Penalty Refunds
Free 2-minute eligibility check

The IRS wrongly charged you penalties and interest on your 2020–2023 returns during COVID. Get them refunded.

Two federal courts — Abdo v. United States (2024) and Kwong v. United States (2025) — ruled the IRS lacked legal authority to impose late-filing and late-payment penalties during COVID.

Check if you qualify — freeNo credit cardTakes about 2 minutes
17 people checked their eligibility in the last hour

Two Federal Courts Already Ruled in Your Favor.

During COVID, the federal government declared a national disaster. By federal law, the IRS was required to suspend penalties and extend deadlines. They didn't. They kept charging penalties and interest anyway.

The courts disagreed. The IRS has already refunded $1.2 billion+ — but millions of eligible taxpayers haven't filed their claim yet. That's where PenaltyBack comes in.

Deadline: July 10, 2026

After this date, eligible refunds are forfeited permanently. The IRS will not contact you. A formal refund claim must be filed.

Claim your COVID penalty refund in 3 steps

Two minutes. We handle the paperwork.

1

Enter your info

Tell us your name and email. No sensitive data needed yet.

2

We scan your IRS records

Authorize view-only access to your IRS transcripts. We can never make changes to your account.

3

Get your refund estimate

We email your estimated refund amount. You review and sign — we handle the rest, including mailing the claim.

No credit card. No obligation.

What our clients are saying

Real people who discovered the IRS owed them money.

"Skeptical at first, but it was free to check. Came back qualified for $4,100 — I'll take that over leaving it with the IRS."

— Karen W.

"I filed my 2020 return a few months late and just paid the penalties and interest without thinking twice. Had no idea there was a court case that could get it back. $17,200 — I about fell out of my chair."

— David R.

"We got hit with late-filing penalties and interest on our S-Corp for two years during COVID. Our bookkeeper said it was just the cost of doing business. Ran it through PenaltyBack and qualified for over $120K back. Wish I'd known sooner."

— Michael T.

"My accountant never brought this up. I only found out because a friend shared the link. Took maybe 5 minutes to check and turns out I had $2,690 sitting there. Already got my check."

— Lisa M.

If You Were Charged Penalties Between Jan 2020 – July 2023, You Likely Qualify.

The IRS was supposed to suspend penalties during the COVID national disaster. They didn't. Two federal court rulings (Abdo 2024, Kwong 2025) confirm they must refund you.

Who qualifies:

Any taxpayer charged late-filing penalties between January 20, 2020 and July 10, 2023
Any taxpayer charged late-payment penalties during the same window
Any taxpayer charged failure-to-deposit penalties during this period
Any taxpayer charged interest on those penalties
This includes individuals (1040) and businesses (1120, 1120-S, 1065, 941, 940)

Free to check. Takes 2 minutes.

View-only access

We use a secure, IRS-compliant connection with 256-bit encryption to pull your tax transcripts. We cannot change anything on your account.

100% contingency-based

Nothing upfront. Our fee is 25% of the refund recovered. If you receive nothing, you owe nothing.

Your data stays private

Your SSN/EIN is handled inside the secure PenaltyBack flow. We can never make changes to your account or take any action without your explicit signature.

Filed within days

We typically prepare and file your refund claim within days of you connecting your IRS account. IRS processing time is usually 2–4 months.

Common Questions, Straight Answers.

Deadline: July 10, 2026. Don't wait.