Two federal courts ruled the IRS assessed more than 120 million penalties during the pandemic without legal authority. If your business was charged penalties or interest between 2020–2023, you may be owed tens of thousands of dollars back.
Business penalties are significantly higher than personal penalties. Employment taxes, payroll deposits, corporate filing penalties — all of it was assessed without legal authority during the COVID disaster period. The IRS has already refunded $1.2 billion in a prior, narrower COVID relief program. The Kwong ruling opens the door far wider.
This is not software. Every refund claim we prepare is signed by a licensed Certified Public Accountant as paid preparer — the same standard required by the nation's top accounting firms. Our CPA team specializes in IRS penalty abatement and refund claims, and every filing includes the proper legal citations, protective claim language, and compliance with current IRS requirements.
When COVID-19 was declared a nationwide federal disaster, the law automatically postponed all tax deadlines for 3.5 years — including business filing deadlines, payroll deposit deadlines, and employment tax obligations. The IRS kept assessing penalties anyway. Two federal courts have now ruled they had no legal authority to do so.
COVID-19 was a nationwide federal disaster — your business doesn't need to prove it was directly impacted by COVID. If the IRS assessed any penalty during the disaster window, it likely qualifies.
Eligible business types include:
On a $25,000 business refund, a 20% agency keeps $5,000. We charge $297 — flat, for all four tax years.
No power of attorney. No IRS account access. No handing your financials to a third party. You provide the basics — we do the work — you mail it yourself.
Business name, EIN, entity type, contact info, and mailing address. No tax returns needed. No financial statements required.
✓ No sensitive financialsA licensed CPA prepares your refund claim for tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 — with all legal citations and protective claim language built in.
✓ Ready within 24 hoursYou receive pre-filled PDFs. Your authorized signer signs and mails via certified mail using our step-by-step instructions. You keep the tracking number.
✓ You control the filingThe IRS doesn't send reminders. They don't reach out to businesses who qualify. If you don't file a protective claim by the deadline, that money stays with the IRS — permanently, regardless of how Kwong resolves.
Terms and Conditions
Protective Claim, LLC · 4801 Woodway Drive, Suite 212-W, Houston, Texas 77056
1. Acceptance of Terms; Nature of Product
These Terms and Conditions (these "Terms") govern your purchase and use of limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable access to the website, software workflow, form-generation tool, downloadable content, and related online materials made available by Protective Claim, LLC, a Texas limited liability company, with an address located at 4801 Woodway Drive, Suite 212-W, Houston, Texas 77056 ("Servicer," "we," "us," or "our"). By clicking to accept these Terms, purchasing access, creating an account, using the website, generating a form, downloading any output, or otherwise using the Services, you ("Client" or "you") agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not purchase or use the Services.
2. Background Regarding Kwong; No Determination of Eligibility
You understand that Kwong v. United States is a developing legal matter involving the possible application of Internal Revenue Code Section 7508A(d) to certain tax filing and payment deadlines arising during the COVID-19 federally declared disaster period. You further understand that any potential refund, abatement, credit, reduction of penalties or interest, or other relief is uncertain, fact-specific, subject to applicable law, IRS procedures, statutes of limitation, further judicial proceedings, appeal, IRS administrative action, and your own facts and records. Nothing in these Terms, on Servicer's website, or in any generated form constitutes a determination, representation, warranty, recommendation, or advice that you are eligible for, will receive, or should seek any refund, abatement, credit, or other relief.
3. Services Purchased
Subject to these Terms, Servicer sells you only limited access to an online form-generation tool that may allow you to generate and print a generic form or template, which may include IRS Form 843 or similar materials, for your possible independent use (the "Services"). The Services are limited to website access and automated form-generation functionality based solely on information you input. The Services do not include professional services, legal services, tax services, accounting services, claim preparation, form preparation for your specific facts, IRS representation, review of your information, review of any completed form, filing, mailing, tracking, appeal, protest, audit response, collection defense, deadline monitoring, or follow-up with the IRS or any other governmental authority.
