2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 Refund Claims

From Bob Jennings at TaxSpeaker. Check out more at taxspeaker.com

7508A & Kwong: Refund Claims Due July 10, 2026

Lawrence Pon

CPA/PFS, CFP, EA, USTCP, AEP

The US Court of Federal Claims ruled on November 25, 2026 in Kwong vs. US (179 Fed. Cl. 382) that certain tax deadlines were automatically postponed for the entire COVID-19 disaster period plus 60 days.  The Court found that under the prior version of §7508A(d) the suspension for underpayment interest and failure-to-file or failure-to-pay penalties was mandatory from January 20, 2020 through July 10, 2023.  This decision invalidated a Treasury Regulation that attempted to limit this mandatory postponement to one year.

There was a similar Tax Court decision in Abdo vs. Commissioner (162 TC 148, 2024).

This will provide a refund opportunity for taxpayers who paid interest and penalties related to tax deadlines that fell within this period.  This means the 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 tax filings for businesses and individuals.

As expected, the US filed an appeal on May 15, 2026.  This means this case will go to the 9th Circuit of Appeals in San Francisco and it may be years before the case will be decided.  If the IRS loses, it is likely this case will go to the Supreme Court which will add more time to wait.

A Claim for Refund must be filed before July 10, 2026 to seek these refunds by filing Form 843 – Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement.

This will be a protective claim for refund because the outcome of the Appeals case has not been determined yet.  It may be years before the Appeals Court gives us their decision.   Accordingly, do not expect the IRS to be issuing refunds.  It is also unlikely you will get any acknowledgement from the IRS and see any notations on your

transcript.