Cost guide · IEEPA duty refunds
What does it cost to file an IEEPA refund?
Updated · By Joshua Giles, founder of Supercargo (JG Core Ltd)
How much do customs brokers charge to file IEEPA refunds?
Published broker fees for filing IEEPA refunds through CAPE range from flat per-entry pricing (Clearit: $200 per entry plus 4% of duties recovered over $5,000) to success fees (Alliance: 2% of the refund, $10,000 minimum), as of 23 October 2026. Filing yourself in the ACE Portal costs nothing but your time.
| Who | Fee model | Published terms |
|---|---|---|
| Clearit (licensed US customs broker) | Flat per entry | Duty recovery under $5,000: $200 for the first entry + $125 per additional entry. Over $5,000: $200 per entry + 4% of the total duties recovered per filing. |
| Alliance Drawback Services (licensed US customs broker) | Success fee | 2% of your IEEPA refund (before interest), with a $10,000 minimum and a $100,000 cap. |
| Freight Right | Contingency (amount not published) | "No upfront fee. We collect when you collect." |
| Strix (licensed US customs broker) | Flat fee, custom quote | Flat fee rather than a percentage of the refund; CAPE and protest work quoted per job. Its correction entries are $150 each (up to 10 lines). |
| You, in the ACE Portal | No fee | The importer of record can file its own CAPE Declaration in the ACE Portal; you need an ACE importer account. |
What drives the price
- Number of entries: per-entry pricing scales with entries, not with the size of the refund.
- Size of the refund: percentage fees scale with the money recovered; minimums matter for small refunds.
- Liquidation status: entries past CAPE’s 80-day window may need a protest (180 days from liquidation), which brokers usually quote separately.
- Your records: a clean ES-003 export and bank (ACH) details on file make any route cheaper and faster.
Worked example
An importer with 30 eligible entries and $40,000 of IEEPA duty to recover (illustrative figures, published terms as above):
- Clearit’s over-$5,000 terms: 30 × $200 + 4% × $40,000 = $7,600.
- Alliance’s success fee: 2% × $40,000 = $800, below the minimum, so $10,000.
- Filing it yourself: $0, plus the time to check each entry’s window.
Ask your broker for their own written quote. Fees change; this page records what each firm published on 23 October 2026.
Doing it yourself
Our free IEEPA refund guide explains who is refunded and the deadlines. The IEEPA Tariff Refund Kit (£49 or $59, as of October 2026) dates every entry’s 80-day and 180-day windows on one tracker and lists the questions to ask your broker. For the wider picture, see the IEEPA refund statistics.
Start with the audit
Your last twelve months of entries, reconciled to the unit, for a fixed £900$1,200€1,050. Credited in full against your first year, and refunded in full if the variance is under 2%.