Tax Year 2026 Information Return Changes: What's New for the 2027 Filing Season

Tax year 2026 forms, the ones you file in early 2027, come with more changes than any season in recent memory. The IRS is closing its FIRE e-file system, adding boxes for tips and overtime, raising the most common 1099 threshold from $600 to $2,000, and introducing new forms. This guide collects every change in one place, based on the final 2026 forms and instructions the IRS has published. Where the IRS has only released a draft, we say so.

The Changes at a Glance

Change	Forms	Status
FIRE stops accepting filings Nov 19, 2026	All 1099, 1098, 5498, W-2G	Final (IR-2026-99)
Cash tips, TTOC, and overtime boxes	W-2, 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC (1099-K: tips and TTOC only)	Final forms
Trump account boxes	W-2 (code TA), 1099-R (box 7c)	Final forms
Digital asset boxes; basis now required	1099-S boxes; 1099-DA basis for covered securities	Final forms
$600 threshold rises to $2,000	1099-NEC, most 1099-MISC boxes, W-2G, and others	Final (Pub. 1099)
New Form 1098-VLI	Vehicle loan interest	Final form
New Forms 5498-TA and 1099-LPS	Trump accounts, long-term care premiums	Draft only
Forms 1099-H and 1098-MA retired		Final (Pub. 1099)

1. FIRE Closes on November 19, 2026

The IRS announced the final FIRE dates in IR-2026-99:

• November 1, 2026: last day to send test files through the FIRE test system.
• November 9, 2026: last day to change an Information Returns (IR) Application for a Transmitter Control Code (TCC).
• November 19, 2026, 3 p.m. ET: last day to file anything through FIRE.

That cutoff covers current-year returns, prior-year returns, and corrections. The IRS says IRIS will be the only information return e-file system, including prior years and corrections, after January 1, 2027. Tax year 2026 returns can't go through FIRE at all.

After the cutoff you have three ways to e-file:

• IRIS Taxpayer Portal. Free and web-based. You can e-file up to 100 returns at a time by typing them in or uploading a CSV. You still need an IRIS TCC to use it.
• IRIS A2A (Application to Application). For software and larger volumes. It sends XML and needs its own IRIS A2A TCC.
• A filing provider. The provider files under its own IRS credentials, so you don't need a TCC. BoomTax has filed through IRIS since 2024, files through IRIS for every form it supports, and still accepts FIRE (Pub. 1220) format files, so you don't have to change what your system exports.

W-2s go to the Social Security Administration, and ACA forms (1094-B, 1094-C, 1095-B, 1095-C) go through the IRS AIR system. Neither used FIRE, so neither is affected. For the full background, see IRS FIRE System Sunset: What Every 1099 Filer Needs to Know.

2. New Boxes for Tips and Overtime

Public Law 119-21 (the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act) created new individual deductions for qualified tips and qualified overtime. To support them, the IRS added reporting boxes to four forms.

Form W-2 (2026)

• Box 12, code TP: total cash tips reported to the employer.
• Box 12, code TT: total qualified overtime compensation.
• Box 12, code TA: employer contributions to an employee's (or an employee's dependent's) Trump account.
• Box 14 is split: box 14a is "Other," and new box 14b holds the Treasury Tipped Occupation Code(s), or TTOC.

More on the W-2 codes: Box 12 Codes on Form W-2 Explained.

Form 1099-NEC (Rev. December 2026)

Box 1 is split into four boxes:

• 1a Nonemployee compensation
• 1b Cash tips
• 1c TTOC
• 1d Overtime compensation

See 2026 Form 1099-NEC: New Tips, Overtime, and Other Boxes.

Form 1099-MISC (Rev. December 2026)

• New box 13a Cash tips, box 13b TTOC, and box 14 Overtime compensation.
• The FATCA filing requirement checkbox is no longer box 13. It is now an unnumbered checkbox in the recipient area. Box 15 (nonqualified deferred compensation) and the state boxes (16 through 18) keep their numbers.

