FIRE to IRIS Transition: What 1099 Filers Must Do by Nov. 19

A landlord I will call Dana pays 14 contractors a year, plus a handful of vendors, and every January she sits down with a spreadsheet and files her 1099s online. This year the login she has used for ages is going away, and the FIRE to IRIS transition is the reason. The IRS has set 3 p.m. Eastern on November 19, 2026 as the last moment anyone can submit information returns through the old FIRE system, according to the IRS announcement.

What actually changed

FIRE (Filing Information Returns Electronically) is the system many filers have used for years to send 1099s, 1098s and similar forms to the IRS. After the November maintenance window, it stops accepting returns. Tax year 2026 forms, the ones you file in early 2027, must go through the Information Returns Intake System, known as IRIS. IRIS has been running since 2023, so this is a finish line for a long transition, not a brand new platform.

Two dates in the IRS notice matter for anyone who still holds a FIRE transmitter control code. November 9 is the last day to change an IR Application for a Transmitter Control Code (TCC), and November 19 is the last day to file through FIRE at all.

Who this affects most

If a payroll provider or your tax software files for you, the vendor carries most of this and your job is to confirm they have moved to IRIS. The people who feel it directly are business owners and landlords who file their own forms, and small practices that transmit for clients. The IRS IRIS page also reminds filers that anyone with 10 or more information returns (W-2s included) has to file them electronically, so a business with eight contractors and a small payroll can cross that line without noticing.

Your two ways into IRIS

The free option is the IRIS Taxpayer Portal, a web-based tool that takes up to 100 returns at a time. You can type each form in or upload a CSV file, then download payee copies and keep a record of what you filed. For Dana, that means her 14 contractor forms fit in a single batch with room to spare.

The second route is IRIS Application to Application (A2A), which connects your accounting or in-house software straight to the IRS. It suits higher volumes, but it comes with testing requirements before you can send live data, so it is not something to start in the second week of January.

A worked example

Say Dana pays 11 contractors $600 or more and has 3 more who were paid by a property manager. She owes forms to the 11. Her spreadsheet already has names, addresses, tax IDs and totals. To use the portal she needs an IRIS TCC, which comes from an application on IRS.gov, and then she can export that sheet to CSV and upload it. The part that tends to stall people is the TCC, because you cannot use the portal without it and the application is an extra step that sits ahead of your actual deadline.

I think the timeline here is tight for anyone who files once a year. The IRS announced this in August, which sounds generous until you remember that a once-a-year filer will not open the system again until January, and will find the old door already closed.

One step to take this month

Apply for an IRIS TCC now if you file your own information returns, and ask your payroll or software provider in writing whether their 1099 filing runs through IRIS. If you are signed up for FIRE and have any returns you intend to send before the cutoff, get them in before 3 p.m. Eastern on November 19. The IRS also offers IRIS QuickAlerts for system updates, which is worth subscribing to if you are a preparer.

Getting the account set up in November costs an afternoon. Finding out in late January costs a missed deadline and a penalty notice.

General information only.