The IRS may owe COVID-era refunds to tens of millions of taxpayers. Here’s who could qualify

Tens of millions of taxpayers may be able to get money back from the IRS for certain penalties and interest they were charged during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent blog post from National Taxpayer Advocate’s Erin M. Collins.

But the refunds are not automatic, and most taxpayers who may qualify need to file a claim by July 10.

The stakes are significant. In fiscal 2022 alone, the IRS levied more than 12 million estimated-tax penalties and over 16 million failure-to-pay penalties totaling more than $12 billion. The IRS previously refunded about $1.2 billion in penalties to roughly 1.6 million taxpayers under a narrower 2022 relief notice, but tax professionals say the legal theory at issue here reaches far more taxpayers.

Read more [paywall removed for Redditors]: https://fortune.com/2026/05/06/am-i-eligible-for-irs-covid-tax-refunds-how-to-qualify/?utm_source=reddit/