The IRS Probably Owes You Money. Here’s How to Claim It
The only thing worse than owing back taxes is paying the IRS penalties and interest because you owe back taxes.
Oh, but what if the IRS wasn’t even legally allowed to charge you penalties and interest, but it did anyway? Yeah, that’s much worse.
That’s exactly the situation for millions of Americans right now who paid penalties and interest for late payments during the pandemic. If that sounds like you, the IRS might owe you a refund.
A tool called IRSPenaltyBack can help you figure out if you qualify and help you file for a refund.
How the IRS Broke the Law
It turns out that when the president declares a national disaster, as happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, tax filing and payment deadlines are suspended. That means the IRS can’t charge you the normal interest or fees for filing returns or paying your taxes late.
Unfortunately, the IRS did charge those penalties to millions of businesses and individual taxpayers during the pandemic declared disaster period from Jan. 20, 2020 through July 10, 2023. A federal court ruling in 2024 and another in 2025 said they have to pay it back.
The average estimated refund is $2,400.
But to get your money back, you have to file your claim with the IRS within three years — by July 10, 2026.
That’s why now’s the time to find out if you’re eligible for a refund.
Who’s Actually Eligible for a Refund?
Experts estimate that tens of millions of Americans could be eligible for a refund under these rulings.
You’re likely eligible for a refund if you were charged any of these IRS penalties for filing or payment deadlines that fell between Jan. 20, 2020 to July 10, 2023:
- Failure-to-file penalties for a late tax return.
- Failure-to-pay penalties for a missed or late tax payment.
- Estimated-tax penalties for missing or underpaying quarterly tax.
- Late-filing penalties on international information returns.
- Interest on tax debt.
You’re more likely to face these kinds of charges if you earned any money outside of a traditional W-2 job — whether you’re a gig worker, a freelancer, a small business owner or run a major company. Taxes get more complicated when you have 1099 and business income, so it’s easier to underpay or accrue tax debt.
IRSPenaltyBack by TaxNow lets you check your refund eligibility for both your individual and business tax returns for free.
How to Find out If the IRS Owes You Money
Because potential refunds are all based on ongoing court cases — the U.S. government has appealed the two decisions against the IRS — it could be a little tricky to figure out whether you’re eligible for a refund and to make sure you get it.
That’s where IRSPenaltyBack comes in.
The company, founded by CPA Kenny Dettman, has a tool to help you check your eligibility online in just a few minutes. Then it properly files a claim for you, including the right legalese to make sure your claim survives while the IRS runs this whole situation through the courts.
Dettman has been a CPA for nearly 20 years, previously as a Tax Partner at the law firm Alvarez & Marsal, where he helped oversee the firm’s COVID-19 stimulus response. Building on tax software he created for his business, TaxNow, in 2023, Dettman was able to respond quickly to the tight filing window this year to help affected taxpayers through the complex process of filing this claim.
To find out what you’re owed (without the complicated work of reviewing three years of your IRS data):
- Go to IRSPenaltyBack.com and answer a couple of questions about yourself and your business.
- Enter your Social Security or EIN number and address to give PenaltyBack permission to access your IRS records to calculate your potential refund.
- Follow the steps to securely verify your identity.
- Get an email with your results within five to seven business days.
- If you’re owed a refund, you can file a claim on your own or let PenaltyBack handle it for you.
It’s totally free to check your eligibility, and there’s no obligation to have your claim filed through IRSPenaltyBack. If you do go that route and you end up receiving a refund, PenaltyBack keeps a 25% fee — only if you get paid.
It takes just a few minutes to enter your info. You’ll get your results just as soon as PenaltyBack gets IRS authorization to access your tax records, which could take up to about a week — that’s why it’s important to get the ball rolling now, so your claim is filed before the July 10 deadline.
This isn’t a class-action case, and the IRS won’t send refunds automatically. The only way to get your money back is to file claims for all of the penalties or interest you were charged. Let IRSPenaltyBack help you reclaim the money you’re owed.
