Tariff refunds are coming: Here’s who will get them first
Provided by Dow Jones Apr 20, 2026, 7:48:00 AM
By Victor Reklaitis
There could eventually be payouts to individuals due to lawsuits, but the refunds will first go almost exclusively to companies
Tariff refunds have been in the works for about two months following a Supreme Court decision.
Tariff refunds are getting closer to flowing into bank accounts, with the U.S. government slated to start processing refund claims on Monday.
The refunds have been in the works for about two months, since the Supreme Court knocked down the bulk of President Donald Trump’s tariffs in a Feb. 20 ruling.
A 6-3 majority of justices found that Trump exceeded his authority in using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to implement most of his tariffs. The president has responded with a new 10% global tariff, and his administration said on Tuesday that by the start of July, tariffs could be back at the levels in place before the ruling, as officials apply other authorities.
But for now, should you expect to see a refund in your bank account anytime soon? If you’re a typical U.S. consumer, probably not, although some individuals could receive one, and others may eventually benefit from class-action lawsuits.
In the vast majority of cases, companies have served as “importers of record” and will get refunds after submitting their claims.
Below are key points about the big commotion over getting money back.
Why individuals shouldn’t count on tariff refunds
A new government system for handling the tariff refunds is aimed at “importers of record,” which are the entities that paid duties at the border and brought in goods.
Those entities are “overwhelmingly commercial importers and their customs brokers,” Terence Lau, dean of Syracuse University’s law school and a former trade attorney for Ford (F), said in an email to MarketWatch.
“An individual consumer who bought a more expensive blender at Target (TGT) because the retailer passed along tariff costs has no standing in this process. There’s no legal mechanism connecting a specific retail price increase to a specific tariff payment,” Lau added.
Retired, living in the Scottish Borders after living most of my life in cities in England. I can now indulge my interest in all aspects of living close to nature in a wild landscape. I live on what was once the Iapetus Ocean which took millions of years to travel from the Southern Hemisphere to here in the Northern Hemisphere. That set me thinking and questioning and seeking answers.
In 1998 I co-wrote Millennium Countdown (US)/ A Business Guide to the Year 2000 (UK) see https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780749427917
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