IRS Penalty Refunds: Millions Eligible for Tax Refunds from $14.2M Penalties

A recent federal court decision has opened the possibility for millions of Americans to seek tax refunds related to penalties from the IRS. The ruling in Kwong v. United States indicates that penalties and interest assessed from January 20, 2020, to July 10, 2023, may be ineligible, impacting a broad range of taxpayers. During fiscal year 2023, the IRS assessed over 14.2 million individual estimated tax penalties and approximately 18.6 million penalties for failure to pay. Affected taxpayers must take action by July 10, 2026, to claim refunds or abate penalties.