The Internal Revenue Service will stop accepting information returns through its Filing Information Returns Electronically system, known as FIRE, at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on November 19, 2026. In news release IR-2026-99, the agency told current FIRE users to move to its Information Returns Intake System, or IRIS, before the 2027 filing season. The change affects businesses, retirement-plan administrators, landlords and other payers that file forms such as the 1099 series electronically, not the way households file their own Form 1040.
Three November dates for FIRE users
The IRS has set three cutoffs. November 1, 2026, is the last day to send test information returns through the FIRE Trading Partner Test System. November 9 is the last day to make changes to an Information Returns Application for a Transmitter Control Code, the identifier a filer uses to submit returns electronically. November 19 at 3 p.m. ET is the final moment to file information returns through FIRE itself.
After the November maintenance window, the IRS says, filers will no longer be able to submit anything through FIRE. Current users must switch to IRIS to file tax-year 2026 information returns during the 2027 filing season. The agency’s FIRE system page adds that the IRS is no longer accepting new FIRE applications, that existing applications can be updated through December 2026 before becoming read-only, and that IRIS will be the only electronic system for information returns, including current-year returns, prior-year returns and corrections, after January 1, 2027.
Retirees watching for tax forms after the switch. Pension and IRA payers will send the 1099-R forms that feed a retiree’s tax return through a new IRS system in 2027, so it helps to note when each form arrives and to act quickly on any IRS letter about a mismatch. The notice decoder and refund status tracker spreadsheet in The IRS Refund Recovery Kit are designed for that follow-up.
How IRIS replaces FIRE
IRIS is the IRS’s modernized intake system for information returns. It became available in 2023 as part of a phased transfer of forms from FIRE, and the IRS says every form previously supported by FIRE will be available through IRIS beginning in 2027. The system accepts returns through two channels.
The IRIS Taxpayer Portal is a free, web-based filing system. According to the agency’s E-file Information Returns with IRIS guidance, filers can submit up to 100 returns at a time, enter data by hand or upload a CSV file, download copies to send to recipients, and keep a history of completed and filed forms. The portal also handles corrections and automatic extension requests. Using it requires an IRIS Transmitter Control Code, a five-digit code that identifies the business and works only in IRIS.
Larger filers that use commercial software or build their own can use IRIS Application to Application, which the IRS says can take thousands of returns in a single transmission of up to 100 megabytes. Getting started involves applying for an A2A Transmitter Control Code, obtaining an API client ID and a schema package, and passing assurance testing before live filing.
Which forms and filers are affected
For tax year 2025, IRIS already accepts a long list of forms, including Forms 1099-R, 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, 1099-B, 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC, 1099-SA, 1099-LTC, 1098, 5498 and W-2G. Several of those matter directly to older Americans. Form 1099-R reports distributions from pensions, annuities and IRAs; Form 5498 reports IRA contributions and account values; Form 1099-LTC reports long-term care benefits; and Forms 1099-INT and 1099-DIV report interest and dividends.
The payers that send those forms, such as banks, brokerages, insurers and plan administrators, are the ones that must change systems. A retiree who only receives these forms does not need to do anything differently. Retirees who own a small business, manage rental property or pay contractors, however, may file their own 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC forms. If they or their bookkeeper have used FIRE, they now need an IRIS code before the 2027 season. Those filing a smaller number of forms may find the free Taxpayer Portal sufficient.
The switch does not change individual income-tax filing. Information returns are reports made by payers about wages, interest, retirement distributions and other payments. A household filing a personal Form 1040 through tax software or a preparer is not affected by the FIRE retirement.
Steps the IRS recommends now
The IRS tells FIRE users to complete an IRIS Application for a Transmitter Control Code, review the IRIS filing guidance, subscribe to IRIS QuickAlerts for news about system changes and maintenance, and register for the IRIS Working Group, which meets on the second Wednesday of each month. Participants must register each month to receive the meeting link, and notices go out to QuickAlerts subscribers.
Timing matters because applications take time to process and the November 9 cutoff for changing an existing FIRE application arrives well before year-end. A filer that waits until January risks having no working electronic channel when the first 2027 deadlines arrive. Businesses that rely on a payroll company or tax preparer should confirm that provider has moved to IRIS, since the preparer’s systems, not the client’s, will carry the returns.
The IRS publishes two technical guides for the new system: Publication 5717, the IRIS Taxpayer Portal user guide, and Publication 5718, the A2A specifications for software developers. Until the cutoff, the FIRE production and test systems still close for scheduled maintenance every Sunday from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. Eastern and every Wednesday from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. Eastern. Filers with questions about Transmitter Control Codes can reach the agency’s Technical Services Operation at 866-455-7438, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern.
For recipients, the main practical step is to compare forms carefully when they arrive in early 2027. The IRS matches information returns against individual tax returns. A missing or incorrect 1099-R or 1099-INT can lead to a notice proposing extra tax, so a payer’s error during a system change is worth catching early and asking the payer to correct.
Keeping 2027 tax forms and IRS letters in order
A payer’s move to a new filing system should be invisible to recipients, yet a late or incorrect 1099 can still trigger an IRS mismatch letter or hold up a refund at the start of the 2027 season.
The IRS Refund Recovery Kit includes a notice decoder for reading IRS letters, the refund-trace steps (Form 3911) for a refund that never arrives, a refund status tracker spreadsheet and guidance on the 3-year refund deadline.
Prepare for filing season with The IRS Refund Recovery Kit.
This article was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed against the linked official sources.
