The IRS retires FIRE on November 19 and 1099 filing moves to IRIS

The IRS stops accepting information returns through FIRE at 3 p.m. ET on November 19, 2026, and the 2027 filing season runs on IRIS instead (IR-2026-99, announced August 24). Two dates come first: November 1 closes the FIRE test system, and November 9 is the last day to update an Information Returns Application for a Transmitter Control Code.

Who this reaches: freelancers who pay subcontractors and send their own 1099s. Since tax year 2023 the electronic-filing threshold has been 10 information returns counted across all types together, so a studio issuing four 1099-NECs plus a few other forms can cross it without noticing. The IRIS Taxpayer Portal is free and takes up to 100 returns per submission, keyed in or uploaded as CSV.

Check now which system your accounting software transmits through and when it switches. January is the wrong month to find out: park the question next to our 1099 tax prep checklist.

Our take: the free portal is the quiet part of this. Sending a handful of 1099s no longer needs a paid transmitter.