IRIS tax year 2026 schema and business rules: what changed from tax year 2025

At a glance

Read the 20 changes if you file or write software and want to know what breaks. The rule table and the element table are the whole diff, filterable and downloadable. Of the 12 removed ids, 5 (F1099MISC001, F1099NEC001, S2H002, S2H012, S2H013) are pure renumberings with identical text and 10 in all continue under a new id, so only 2 rules disappeared outright: S2H009, S2H010, the Form 8809 paper and electronic submission indicators. 102 rule texts differ between the two workbooks only in quote style, spacing, a trailing period, the capitalisation of the severity label or an IRS typo fix; those are counted as unchanged and tagged cosmetic below.

The versions compared and the IRS version history

Why these two. Tax year 2025 v1.4 is the package filers used last season, so it is the right baseline for a page about what changed since last year. The IRS has since issued tax year 2025 v3.0 (July 15, 2026) and v3.1 (Sept. 24, 2026) for prior-year filing in processing year 2027; those add Forms 8027, 8596 and 8955-SSA to tax year 2025 and are not compared here. A filer sending tax year 2025 returns in 2027 uses v3.1, not v1.4. On the 2026 side, v1.0 (July 15, 2026, which the IRS calls an early look) and v1.1 (Sept. 14, 2026) came before v1.2; this page does not say which 2026 change arrived in which interim version beyond what the v1.2 Status column shows (below).

The IRS version history

From the IRS page IRIS schemas and business rules, read Nov. 1, 2026. The page lists versions and dates only; it links no files.

How the packages are distributed

The schema and business rules are not posted on IRS.gov. The IRS page says: “The Schema and Business Rules package will be made available in the Secure Object Repository (SOR).” Access needs an active e-Services account, an IRIS TCC application in Completed status with an Active TCC, and either the Software Developer role or a state, local or federal government business structure. Packages go out in scheduled bulk deliveries, not on completion of an application. The September 2026 QuickAlerts announced v1.1 the same way: “Tax Year 2026 IRIS Schema Release Number v1.1 and Business Rules v1.1 are available through the SOR mailbox.” The IRS also lists, as an open issue entered Oct. 5, 2026, that the prior-year packages for tax years 2017 to 2022 are not currently available, and asks filers not to call the Help Desk for them. The A2A developer guide covers the TCC roles and the SOR mailbox.

The 20 changes that matter

Ordered roughly by how many filers each touches. Rule ids link to the rule's page on this site where it has one (the cross-form error code pages and the per-form rules by form pages); the rest are shown as plain ids and are in the full table.

