1099 Filing Statistics for 2026

The 2026 filing season (for tax year 2025) is the final season before the $600 threshold applicable to certain Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC payments increases to $2,000. That threshold rises to $2,000 starting with tax year 2026 payments, reported in the 2027 filing season. Filers this season are also operating under an e-file mandate already two years in force (10 or more covered information returns in aggregate, replacing the old 250-per-form rule) and a FIRE system whose retirement is now underway, though not yet complete. For businesses that issue 1099s, W-2s, or other information returns, understanding where these changes stand, and what the underlying volume and penalty data actually show, matters for planning ahead rather than scrambling as deadlines approach. 

In August 2026, our research team compiled 1099 filing statistics from 12 primary sources, including Treasury Decision 9972, Revenue Procedure 2024-40, Publication 1220, and Publication 6961-A. This report covers filing volume, e-file adoption, the 10-return mandate, reporting thresholds, filing deadlines, and penalty benchmarks for the 2026 filing season (tax year 2025 returns).

Key Takeaways

Paper information and withholding documents are already roughly 0.086 percent of total filings. IRS Publication 6961-A (Rev. 9-2025) reports that 3.96 million paper information and withholding documents were filed in CY2024 against a grand total of approximately 4.6 billion. The projection is 1.19 million paper documents in CY2025, dropping to approximately 558,000 by CY2033, while the grand total grows at 4.81 percent annually to reach 7.07 billion.

In the preamble to T.D. 9972, Treasury and the IRS noted that even with approximately 99 percent of all information returns filed electronically in 2019, the IRS still received nearly 40 million paper information returns that year. The regulation estimated that a 10-return aggregate e-file threshold would have resulted in approximately 21 million fewer paper information returns, based on 2020 filing data.

Beginning with tax year 2026 and the 2027 filing season, IRIS will be the only IRS intake system for the covered information returns after FIRE’s year-end 2026 shutdown, per Publication 1220 (Rev. 5-2026). New FIRE Transmitter Control Code applications closed July 21, 2026. Existing FIRE TCC applications become read-only after December 2026.

The 1099-NEC and general 1099-MISC reporting threshold rises from $600 to $2,000 for payments made in tax year 2026, under P.L. 119-21 (§70433).

1099 Filing Statistics at a Glance: 2026 Filing Season (Tax Year 2025 Returns)

*The IRS reports the grand total rounded to two significant figures; the electronic count is stated more precisely.

Information Return Volume, Declining Paper Volume, and the E-File Mandate

Paper information and withholding documents are already roughly 0.086 percent of all filings. IRS Publication 6961-A (Rev. 9-2025) reports that approximately 3.96 million information and withholding documents were filed on paper in CY2024, against a grand total of approximately 4.6 billion. The IRS projects paper volume will fall to approximately 1.19 million in CY2025 and reach approximately 558,000 by CY2033. Over the same period, the grand total is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 4.81 percent, reaching 7.07 billion documents by CY2033; the electronic share alone grows at 4.82 percent, arriving at the same 7.07 billion endpoint as paper volume approaches zero.

Of the 40 nonpaper information and withholding document types the IRS processed in CY2024, the top five accounted for 86.08 percent of all nonpaper documents. That's a reminder that the paper-to-electronic shift, while nearly universal, is also heavily concentrated in a small number of form types.

IR-2025-63 separately reports that the agency received almost 4.6 billion information returns in fiscal year 2024. That figure covers a fiscal-year period (October 2023 through September 2024) and a narrower document scope: information returns rather than Publication 6961-A's broader information and withholding documents, which are counted on a calendar-year basis. The two are close but not equivalent and shouldn't be read as confirming one another. Total IRS tax returns processed reached 271.4 million in FY2025, per IR-2026-74, up from more than 266 million in FY2024.

