Free filing-system migration tool · reviewed September 9, 2026

FIRE to IRIS transition readiness checklist for the 2027 filing season

Use this checklist to document the operating work behind the IRS filing-system transition: access, data mapping, reconciliation, vendor readiness, dry runs, corrections, cutoff dates, and the January 2027 IRIS-only operating state. It does not determine what your business is required to file.

Read the FIRE → IRIS transition guide →Download the project-plan CSV

Why this belongs on the 2026 operating calendar

IRS guidance lists November 1, November 9, and November 19 FIRE transition cutoffs, with the November 19 production cutoff at 3:00 p.m. ET. The IRS says current FIRE users must transition to IRIS for tax year 2026 information returns filed during the 2027 filing season.

Transition documentation progress

0 of 10 areas documented

0%

A 100% result means all ten transition areas have been documented. It does not mean an IRS filing will be accepted and it does not determine whether any information return is required.

Access

Assign one transition ownerName the person responsible for the FIRE-to-IRIS cutover, current-state inventory, vendor coordination, test plan, and filing-season handoff.Evidence: Owner, backup owner, target dates, and escalation contact are documented.Confirm IRIS TCC readinessConfirm the filer has an EIN and has applied for or received the IRIS Transmitter Control Code needed for the intended IRIS filing channel.Evidence: IRIS TCC status and responsible user are recorded without storing credentials in the tracker.Choose the IRIS filing channelDecide whether the operating plan uses the IRIS Taxpayer Portal, IRIS Application to Application, or a qualified third-party filing workflow that ultimately submits through IRIS.Evidence: Chosen channel, vendor or internal owner, and contingency path are documented.

Data

Map the information-return source dataIdentify the systems that provide payee identity, taxpayer information, reportable amounts, payment method, corrections, and state reporting data before building an IRIS export or upload workflow.Evidence: Each required field has a named source system and owner.Reconcile the year-end contractor ledgerResolve duplicate payees, failed or reversed payments, off-platform payments, wrong-year transactions, and tax-document exceptions before the filing dataset is frozen.Evidence: The filing dataset can be traced back to reconciled payment records and exception resolutions.

Workflow

Validate software or vendor readinessIf software or a filing provider prepares the submission, confirm how it is adapting to the FIRE retirement, IRIS intake method, corrections, acknowledgements, and filing confirmations.Evidence: Provider documentation, implementation owner, and unresolved dependencies are recorded.Run an internal dry runBefore filing season, create a representative test dataset and walk it through your preparation, validation, approval, and submission-ready workflow without treating a successful dry run as an IRS acceptance.Evidence: Test cases, validation results, defects, and sign-off are retained.Define the corrections workflowDocument who owns rejected submissions, payee-data corrections, amount corrections, prior-year corrections, and evidence retention after FIRE is no longer available.Evidence: Correction owner, intake path, approval steps, and retained evidence are documented.

Cutover

Plan around the November FIRE cutoffsMake the November 1 test cutoff, November 9 IR Application change cutoff, and November 19 production cutoff visible to teams that still rely on FIRE during 2026.Evidence: Cutoff dates are on the operating calendar and dependencies are scheduled before them.Confirm the January 2027 IRIS-only operating stateConfirm the team can prepare, submit, monitor, correct, and retain evidence for information returns after IRIS becomes the only intake system for returns previously submitted through FIRE.Evidence: January filing-season runbook and contingency contacts are approved.

This checklist organizes a filing-system transition. It does not determine whether an information return is required, which form applies, whether a payee is an employee or contractor, or whether a federal or state filing obligation applies. Checklist selections are stored only in this browser when local storage is available.

Official IRS sources

IRS: Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE) — retirement and transition dates ↗IRS Topic 801: Who must file information returns electronically ↗IRS Topic 802: Applying to file information returns electronically ↗IRS reminder: Information return e-file system transitioning to a new platform ↗

This checklist organizes a filing-system transition. It does not determine whether an information return is required, which form applies, whether a payee is an employee or contractor, or whether a federal or state filing obligation applies.

Connect the system migration to a reconciled year-end ledger

The filing platform can change without changing the underlying need for clean payee records, resolved exceptions, reconciled payments, and clear review ownership.

Open the 2026 contractor year-end close →