See 2026 Form 1099-MISC: New Tips, Overtime, and Box Changes.

Form 1099-K (Rev. December 2026)

• New box 1c Cash tips and box 1d TTOC.

What to do now: if you pay tipped workers, overtime, or contractors who receive tips, make sure your payroll or accounts payable system tracks cash tips, the worker's occupation code, and qualified overtime separately. Those amounts are hard to rebuild in January.

3. Other Box Changes

Form 1099-R (2026)

• Box 7 now has four parts: 7a distribution code(s), 7b the IRA/SEP/SIMPLE checkbox, 7c Trump account, and 7d earnings on excess contributions.

Form 1099-S (Rev. December 2026)

• Gross proceeds split into 2a Total gross proceeds, 2b Cash gross proceeds, and 2c Digital asset gross proceeds.
• New boxes 8a through 8d report the code, name, number of units, and date of any digital asset received (or to be received) as consideration.
• Buyer's part of real estate tax is now box 4. The services or property checkbox is now box 6, and the foreign person checkbox is now box 7.

Form 1099-DA

• For sales a broker effects after 2025, basis reporting is mandatory for digital assets that are covered securities. Gross proceeds are reported for all digital assets.

Form 1099-G

• New box 10, Family leave benefits, for payments from state paid family and medical leave programs. The state boxes move to 11a, 11b, and 12.

Address fields on many forms

On forms revised in 2026, the IRS split address fields into separate boxes for each part of the address. This is mostly a layout change on the printed form, with separate boxes for apartment or suite number, state or province, country, and ZIP or foreign postal code.

4. Higher Reporting Thresholds

• $600 becomes $2,000. For payments made in 2026, the threshold for reporting certain payments, and for backup withholding on them, rises from $600 to $2,000. It will be adjusted for inflation starting in 2027. This applies to 1099-NEC and most 1099-MISC boxes. Royalties stay at $10. The $600 threshold does not change for Forms 1098, 1098-E, 1098-VLI, 1099-C, 1099-S, or 1099-MISC boxes 10 (attorney proceeds) and 11 (fish purchases).
• 1099-K (unchanged from 2025): third-party settlement organizations report only when a payee has over $20,000 in payments and over 200 transactions in the year.
• W-2G: the IRS instructions set the minimum reporting threshold for payments made in 2026 at $2,000. For some types of wagers, winnings must also be at least 300 times the amount wagered.
• 1099-DIV: liquidation distributions are reportable at $2,000 or more.
• W-2: the threshold for reporting wages with no income, Social Security, or Medicare tax withheld rises from $600 to $2,000.

You're not required to file for a payee whose total for the year is below the threshold. The exception: if you backup withheld on any payment, you must file regardless of the amount.

5. New and Retired Forms

• Form 1098-VLI (Vehicle Loan Interest Statement): lenders file one for each specified passenger vehicle loan on which they received $600 or more of interest from an individual, a decedent's estate, or a nongrantor trust during the year. The $600 test applies to each loan separately. See 2026 Car Loan Interest Reporting: $600 Rule for Lenders.
• Form 5498-TA (Trump Account Contribution Information): new for tax year 2026. The IRS has posted a draft only.
• Form 1099-LPS (Long-Term Care Premiums Paid Statement): new for tax year 2026. The IRS has posted a draft only.
• Form 1099-H: retired. It can no longer be filed starting in 2026.
• Form 1098-MA: retired.
• Forms 5498-ESA, 5498-QA, and 5498-SA are now continuous-use forms, so the IRS will no longer revise them every year.

BoomTax supports every form the IRS accepts through IRIS, including the new ones.

6. ACA Reporting

• Affordability percentage: 9.96% for plan years beginning in 2026 (Rev. Proc. 2025-25).
• Employer shared responsibility amounts for 2026: $3,340 under section 4980H(a) and $5,010 under section 4980H(b) (Rev. Proc. 2025-26).
• Furnishing on request: employers no longer have to automatically send Form 1095-C if they post a clear, accessible notice on their website that individuals can request a copy. This option started with 2024 statements (furnished in 2025). The IRS hasn't released the final tax year 2026 ACA instructions yet.
• ACA forms still go through the AIR system, not FIRE or IRIS.