4. Client Responsibilities
You alone are responsible for: (a) determining whether to use the Services; (b) determining whether you may have any claim, refund, abatement, credit, or other relief; (c) consulting your own legal, tax, accounting, or other professional advisers; (d) obtaining and reviewing your IRS transcripts, notices, records, penalty assessments, interest assessments, proof of payment, and other supporting documentation; (e) entering all information accurately and completely; (f) generating, reviewing, revising, printing, downloading, saving, signing, mailing, submitting, and supporting any form or other materials; (g) determining the correct IRS address, delivery method, deadline, attachments, explanations, and filing position; (h) preserving proof of mailing or delivery; and (i) handling all IRS or governmental communications, requests, notices, rejections, delays, appeals, audits, examinations, collection matters, or other proceedings.
5. No Professional Advice; No Representative Relationship
Servicer is not a law firm, accounting firm, tax return preparer, enrolled agent, certified public accountant, financial adviser, or authorized representative before the IRS. Servicer does not provide legal, tax, accounting, financial, procedural, strategic, or other professional advice. No attorney-client, accountant-client, fiduciary, tax-preparer, representative, agency, partnership, joint venture, employment, or other professional relationship is created by these Terms, by your use of the Services, by communications with Servicer, or by any information appearing on Servicer's website. You should consult your own advisers before deciding whether or how to proceed.
6. No Completion, Review, Verification, Filing, or Follow-Up by Servicer
Servicer will not complete any form for you, gather information from you for purposes of completing any form, verify information you input, evaluate your eligibility, analyze your filing position, determine what attachments or documentation are required, review any completed form for accuracy, completeness, sufficiency, legal effect, tax treatment, or evidentiary support, sign any form, submit any materials, communicate with the IRS or any governmental authority on your behalf, track the status of any submission, respond to any IRS communication, or pursue any claim, refund, abatement, credit, protest, audit, examination, collection matter, appeal, litigation, or other proceeding.
7. Client Information; No Duty to Preserve or Use Materials
You are solely responsible for the content, accuracy, completeness, legality, timeliness, and evidentiary support of all information, statements, explanations, attachments, positions, and materials used, generated, mailed, submitted, or relied upon by you. Servicer has no duty to request, collect, verify, audit, organize, analyze, supplement, preserve, store, retrieve, or use any information or document you provide or input, except as expressly required to provide the website functionality or as otherwise stated in any applicable privacy policy.
8. Fee; Payment; Refunds; Chargebacks
The fee for the Services is a flat, non-refundable access fee displayed at checkout. The Service Fee is earned when website access is made available, regardless of whether you generate, print, download, complete, sign, mail, submit, or use any form, and regardless of whether you obtain any refund, abatement, credit, or other relief. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you are not entitled to any setoff, withholding, chargeback, reversal, or refund. If you initiate an improper chargeback or payment reversal, you agree to reimburse Servicer for the Service Fee, payment-processor fees, chargeback fees, collection costs, and reasonable attorneys' fees, subject to applicable law.
9. No Guarantee; Assumption of Risk
Servicer does not warrant, predict, guarantee, or promise any result, refund, abatement, credit, acceptance, processing, timing, IRS response, or other outcome. Any form or output generated through the Services may be incomplete, unsuitable, inapplicable, outdated, unsupported, rejected, delayed, ignored, or insufficient for your circumstances. The law, forms, instructions, IRS procedures, deadlines, and administrative positions may change. You assume all risks arising from or relating to your use or non-use of the Services, any generated form, your filing position, your decision to submit or not submit materials, and any action or inaction by the IRS or any governmental authority.
10. Disclaimers
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Services, website, form-generation tool, forms, templates, content, downloads, outputs, and related materials are provided "as is" and "as available," without any representation or warranty of any kind, whether express, implied, statutory, or otherwise, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, availability, error-free operation, uninterrupted access, or results.
11. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Servicer shall have no liability for any failure to obtain any refund, abatement, credit, or other relief; any IRS or governmental rejection, delay, inaction, audit, penalty, interest, collection activity, or other response; any error, omission, inaccurate information, unsupported position, incomplete submission, missed deadline, mailing issue, delivery failure, or loss of rights; any interruption, unavailability, defect, or error in the website or Services; or any consequence of your use, non-use, completion, review, signing, mailing, submission, reliance on, or inability to use any form or output. Servicer's aggregate liability arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services shall not exceed the Service Fee actually paid by you to Servicer. In no event shall Servicer be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, enhanced, punitive, or similar damages.
12. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Servicer and its affiliates, members, managers, officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, representatives, successors, and assigns from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, proceedings, investigations, damages, losses, liabilities, judgments, settlements, penalties, interest, taxes, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising from or relating to: (a) your use, misuse, or non-use of the Services; (b) any information, statement, position, attachment, form, submission, or material generated, completed, signed, mailed, submitted, or used by you; (c) your violation of these Terms; (d) your violation of any law, rule, regulation, IRS instruction, or governmental requirement; (e) any claim by a third party arising from your use of the Services or any generated materials; or (f) any chargeback, payment reversal, or collection matter.
13. User Conduct; No Unlawful Use
You may not use the Services for any fraudulent, false, misleading, unlawful, abusive, harassing, infringing, or unauthorized purpose. You may not submit false information, impersonate another person, interfere with the website, attempt to reverse engineer or copy the form-generation logic, bypass access controls, scrape content, use automated tools without permission, resell or sublicense access, or use any Servicer Materials to provide services to others.
14. Servicer Materials; Intellectual Property
The website, workflow, software, templates, forms, explanations, copy, design, text, graphics, methodologies, processes, prompts, logic, downloads, outputs, and other materials made available by Servicer are owned by or licensed to Servicer and are protected by intellectual property and other laws. Subject to your payment of the Service Fee and compliance with these Terms, Servicer grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to use the generated output solely for your own personal or internal business tax-related purposes.
15. Website Access; Changes; Suspension
Servicer may modify, suspend, discontinue, update, replace, restrict, or remove any portion of the Services, website, forms, templates, content, or functionality at any time, subject to applicable law. Servicer may suspend or terminate access if Servicer believes you have violated these Terms, engaged in misuse, initiated an improper chargeback, created legal or operational risk, or used the Services unlawfully.
16. Confidentiality; Privacy; No Special Professional Confidentiality
Because Servicer is not acting as your attorney, accountant, tax preparer, enrolled agent, or other professional adviser, information you provide to Servicer is not protected by attorney-client privilege, tax-practitioner privilege, work-product protection, or any similar professional confidentiality doctrine. Servicer will handle information collected through the website in accordance with any applicable privacy policy and applicable law.
17. Electronic Communications; Electronic Acceptance
You consent to receive communications from Servicer electronically. You agree that electronic acceptance, signatures, records, notices, and communications satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
18. Notices
All legal notices to Servicer must be in writing and delivered by personal delivery, nationally recognized overnight courier, or certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, to Protective Claim, LLC, 4801 Woodway Drive, Suite 212-W, Houston, Texas 77056.
19. Governing Law; Arbitration; Class Action Waiver; Jury Trial Waiver
These Terms shall be governed by the laws of the State of Texas. Except for small-claims matters and Servicer's right to seek injunctive or equitable relief, any dispute shall be resolved by binding arbitration in Harris County, Texas before a single arbitrator under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, each party waives any right to bring or participate in any class, collective, consolidated, or representative action, and each party knowingly waives any right to trial by jury.
20. Changes to Terms
Servicer may amend, modify, or replace these Terms by posting updated Terms on the website. Updated Terms will apply to all purchases, access, and use of the Services, including under prior purchases.
21. Miscellaneous
These Terms constitute the sole and entire agreement between you and Servicer with respect to the Services and supersede all prior understandings and agreements. If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force. You may not assign these Terms without Servicer's prior written consent. The indemnification, payment, intellectual-property, disclaimers, limitation-of-liability, dispute-resolution, and miscellaneous provisions shall survive expiration or termination.
22. Acknowledgement
By accepting these Terms, you acknowledge that you have read and understood these Terms, had the opportunity to consult independent legal, tax, accounting, and financial advisers, are not relying on Servicer for professional advice or as a guarantee of any outcome, and are purchasing only limited access to an online form-generation tool for your own independent evaluation and use.