Transcripts can also be requested by mail, which typically takes five to 10 days for delivery.
Once taxpayers have access to their transcripts, Collins advised looking for any penalty or interest charges and checking whether the dates associated with them fall in the relevant period between Jan. 20, 2020, and July 11, 2023.
If so, she said, “taxpayers may want to explore a refund claim.”
When do claims for refunds need to be filed by?
Taxpayers generally need to file a claim within three years of when they filed their tax return, or two years after the date their taxes were paid. In most cases, the deadline for making a claim for the potential COVID-era refunds is July 10, 2026, three years after what would be the postponed filing and payment due date following the end of the pandemic disaster declaration based on the court’s ruling.
But Collins noted that some taxpayers may have additional time, if they paid penalties or interest assessed during the relevant period later on. For a taxpayer who didn’t make such a payment until July 1, 2025, for instance, she said that they “would have until July 1, 2027, (i.e., two years from the date of payment) to file a refund claim, as it is later than July 10, 2026.”