CPS, 2025, via FRED). Example: $122B ÷ 134.79M = $905; $166B ÷ 134.79M = $1,232; $130B ÷ 134.79M = $964.
• Share of fiscal 2026 gross customs receipts refunded = $144.6B ÷ $317.8B = 45.5%.
• Tariff rate chart combines Yale Budget Lab effective and statutory rate estimates with Global Trade Alert trade-weighted averages; household cost figures are model estimates from Yale, the Tax Foundation and the Tax Policy Center and cover all tariffs.
• All figures are as of 23 October 2026; refund totals change weekly as CBP processes claims.

Limitations

Refund figures come from CBP statements to the Court of International Trade as reported by trade advisers and news outlets, and they mix potential, certified and paid amounts. Treasury refunds include some non-IEEPA refunds. We could not open CBP’s own IEEPA refunds web page directly, and the outcome of CBP’s appeal over finally liquidated entries was not confirmed as of 23 October 2026. Pass-through estimates vary widely between studies. Household figures are illustrative: no mechanism exists to pay refunds to households. This article is general information, not legal, tax or customs advice.

Spotted an error? See our corrections policy. Read how we work in our methodology and editorial standards.

Sources

1. Supreme Court of the United States
   Judgment, Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, No. 24-1287Case name, number, 20 February 2026 judgment
2. US Customs and Border Protection
   CSMS #68340863: CAPE for IEEPA Refunds (Phase 1)Who can file, CSV rules, interest, 60–90 day timing, protests and PSCs
3. US Customs and Border Protection
   IEEPA Duty Refunds fact sheet (Pub. 5515-0426)ACE and ACH requirements
4. US Treasury
   Monthly Treasury Statement, September 2026Customs gross, refunds and net, FY2026
5. US Treasury
   Monthly Treasury Statement, July 2026July 2026 customs refunds and FYTD
6. Congressional Budget Office
   Monthly Budget Review, September 2026About $130B IEEPA refunds in FY2026
7. Bureau of Labor Statistics
   Consumer Price Index, September 2026Core goods +0.7%, all items +3.7%
8. Bureau of Labor Statistics
   Import and Export Price Indexes, September 2026Import prices +8.1%, nonfuel +6.0%
9. The Budget Lab at Yale
   The State of U.S. Tariffs (24 August 2026)11.0% statutory rate, 0.7% price impact, $1,100 per household
10. The Budget Lab at Yale
    One Year of Tariff Analysis22.4% peak, 40–76% pass-through
11. Tax Policy Center
    Tracking Trump Tariffs9.3% rate, $920 per tax unit, Section 301 exemptions
12. Global Trade Alert
    New Section 301s hold current tariff level15.6% before ruling, 11.2% under Section 122
13. C.H. Robinson
    CBP Reports Major Progress on IEEPA Refunds; CAPE Phase 3 Launches October 6$134.7B accepted, $122B certified
14. Jones Day / Orrick / Thompson Hine / Davis Wright Tremaine
    Law-firm analyses of the ruling, CIT refund order, CAPE phases and Section 122 decisionVote breakdown, Section 122; see also orrick.com, thompsonhine.com, dwt.com
15. Kiplinger; Philadelphia Inquirer; PPAI
    Reporting on tariff refunds and company recipientsCompany refunds, $166B paid, consumer lawsuits; Inquirer 7 Aug 2026; PPAI 27 May 2026