diff --git a/includes/class-wc-order-refund.php b/includes/class-wc-order-refund.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3a78909cccb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/includes/class-wc-order-refund.php
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * Order refund
+ *
+ * @class    WC_Order
+ * @version  2.2.0
+ * @package  WooCommerce/Classes
+ * @category Class
+ * @author   WooThemes
+ */
+
+class WC_Order_Refund extends WC_Abstract_Order {
+
+	/**
+	 * Initialize the order refund.
+	 *
+	 * @param int|WC_Order $order
+	 */
+	public function __construct( $order ) {
+		$this->order_type = 'refund';
+
+		parent::__construct( $order );
+	}
+}
diff --git a/includes/wc-order-functions.php b/includes/wc-order-functions.php
index 9f7dc522dbb..5236a8fdbc7 100644
--- a/includes/wc-order-functions.php
+++ b/includes/wc-order-functions.php
@@ -382,3 +382,61 @@ function wc_delete_shop_order_transients( $post_id = 0 ) {
 function wc_ship_to_billing_address_only() {
 	return 'billing_only' === get_option( 'woocommerce_ship_to_destination' );
 }
+
+/**
+ * Create a new order refund programmatically
+ *
+ * Returns a new refund object on success which can then be used to add additonal data.
+ *
+ * @since 2.2
+ * @param array $args
+ * @return WC_Order_Refund on success, WP_Error on failure
+ */
+function wc_create_refund( $args = array() ) {
+	$default_args = array(
+		'amount'    => '',
+		'reason'    => null,
+		'tax'       => null,
+		'order_id'  => 0,
+		'refund_id' => 0
+	);
+
+	$args        = wp_parse_args( $args, $default_args );
+	$refund_data = array();
+
+	if ( $args['refund_id'] > 0 ) {
+		$updating          = true;
+		$refund_data['ID'] = $args['refund_id'];
+	} else {
+		$updating                     = false;
+		$refund_data['post_type']     = 'shop_order';
+		$refund_data['post_status']   = 'publish';
+		$refund_data['ping_status']   = 'closed';
+		$refund_data['post_author']   = 1;
+		$refund_data['post_password'] = uniqid( 'refund_' );
+		$refund_data['post_parent']   = absint( $args['order_id'] );
+		$refund_data['post_title']    = sprintf( __( 'Refund &ndash; %s', 'woocommerce' ), strftime( _x( '%b %d, %Y @ %I:%M %p', 'Order date parsed by strftime', 'woocommerce' ) ) );
+	}
+
+	if ( ! is_null( $args['reason'] ) ) {
+		$refund_data['post_excerpt'] = $args['reason'];
+	}
+
+	if ( $updating ) {
+		$refund_id = wp_update_post( $refund_data );
+	} else {
+		$refund_id = wp_insert_post( apply_filters( 'woocommerce_new_refund_data', $refund_data ), true );
+	}
+
+	if ( is_wp_error( $refund_id ) ) {
+		return $refund_id;
+	}
+
+	// Default refund meta data
+	if ( ! $updating ) {
+		update_post_meta( $refund_id, '_refund_amount', wc_format_decimal( $args['amount'] ) );
+		update_post_meta( $refund_id, '_refund_tax', wc_format_decimal( $args['amount'] ) );
+	}
+
+	return new WC_Order_Refund( $refund_id );
+}