TIN ComplianceA resource from TIN Comply
🎮 Knowledge game · about 4 minutes

Deadline Dash

A 1099, W-2, 1042-S or IRS notice lands on your desk and you tap its due date on the calendar before the clock runs down. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday and Presidents' Day eats February 15, so the traps are real, and the last level has you counting B-Notice business days around Columbus Day.

You will learn the 2027 due dates for 2026 information returns, the weekend and holiday shift, and the B-Notice and 972CG clocksPrivacy runs in your browser; scores stay on your device
FEB

Deadline Dash

Thirteen filings, one 2027 calendar. Tap each due date before the clock runs out. Sundays and holidays bite.

Keys: arrows move on the calendar, Enter picks a day, [ ] change month, N next card
Score0
Card1/13
Streak0
Level 1: Roll it forward

January 2027

WeekendFederal holidayNotice dateDue date

How to play

  1. Press Start the season. A filing card arrives: the form, which copy it is and a line about the payer.
  2. Tap its due date on the calendar before the clock bar empties. Use the month tabs to move between the months of 2027. Weekends are grey and federal holidays are red.
  3. Level 1 shows the rule on the card (for example, due January 31), so the job is to roll a weekend or holiday date forward. Level 2 hides the rule and gives you less time. Level 3 hands you a CP2100 or a Notice 972CG with a different date each play: count the business days or calendar days from the date pinned on the calendar.
  4. A correct date scores 100 points plus a speed bonus, a streak bonus and 50 extra on the notice cards. A late pick on an IRS copy shows the penalty tier it would fall in. Keyboard: arrow keys move around the calendar, Enter picks a day, [ and ] change month, N deals the next card.

The real rules behind the game

Every date in the game is for 2026 information returns, filed in early 2027. Each one is computed from its statutory day and checked against the site's TIN compliance calendar when the site is built.

The weekend and holiday rule. When a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day (IRC 7503)IRC 7503Internal Revenue Code, Cornell LII. In 2027, January 31 is a Sunday, so it becomes Monday, February 1; February 15 is Presidents' Day, so it becomes Tuesday, February 16; February 28 is a Sunday, so it becomes Monday, March 1. May 31 is Memorial Day, so it becomes Tuesday, June 1.

The 2027 filing season.

  • February 1, 2027: 1099-NEC and W-2 to the IRS and SSA, on paper or electronically. Payee statements for 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC, 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, 1099-K, W-2, W-2G and 1098, the Form 5498 fair market value and RMD statement, and Form 8300 annual statements. Form 945 for 2026 backup withholding. The first annual W-9 solicitation for December 2026 accounts with no TIN.
  • February 10, 2027: Form 945, only if every 2026 deposit was made on time and in full.
  • February 16, 2027: payee statements for 1099-B, 1099-S, 1099-DA and a 1099-MISC with amounts in box 8 or box 10.
  • March 1, 2027: paper Copy A of 1099-MISC, INT, DIV, K, S, W-2G and 1098, with Form 1096. Paper only if you file fewer than 10 returns in total.
  • March 15, 2027: Form 1042 and every copy of Form 1042-S. Form 8809 filed by this date gives 30 more days for the 1042-S IRS copies (April 14); Form 7004 extends Form 1042 itself to September 15.
  • March 31, 2027: e-filed 1099-MISC, INT, DIV, K, B, S, DA, W-2G and 1098. Form 8809 filed by this date gives an automatic 30 day extension to April 30 (not for 1099-NEC or W-2).
  • June 1, 2027: Form 5498 to the IRS and the contribution statement to the IRA owner.

What a late date costs. For returns due in 2027 the IRC 6721IRC 6721Internal Revenue Code, Cornell LII penalty is $60 per return filed or corrected within 30 days of the due date, $130 by August 1 and $340 after that, or $690 per return (or 10% of the amount required to be reported, if greater) for intentional disregard (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). The game shows this tier only for a late pick on a 1099, W-2, W-2G, 1098 or 1042-S IRS copy; payee statements, Form 5498 and returns such as Forms 945 and 1042 carry other penalties.

The notice clocks. After a CP2100 or CP2100A, Publication 1281 gives you 15 business days from the notice date or the day you received it, whichever is later, to send the First B-Notice; if no valid W-9 comes back, backup withholding starts no later than 30 business days after the notice date. Business days skip weekends and the eleven federal holidays, and day 1 is the first business day after the start date, as in the B-Notice deadline calculator. A Notice 972CG gives 45 days from the notice date to respond; the calendar rolls a weekend or holiday to the next business day. Level 3 draws made-up notice dates each play from the mailing windows on the calendar: the spring and fall CP2100 runs and the 972CG season, mid July through October.

What the game simplifies. It covers common forms only, assumes no extension unless a card says one was filed, and leaves out the 60 day 972CG response window that applies outside the U.S. The date printed on your own notice controls. Payer and payee details are fictional.

Sources

More knowledge games

  • Inbox Zero: Notice Season: Sort W-9s, CP2100s, returned B-Notices and 972CG letters into the right bin before the IRS clocks run out.
  • Which Box?: A payment slides in, the clock runs: pick the right 1099 form and box before the timer bar empties.
  • Name Control Detective: Crack the four-character IRS name control on 16 case files before the clock runs out.
  • The Tip Shuffle: Deal tipped workers, then play the right occupation codes into the W-2 or 1099 box.
  • Penalty Drop: Drop late and wrong 1099s down a peg board, hit the $60 tier and call the right IRS rule to pay nothing.
  • Escape the Filing Room: Locked in the filing room on January 30: crack seven 1099 puzzles before the clock hits midnight.
  • Fifty-State Sort: Route each 1099 to CF/SF, a direct state filing or nothing at all, and fill in a map of 50 states and DC.
  • Treaty Passport: A foreign payee's passport lands on your desk: stamp the right withholding rate, 30% or the treaty rate.
  • The 1042-S Slot Machine: Spin and nudge the reels to the right 1042-S codes: income, chapter 3 and 4 exemptions, recipient status.
  • Form Inspector: Run the W-8 desk: hand each foreign payee the right form, then approve or reject the forms that come back.
  • Real or Fake TIN?: Swipe SSNs, ITINs and EINs as valid or impossible, name the TIN type, then decode IRS TIN matching codes.
  • Match Code Rush: Vendor records roll in: predict the IRS TIN Matching code, then fix the record before it turns into a B-Notice.
  • Reject Rescue: IRIS acknowledgments land one by one. Read the status and rule codes, then make the right next move.
  • Get Your TCC: Roll the weeks and race the calendar from ID.me to an approved IRIS TCC before the 2027 due dates.
  • CSV Cleanup Crew: Turn a messy vendor export into an upload-ready IRIS portal CSV: map the headings, fix the bad cells, split the file.
  • Schema Surgeon: Operate on IRIS A2A transmissions: find the broken XML nodes, fix them, and get Accepted in ATS.
  • FIRE to IRIS: The Move: Sort FIRE-era filing habits into still true, changed or gone before the IRIS season starts.