Glossary: Kwong, COVID-Era Refunds, and Form 843 Terms

Use the glossary as a quick-reference companion to the longer guides. Terms are listed alphabetically. Each definition is short enough to read in a few seconds and contains the cite or statute reference where one is relevant.

A

Abatement claim

A request that the IRS remove a penalty assessment from a taxpayer's account before payment. Filed on Form 843, just like a refund claim, but with different language because the taxpayer has not yet paid the amount being challenged. The Kwong reasoning supports both abatement and refund claims for in-window assessments.

Abdo v. Commissioner

April 2024 U.S. Tax Court decision involving deadline-suspension arguments. Cited as supporting authority in some Kwong-based filings, though the Kwong court ultimately decided on different statutory grounds. Less foundational than Kwong itself for protective-claim language.

C

Chevron deference

The four-decade legal doctrine that required courts to defer to a federal agency's reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute. Established in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council (1984), overruled in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (June 2024). Its absence reshaped how courts read IRS positions on ambiguous statutes — including IRC § 7508A(d).

Circular 230

The Department of Treasury regulation governing practice before the IRS. Defines who has authority to represent taxpayers (CPAs, enrolled agents, attorneys, and certain enrolled actuaries and IRS-permissioned tax-data providers). PenaltyBack operates with IRS e-Services access at the Circular 230 level — view-only access to taxpayer transcripts.

Court of Federal Claims (CoFC)

A specialized federal trial court that hears most monetary claims against the United States, including tax refund claims that have been administratively denied. The court that decided Kwong v. United States in November 2025. Its decisions are appealable to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

COVID disaster window

The federally declared disaster period for the COVID-19 emergency: January 20, 2020 through July 10, 2023. Under the Kwong reading of IRC § 7508A(d), filing and payment deadlines that fell inside this window were automatically suspended.

D

DefinedTerm (schema.org)

A schema.org type used in JSON-LD to mark a glossary entry as a structured term-and-definition pair. Helps search engines and AI engines treat the page as authoritative reference material rather than narrative prose. This glossary uses DefinedTerm structured data for every entry.

E

Estimated-tax penalty

The penalty for underpayment of quarterly estimated tax. Computed as interest on the underpayment for each missed installment under IRC § 6654 (individuals) or § 6655 (corporations). Quarterly installments inside the COVID disaster window may fall under the Kwong reasoning.

F

Failure-to-file penalty (FTF)

5% of the unpaid tax for each month or fraction of a month a return is filed late, capped at 25%. Codified at IRC § 6651(a)(1). The most common COVID-era penalty assessment in dollar terms; assessments for original due dates inside the disaster window may be Kwong-refundable.

Failure-to-pay penalty (FTP)

0.5% of the unpaid tax for each month or fraction of a month tax remains unpaid, capped at 25% (1% per month after IRS Notice of Intent to Levy; 0.25% if on an installment agreement). Codified at IRC § 6651(a)(2). Same Kwong logic applies if the original payment deadline fell inside the disaster window.

Federally declared disaster

An event for which the President has declared a major disaster or emergency under the Stafford Act. Under IRC § 7508A(d), such a declaration automatically suspends IRS filing and payment deadlines for affected taxpayers — the legal hook the Kwong court relied on.

Form 843

"Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement." The IRS form used to request a refund of penalties or interest, or to request the IRS abate (remove) a penalty before payment. Filed on paper and mailed certified. The required vehicle for a Kwong-based COVID-era refund claim. Deadline for most claims: July 10, 2026.

I

IRC § 6511

The Internal Revenue Code section that limits the time for filing a refund claim. Generally three years from the original return's due date or two years from when the tax was paid, whichever is later. For most COVID-era penalty assessments, the operative deadline is July 10, 2026.

IRC § 6651

The penalty statute for failure to file a return or pay tax. Subsection (a)(1) covers failure-to-file; (a)(2) covers failure-to-pay; (c)(1) provides the combined cap when both apply in the same month. The penalty mechanics most commonly affected by the Kwong reasoning.

IRC § 7508A(d)

The "Mandatory 60-day extension" subsection. States that filing and payment deadlines "shall be disregarded" for taxpayers determined by the Secretary to be affected by a federally declared disaster. The Kwong court held this language is mandatory and self-executing — the foundation of the Kwong-based refund-claim theory.

IRS account transcript

One of four IRS transcript types. Shows every transaction posted to a taxpayer's IRS account — penalties, interest, payments, abatements — identified by three-digit transaction codes (TCs) and dated. The starting point for any Kwong-based refund analysis.

IRS e-Services

The IRS's professional portal for tax practitioners. Allows authorized parties (CPAs, enrolled agents, IRS-permissioned tax-data providers) to pull taxpayer transcripts directly with the taxpayer's authorization. PenaltyBack uses e-Services for view-only transcript access at the Circular 230 level.

K

Kwong v. United States

U.S. Court of Federal Claims decision, November 2025, citation 179 Fed. Cl. 382. Held that IRC § 7508A(d) automatically suspended IRS filing and payment deadlines for the entire COVID-19 federal disaster period (January 20, 2020 – July 10, 2023). The U.S. government has appealed to the Federal Circuit.

L

Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo

U.S. Supreme Court decision, June 28, 2024, 603 U.S. ___ . Overruled the Chevron doctrine of judicial deference to agency statutory interpretations. Reshapes how courts read ambiguous IRS positions, including the IRC § 7508A(d) interpretation at issue in Kwong.

N

National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA)

The independent advocate within the IRS who represents taxpayer interests. Issued public guidance recommending protective claims for Kwong-based filings in an April 30, 2026 blog post. The recommended language for the protective-claim header: "Protective Refund Claim Pursuant to Kwong Case."

Notice 2022-36

IRS notice issued August 2022 providing automatic relief from certain failure-to-file penalties for 2019 and 2020 tax years. Narrower than the relief Kwong subsequently held § 7508A(d) requires. Taxpayers who received Notice 2022-36 relief may still qualify for additional refunds outside its narrow scope.

Notice 2024-07

IRS notice issued in early 2024 providing automatic relief from certain failure-to-pay penalties tied to balances assessed during the early-COVID period. Like Notice 2022-36, narrower than the Kwong reading of § 7508A(d). Taxpayers who received Notice 2024-07 relief may still qualify for additional refunds.

P

Protective claim

A refund claim filed to preserve a taxpayer's right to a refund while the underlying legal question is still being litigated. For Kwong-based filings, the National Taxpayer Advocate has recommended writing "Protective Refund Claim Pursuant to Kwong Case" across the top of Form 843.

R

Refund claim (vs abatement)

A refund claim asks the IRS to return money the taxpayer has already paid. An abatement claim asks the IRS to remove an assessment before payment. Both are filed on Form 843. Both fall within the Kwong reasoning if the underlying assessment relates to a deadline inside the COVID disaster window.

S

Section 6511 deadline

Common shorthand for the refund-claim deadline established by IRC § 6511 — three years from the original return due date or two years from payment, whichever is later. For most COVID-era penalty assessments, the operative deadline is July 10, 2026.

T

Transaction code (TC)

The three-digit code on an IRS account transcript identifying the type of transaction. The codes most relevant to Kwong-based refund analysis: TC 166 (failure-to-file), 270/276 (failure-to-pay), 196 (interest), 170 (estimated-tax), 240 (miscellaneous including international info return penalties).