Americans who made purchases from overseas sellers last year could soon see unexpected funds returned to their bank accounts.
Major logistics firms that acted as customs brokers for imported merchandise are transferring government-issued tariff refunds directly to the customers who originally paid them.
The distribution comes after a months-long legal battle that began in February, when the Supreme Court struck down broad import taxes introduced by President Donald Trump under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act in March 2025. The court ordered federal authorities to return money that was collected before the Supreme Court order, leading U.S. Customs and Border Protection to distribute approximately $100 billion in reimbursements to commercial entities.
However, Americans should not expect to recover the full amount of their tariff expenses as the majority of those duties were paid indirectly. The 2025 levies amounted to an average tax burden increase of $1,000 per American household, according to the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C., group that studies taxes.
While most of these expenses were absorbed across supply chains, some shoppers who paid duties directly are receiving reimbursements from carriers such as UPS, DHL, and FedEx on a rolling basis as federal funds are released.
Logistics providers are issuing the payments directly to credit cards or linked bank accounts. FedEx confirmed it has begun distributing $800 million in government refunds to affected customers. Buyers are not required to submit an application, though they can enter purchase tracking details into a dedicated portal on the FedEx website to verify their refund status.
UPS stated in April that it had paid $5 billion in duties on behalf of clients and launched its application process with federal agencies. The carrier submitted an initial claim for $500 million, noting that customers can expect payouts one to three months after the company receives reimbursement from the Treasury.
DHL similarly reported filing claims for nearly all eligible shipments where it served as the importer of record, passing along received funds.
"The volume and pace of refunds continue to depend on CBP’s processing of claims," DHL said in a statement.
Tariff refunds from retailers are unlikely
Unlike freight brokers who billed customs charges directly to buyers, major retail chains predominantly absorbed the import costs or altered product lines, making direct consumer returns unlikely. Nevertheless, Amazon reported receiving $600 million in duty refunds during the second quarter.
During an investor call, Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky explained that the firm is rarely the importer of record and absorbed a portion of the duty costs. However, he stated that the enterprise has "identified a limited set of circumstances where we can trace that we pass specific import charges on to customers." In those instances, he noted, "we will proactively contact affected customers and automatically issue refunds to them."
Otherwise, the e-commerce firm plans to direct refunded capital toward lowering product prices, matching statements from rival merchants. In May, Cori Barrie, outgoing CEO of Best Buy, the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain, noted that the business acts as an importer of record for only 2% to 3% of its inventory and will deploy any received funds to "deliver value back to our customers."
Costco CEO Ron Vachris also confirmed plans to return passed-on duty costs "in some form."
"How much we return and when depends on a variety of factors, including how much refund money we receive and when it arrives as well as developments in the lawsuit filed against the company regarding the return process," he explained during a quarterly earnings call in May.
Consumers have also turned to the court system, filing more than 80 class-action lawsuits nationwide against retailers including Costco, Nike, Amazon, and Walmart to recover costs passed down through higher shelf prices.
However, legal experts emphasize that plaintiffs face steep evidentiary challenges. Lori Leskin, partner and co-chair of law firm Arnold & Porter’s Consumer Products Practice Group, noted that none of the cases have been certified as class actions. She explained that demonstrating a specific price hike resulted exclusively from import taxes remains difficult.
"It’s going to be very hard for anyone to establish that the price increase they paid was due to tariffs and not some other market force," she said. "Most of them are just talking about price increases, and to be able to trace a price increase due to a single factor is going to be really difficult given the multifactorial approach that most companies take."
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