Tariff refunds for individuals: what a private buyer can and cannot claim

"Individual" and "consumer" are not the same thing in customs law. The question is never who paid more because of a tariff; it is whose name is on the entry and who deposited the duty with CBP.

When an individual is the importer of record

• Parcels cleared by a carrier. When UPS, FedEx or DHL cleared your package and billed you "duties and taxes", the carrier filed an informal entry — with either the carrier or you as the importer of record. CBP's own figures show 63% of the 53 million IEEPA entries were informal. Only the filing broker or the importer may file the CAPE declaration, so for these entries the carrier's brokerage may file; ask the carrier how it returns the refund. Either way the entry must still be within CBP's 80-day post-liquidation CAPE window. Start with the carrier refund guide.
• Goods you imported yourself or through a broker in your name — a car, equipment for a side business, inventory for a sole proprietorship. You are the importer of record; the entry is yours to refund through CAPE in ACE, or a broker who filed it can do it. The eligibility checker covers the liquidation rules.
• Sole proprietors and small businesses importing under an individual's name or SSN-based importer number: same as above, and the refund interest rate is the non-corporate 7%.

When an individual is not

• Anything bought from a US retailer or marketplace where the seller imported the goods. The refund, if any, goes to the seller or its supplier.
• Goods bought abroad and hand-carried through the airport under the personal exemption — no IEEPA entry, nothing to refund.
• The proposed "tariff dividend" or rebate checks — none has been enacted (taxpayers.net, status as of October 4, 2026); see Will I get a tariff refund check?.

How to check whether you paid an IEEPA duty

Look at the duty invoice or the entry paperwork. The duty lines that were refundable carry HTSUS numbers beginning 9903.01 or 9903.02. A carrier invoice may not show the HTS line; ask the carrier whether the shipment qualifies.

What a refund looks like

The IEEPA duty on the entry, plus interest from the day it was deposited to the day CBP reliquidates the entry. On a parcel that is often a small sum; on a personal import of equipment it can be significant. Refunds are paid by ACH, so an individual filing in ACE needs ACH refund details on file; a carrier refunds by its own method.

General information from public sources, not legal or tax advice. Checked October 8, 2026.