Success fee vs flat fee: what tariff-refund firms charge, and how to compare them

Profiles show published fee terms where available, with sources and check dates. Many providers do not publish a price; the directory leaves those gaps visible. This page explains what the models mean, because the cheapest-looking option is not always the cheapest.

The four models

Success fee (contingency). A percentage of the refund, paid when it arrives. Stated rates on this site run from about 1.5% to 25%, sometimes tiered by claim size (for example 25% below $1 million, 20% above). Ask whether the percentage applies to the duty only or to the duty plus CBP's interest.

Flat fee. A fixed price per declaration or per entry batch — appropriate for straightforward CAPE filings where the work is assembling entry numbers and uploading a CSV. Some brokers charge it only if they file on your behalf; if you file yourself in ACE there is no fee at all.

Hourly. Customs and trade counsel for protests, Court of International Trade actions and finally liquidated entries. Hourly work is priced for the legal steps, not the refund size; some firms combine an hourly or fixed filing charge with a smaller success percentage (a hybrid).

Purchase. A claim buyer pays you now for the right to the refund, at cents on the dollar (reported market prices ranged from about 20¢ before the ruling to about 40¢ just after it in February 2026, and later reports put them near 60¢, with named deals from about 27¢ to 70¢ — Retail Dive, August 4, 2026). You give up the upside and the interest; you get certainty and speed. Read selling your tariff refund claim.

The arithmetic that matters

Take $250,000 of IEEPA duty deposited 14 months before reliquidation by a corporation:

The refund calculator runs this for your numbers, and the comparison page shows a firm's typical rate, where its profile has one, as Net to you on the duties you enter.

Questions to ask before signing

1. Who submits the CAPE declaration — you, your broker of record, or the firm? (CBP accepts it only from the importer of record or the broker that filed the entries.)
2. Is the fee on the duty, or on the duty plus interest?
3. What is the minimum claim, and is there a fee if CBP pays nothing?
4. For finally liquidated entries: is the firm filing protests, a § 1581(i) action, or waiting for the appeal?
5. Can you see the CBP acceptance and the ACH remittance directly in ACE? (You should.)

Why we show "Unknown"

A firm can advertise "no upfront cost" without a percentage. We do not infer one. The profile says the fee is not yet checked, and the comparison shows it as unknown rather than $0, until we read a rate on the firm's own page or in a document, or the firm states one and we check it. A fee expires 90 days after we check it, and an expired fee is labeled as expired until we check it again.

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Checked October 8, 2026.