The preamble to T.D. 9972 explains why a residual paper volume remains: even with approximately 99 percent of all information returns filed electronically in 2019, the IRS still received nearly 40 million paper information returns that year. In 1998, Congress amended IRC §6011(e) to establish 250 returns as the statutory floor for mandatory electronic filing. Subsequent regulations applied that threshold separately to each covered information-return type. T.D. 9972, applicable to returns required to be filed on or after Jan. 1, 2024, replaced it with a 10-or-more-return aggregate threshold counting all covered return types together. A business filing 6 W-2s, 3 1099-NECs, and 2 1099-MISCs has 11 total covered returns and must file all of them electronically. Treasury and the IRS estimated the 10-or-more-return threshold would have resulted in approximately 21 million fewer paper information returns, based on 2020 filing data; that is a counterfactual for a single filing year, not a recurring annual projection.

E-File Mandate: Before and After T.D. 9972

1099 Reporting Thresholds: Tax Year 2025 and Tax Year 2026

The most significant threshold change for the 2026 filing season applies to the 1099-K. P.L. 119-21 (§70432) reinstated the pre-American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) threshold of more than $20,000 in gross payments and more than 200 transactions, effective for payments made after December 31, 2024. IRS transition-relief notices had established $5,000 for tax year 2024, which applied, and $2,500 for tax year 2025, which was superseded before taking effect. Platforms that issued 1099-Ks under the $5,000 threshold in early 2025 were not required to amend or withdraw those forms.

The 1099-NEC threshold is $600 for payments made in tax year 2025 and rises to $2,000 for payments made in tax year 2026 under P.L. 119-21 (§70433), with annual inflation adjustments beginning in 2027. The same increase applies to the general 1099-MISC threshold.

The 1099-MISC also carries box-level thresholds worth noting for the 2026 filing season: royalties reported in box 2 are reportable at $10; direct sales of consumer goods for resale reported in box 7 are reportable at $5,000. Other reporting thresholds for 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, and 1099-R are unchanged at $10.

Reporting Thresholds: Tax year 2025 vs Tax year 2026

Filing Deadlines for the 2026 Season (Tax Year 2025 Returns)

The standard recipient-furnishing deadline for many Forms 1099 is January 31. IRS filing deadlines vary by form and filing method. Because January 31, 2026 was a Saturday, all forms with a January 31 standard furnishing deadline moved to February 2, 2026. The 1099-K follows the January 31 furnishing schedule per the General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (2025), so its 2026 recipient copy deadline is also February 2.

The February 15 furnishing date applies specifically to Forms 1099-B, 1099-DA, 1099-S, and 1099-MISC (boxes 8 or 10). Because February 15, 2026 was a Sunday and February 16 was Presidents' Day, those forms moved to February 17, 2026. Form 1099-DA, which debuted for tax year 2025 to report digital asset transactions, falls in this group. Per Publication 1220 (Rev. 5-2026), Form 1099-DA is not supported in FIRE and must be e-filed through IRIS.

Deadlines cluster into two groups for the 2026 filing season, differing mainly in the recipient copy date:

For a full form-by-form deadline calendar, including state-specific due dates, see Yearli’s W-2, 1099 & 1095 (ACA) Deadlines.

Penalty Data: §6721 and §6722

A filer who misses IRS filing and recipient furnishing deadlines for the same form faces two independent penalty schedules. Section 6721 governs failure to file correct information returns with the IRS; Section 6722 governs failure to furnish correct payee statements to recipients. Both follow the same per-form schedule, and the penalties run separately. Missing both deadlines on the same form can produce up to $340 under each section at the highest non-intentional tier.

The figures below apply to returns required to be filed in 2026 (tax year 2025 returns), as adjusted under Revenue Procedure 2024-40. The IRS defines a small business for cap purposes as a filer with average annual gross receipts of $5 million or less over the three most recent tax years.