7. 2027 Deadlines

Date	What's due
Mon, Feb 1	W-2 filing with SSA and employee copies. 1099-NEC filing and recipient copies. Most other 1099, 1098, and W-2G recipient copies. (January 31 falls on a Sunday.)
Tue, Feb 16	1099-B, 1099-DA, and 1099-S recipient copies, and 1099-MISC copies with amounts in boxes 8 or 10. (February 15 is Presidents' Day.)
Mon, Mar 1	Paper filing for other 1099, 1098, W-2G, and ACA forms. (February 28 falls on a Sunday.)
Tue, Mar 2	1095-B and 1095-C recipient copies (expected; final ACA instructions not yet released).
Wed, Mar 31	Electronic filing for other 1099, 1098, W-2G, and ACA forms. (Form 1099-LPS dates follow its own instructions.)
Tue, Jun 1	Form 5498 filing with the IRS, and 5498-TA beneficiary statements (draft instructions). (May 31 is Memorial Day.) The 5498-TA IRS filing date hasn't been published yet.

You must e-file if you file 10 or more information returns in total for the year. State deadlines vary.

8. Penalties for Returns Due in 2027

Per-return penalty amounts are unchanged from last year. The annual caps and the intentional disregard amount went up (Rev. Proc. 2025-32).

When the return is corrected	Per return	Annual cap (over $5M receipts)	Annual cap ($5M or less)
Within 30 days of the due date	$60	$698,500	$244,500
After 30 days, by August 1	$130	$2,095,500	$698,500
After August 1, or never	$340	$4,191,500	$1,397,000
Intentional disregard	$690 or more	No cap	No cap

The same amounts apply separately to late or incorrect recipient statements.

What to Do Before Year-End

1. If you file through FIRE yourself, send any remaining late filings or corrections before November 19 at 3 p.m. ET, and decide how you'll file in 2027.
2. Update payroll and AP data collection for cash tips, TTOC, qualified overtime, and Trump account contributions.
3. Review your payee lists against the $2,000 threshold, and decide whether you'll keep filing below it.
4. Confirm whether you need the new forms: 1098-VLI if you hold vehicle loans, 1099-S digital asset boxes if you close real estate deals paid in digital assets, 5498-TA if you administer Trump accounts.
5. Collect current W-9s and run TIN matching before January, when mismatches are hardest to fix.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an IRIS TCC to file tax year 2026 returns?

Only if you file directly with the IRS through the IRIS Taxpayer Portal or IRIS A2A. If you file through a provider like BoomTax, the provider files under its own TCC.

Can I keep using my FIRE-format (Pub. 1220) files?

Not with the IRS after November 19, 2026. IRIS takes XML (A2A) or CSV and manual entry (Taxpayer Portal). BoomTax accepts Pub. 1220 files and converts them for IRIS. If you need to report the new tip, overtime, Trump account, or digital asset boxes, the older layout has no place for them. BoomTax publishes an extended FIRE layout for the 2026 form changes.

Does the $2,000 threshold apply to 2025 payments?

No. It applies to payments made after 2025. Tax year 2025 forms used the $600 threshold.

Are the Form 5498-TA and 1099-LPS details final?

Not yet. As of this post, the IRS has published drafts only. Drafts can change before the final forms are released.

Sources

• IR-2026-99: Information return e-file system transitioning to a new platform
• IRS: Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE)
• IRS: E-file information returns with IRIS
• Pub. 1099 (2026), General Instructions for Certain Information Returns
• 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3
• Final forms: 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC, 1099-K, 1099-R, 1099-S, 1098-VLI
• Instructions for Form 1099-DA and Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754
• Drafts: 5498-TA, 1099-LPS
• Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (penalties), Rev. Proc. 2025-25 (affordability), Rev. Proc. 2025-26 (4980H amounts)

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