File your own CAPE declaration. No broker. No retainer.
An 18-page, plain-English guide for U.S. importers who paid IEEPA tariffs between February 1 and April 30, 2025. Written because we think most importers can file their own refund if they're willing to spend an afternoon on it. If your situation gets messy, you know where to find us.
What's inside
- 01The one-paragraph explanation
- 02Are you eligible? A 60-second screen
- 03What you need before you start
- 04Getting your entry summaries (CBP Form 7501)
- 05Creating a CAPE portal login
- 06Filing your declaration, field by field
- 07The Section 232 / 301 / IEEPA disambiguation trap
- 08What CBP actually reviews (and how long it takes)
- 09When to call a licensed customs broker
- 10FAQ — answers to the ten questions we get most
- 11Glossary
- 12When Recoup is the right call
The IEEPA Refund Self-Serve Kit
PDF · 18 pages · updated April 2026 · free forever. Share it with anyone. No paywall, no watermark, no strings.
Or, if your situation is messy
Multiple IORs, lost 7501s, or a refund large enough that the math works — hand it to us and pay when CBP pays.
Start a filing instead →Because the honest baseline isn't hiring us.
Most importers with clean records can file their own CAPE declaration in an afternoon. The portal is clunky, the language is heavy, and the 232/301/IEEPA disambiguation is a genuine trap — but none of it is complicated. Section 07 of the kit is the single most important page, and reading it carefully prevents roughly 80% of the rejected filings we've seen.
We make money on the cases where the kit isn't enough: multi-IOR situations, missing documentation, importers who'd rather pay the flat Track B fee ($895 or 1.5% of refund, whichever is greater) to make the problem disappear, and importers who want their money now and take the tiered Cash Now advance. Everybody else — just take the PDF.