§6721 and §6722 Penalty Schedule: Tax Year 2025 Returns, Required to Be Filed in the 2026 Filing Season (Rev. Proc. 2024-40)

The FIRE-to-IRIS Transition

The IRS’s FIRE (Filing Information Returns Electronically) system has carried the bulk of electronic information return volume for decades. Its retirement is now underway: new FIRE Transmitter Control Code applications closed July 21, 2026, existing applications become read-only after December 2026, and beginning with tax year 2026 and the 2027 filing season, IRIS will be the only IRS intake system for the covered information returns after FIRE’s year-end 2026 shutdown, per Publication 1220 (Rev. 5-2026). Filers handling forms outside the standard 1099 series should confirm current support against the latest edition of Publication 1220. Form 1099-DA and Golden Parachute Payments, which moved from Form 1099-MISC to Form 1099-NEC for tax year 2025, are notable exclusions: neither can be filed through FIRE when electronic filing is required; an eligible paper filer may use the permitted paper process.

Businesses filing through Yearli do not need to obtain a Transmitter Control Code. Yearli files as an authorized transmitter and routes submissions to the IRS, SSA, and state agencies directly, with filing status (submitted, accepted, accepted with errors/correction needed, rejected with reasons, mailed, and posted) visible throughout. Every Yearli plan includes state reporting; additional filing fees apply.

FIRE vs. IRIS: System Status as of August 2026

The 2026 filing season's data describes a compliance environment that has largely completed its shift to electronic submission: paper information and withholding documents are already under 4 million and projected to reach 558,000 by CY2033, the aggregate e-file mandate covers most businesses filing 10 or more returns of any type, and FIRE's retirement is targeted for filing season 2027. For filers who miss both the IRS filing and the recipient furnishing deadline on the same form, §6721 and §6722 penalties run independently, with annual caps reaching $4.1 million under each section for filers with average annual gross receipts above $5 million. Businesses that file with Yearli handle federal and state e-filing through one platform, without applying for a Transmitter Control Code or managing the FIRE-to-IRIS transition directly.

See Plans & Pricing

Sources

1. Yearli, Grand Rapids, MI. "1099 Filing Statistics for the 2026 Filing Season." Yearli.com. August 2026.
2. Internal Revenue Service. "IRS Releases Fiscal Year 2024 Data Book Describing Agency’s Activities." IR-2025-63. May 29, 2025. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-releases-fiscal-year-2024-data-book-describing-agencys-activities
3. Internal Revenue Service. "IRS Describes Agency’s Activities in Fiscal Year 2025 Data Book." IR-2026-74. June 5, 2026. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-describes-agencys-activities-in-fiscal-year-2025-data-book
4. Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 6961-A, Calendar Year Projections of Information and Withholding Documents for the United States and IRS Campuses (Rev. 9-2025)." IRS.gov. Accessed August 17, 2026. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-access/p6961a_accessible.pdf
5. Internal Revenue Service. "Electronic-Filing Requirements for Specified Returns and Other Documents (T.D. 9972)." Federal Register, Vol. 88, No. 36. February 23, 2023. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/02/23/2023-03710/electronic-filing-requirements-for-specified-returns-and-other-documents
6. Internal Revenue Service. "Revenue Procedure 2024-40 (Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-45)." IRS.gov. Accessed August 17, 2026. https://www.irs.gov/irb/2024-45_IRB
7. Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 1220, Specifications for Electronic Filing of Forms 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, and W-2G (Rev. 5-2026)." IRS.gov. Accessed August 17, 2026. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1220.pdf
8. Internal Revenue Service. "General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (2026)." Publication 1099. IRS.gov. Accessed August 17, 2026. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p1099
9. Internal Revenue Service. "A Guide to Information Returns." IRS.gov. Accessed August 17, 2026. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/a-guide-to-information-returns
10. P.L. 119-21, One Big Beautiful Bill Act, §70432 and §70433. Congress.gov. Accessed August 17, 2026. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text
11. Internal Revenue Service. "IRS Issues FAQs on Form 1099-K Threshold Under the One Big Beautiful Bill – Dollar Limit Reverts to $20,000." IRS.gov. Accessed August 17, 2026. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-issues-faqs-on-form-1099-k-threshold-under-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-dollar-limit-reverts-to-20000
12. Internal Revenue Service. "Internal Revenue Bulletin: 2026-19" (REG-113229-25, proposed regulations). IRS.gov. May 4, 2026. https://www.irs.gov/irb/2026-19_IRB