Does the IRS owe you a pandemic tax refund? Here is what’s occurring.

The headlines scream, “Thousands and thousands could also be owed a COVID tax refund.” The truth is way much less thrilling. It’s possible you’ll certainly have the proper to a refund, however will probably be for sure penalties charged for tax returns filed through the pandemic.

“It is a scenario the place a technical tax ruling might have actual taxpayer influence, however it’s not so simple as ‘the IRS owes everybody cash,'” Dave Bohrman, co-founder and vp of selling at Tax Guard, instructed Yahoo Finance.

Listed here are the main points.

A current courtroom resolution clarified the tax deadlines in place throughout disasters, such because the COVID-19 pandemic. The ruling addressed the IRS suspension of sure federal tax deadlines from Jan. 20, 2020, by means of July 10, 2023.

The November 2025 courtroom ruling stated that taxpayers are allowed to assert refunds for penalties assessed for submitting and/or paying late, for underpaying the quantity due on a return, and for different penalties and curiosity.

“Though the case was determined a number of months in the past, it has just lately begun attracting extra consideration as tax practitioners acknowledge its potential scope and the approaching deadlines to file refund claims,” Ivan H. Golden, a Chicago-based accomplice with the Taft regulation agency, just lately wrote in an evaluation of the choice.

Figuring out whether or not you’ll profit from the courtroom ruling will take some analysis into your tax submitting historical past.

“The chance depends upon whether or not somebody was really assessed penalties through the COVID interval, and that’s the place it will get difficult,” Bohrman stated. “It requires folks to return, evaluation what was charged, and, in some circumstances, take motion to protect their eligibility.”

“The quantity of potential refunds might be important for taxpayers who resolved audits or paid substantial tax liabilities through the pandemic years,” Golden wrote.

He additionally noticed that there’s an necessary time aspect to contemplate: Potential statutes of limitation for pandemic-era refund claims could start to run out in 2026.

Nonetheless, there may be plenty of uncertainty involving the case.

Bohrman stated the IRS is anticipated to problem the ruling, so many advisors are recommending protecting claims whereas the authorized course of performs out.

“The largest threat is that taxpayers who could qualify merely by no means verify. With an outlined deadline, it turns into a matter of consciousness and follow-through,” he added.

In the event you suppose it’s possible you’ll be owed a large refund below the parameters of the courtroom resolution, you must seek the advice of with a tax skilled to find out your subsequent steps.