1. The schema version number is 5.0.7. SchemaVersionNum in the transmission manifest is a fixed value: 2.0.3 in the tax year 2025 v1.2 schema, 5.0.7 in tax year 2026 v1.2. A file carrying the old value fails schema validation before any business rule runs. The IRS known-issues entry on this is in the schema version section.
2. Corrections of returns filed outside IRIS: two new fields and two new rules. PrevSubmittedRecRecipientGrp gains OtherIntakeSystemInd (required, 0 or 1) and OtherIntakeSystemNm (enumeration FIRE or Third Party). New rule SHAREDIRFORM006_003 requires UniqueRecordId only when the indicator is 0, and TMFST042 requires the system name when it is 1. The old FTMFST014 and SHAREDIRFORM006_002, which required a unique record id on every correction, are gone. This is how a return first filed through FIRE is corrected in IRIS after FIRE closes; see the FIRE-correction fields.
3. Tip and overtime boxes on 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC and 1099-K. Forms 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC and 1099-K get CashTipsAmt and TreasuryTippedOccupationCd (up to two codes from the new 72-value TreasuryTippedOccupationCdType); NEC and MISC also get OvertimeCompensationAmt. All are optional in the schema (minOccurs 0), and the TotalAmtGrp and TotalByStateGrp types get matching totals. No business rule tests them. The 2027 season page covers the law behind the boxes.
4. 1099-R: a required Trump account indicator. TrumpAccountInd is added to Form1099RDetailType with minOccurs 1, so every 1099-R record must carry it (0 or 1). ExcessContributionsEarningsAmt is added as optional, with totals. Software that does not emit the indicator fails schema validation on every 1099-R.
5. 1099-S is restructured for digital-asset consideration. GrossProceedsAmt is removed from the detail and totals types and replaced by TotalGrossProceedsAmt, CashGrossProceedsAmt, DAGrossProceedsAmt, with DANm, DATypeCd, DAUnitQty, AcquiredDt added. Rule F1099S004_001 still names GrossProceedsAmt (its only text change is “non-zero”), and the IRS lists an open ATS issue for Form 1099-S entered Oct. 15, 2026: “TY2025 business rule is flagging based on fields from TY2026.”
6. Six new 1099-DA rules, one of them a Reject. F1099DA019, F1099DA020, F1099DA021, F1099DA022, F1099DA023, F1099DA024: a transaction count above zero needs a stablecoin or NFT proceeds indicator; GrossProceedsInd plus NetProceedsInd must equal 1; BasisReportedInd 1 needs a positive CostOrOtherBasisAmt; a covered record (NoncoveredSecurityDAInd 0) must flag short or long term, and that one, F1099DA022, is a Reject; and the short and long term flags are tested against the holding period between AcquiredDt and SoldOrDisposedDt. The 1099-DA XSD itself is the same element set in both years.
7. Form 8809 is rebuilt: issuer in the header, more form types, hardship reasons. IssuerDetail moves out of Form8809Detail into IRSubmission2Header. ApplicableFormTypeCd grows from 7 to 14 values, adding 1099NEC, W2, 8027, 1094C/1095C, 1095B, 1099LPS and 5498TA. Six required indicators are added: AdditionalExtensionInd and five hardship reasons (FederallyDeclaredDisasterInd, MultipleFEMADisastersInd, RspnsAbsenceInd, FirstYrEstablishmentInd, PayeeStmtNotRcvdInd). New rules F8809015, F8809016, F8809017, F8809018: an additional extension needs one reason and a jurat signature, a 1099-NEC or W-2 request needs a reason, and an additional extension cannot be for 1099-NEC or W-2. The five S2H rules of 2025 are replaced; S2H009, S2H010 (paper and electronic submission indicators) have no successor. The extensions page covers the filing routes.
8. Form 15397 joins Submission 2. IRSubmission2Header FormTypeCd now accepts 8809 or 15397, and Form15397Detail carries ApplicableFormTypeCd, a required ShortDesc and a required JuratSignatureGrp. Note that the IRS instructions in force when this page was written still describe Form 15397 as faxed; the schema is what will take it in IRIS when the IRS opens it.
9. Form 8027 arrives as Submission 4, with 15 rules. IRSubmission4Grp is new, with Form8027IssuerDetail, EstablishmentGrp, PrevSubmittedEstablishmentGrp for corrections and PDF BinaryAttachment support. F8027014 requires an attachment whose description begins “Determination Letter” when TipRt is non-zero. The tax year 2025 v1.4 package had no Form 8027 at all; FTMFST013_001 also bars PrevSubmittedEstablishmentGrp from original and replacement transmissions.
10. Form 8955-SSA arrives as Submission 5, with 15 rules. IRSubmission5Grp carries PlanSponsorInfoGrp, PlanAdministratorInfoGrp, a PlanAdminJuratSignatureGrp and participant records (DefrdVstdBnftPartcpInfoGrp with SSN, entry codes A to D, annuity type and payment frequency codes). Its 15 rules include TIN and SSN test-data rules and a duplicate-filing check; F8955SSA016 and F8955SSA017 are the two added in v1.2.
11. Form 8596 joins Submission 1 with a parent form code of its own. Form8596Detail and Form8596TotalAmtGrp are added to Submission 1, and ParentFormTypeCd in the Submission 1 header now accepts 1096 or 8596A. SMD002 and SMD003 enforce that the 8596A parent code goes only with 8596 forms and 1096 never does (the IRS text of SMD002 reads “8956A”; the schema enumeration is 8596A). S1H053 requires the 8596 totals group.
12. Forms 1098-VLI, 1099-LPS and 5498-TA, with their totals rules. Three new form detail types join Submission 1. Form 1098-VLI has two rules: F1098VLI004 requires VehicleModelYr of 2022 or later and F1098VLI005 requires LoanDt after 12/31/2024. S1H054, S1H055, S1H056 require the matching totals group for 1099LPS, 5498TA and 1098VLI. The 2027 season page explains who files each form.
13. Combined Federal/State Filing: Oregon drops off the list. SHAREDIRFORM019_002 is replaced by SHAREDIRFORM019_003, and the only difference in the accepted CFSFElectionStateCd list is that OR is gone. A 2026 return carrying OR in that element gets a Report Error. The CF/SF page and the Oregon page cover direct filing.
14. A contact person on every submission header. SMF020, SMF021, SMF022 (Report Error) require ContactPersonInformationGrp with ContactPhoneNum and ContactEmailAddressTxt. The group existed in 2025; the rules that test it are new.
15. 1099-SB: a threshold rule becomes a hard Reject. F1099SB004 (InvestmentInContractAmt required when SurrenderAmt is blank) moves from Report Error and Reject if over Threshold to Reject. The text is unchanged.
16. 1099-B: three date rules added, one rule relaxed. F1099B023, F1099B024, F1099B025 (all Reject): AcquiredDt not after the end of the tax year, SoldOrDisposedDt inside the tax year, and SoldOrDisposedDt not before AcquiredDt. F1099B007_001 (the prior-year open contract rule) goes the other way, from threshold reject to Report Error.
17. Smaller box changes: 1099-G, 5498, 5498-QA, 1099-QA. Form 1099-G adds FamilyLeaveBenefitsAmt; Form 5498 adds repayment code HP to DistributionRepaymentCd; Form 5498-QA adds TrumpToABLERolloverAmt; Form 1099-QA EarningsAmt changes from a signed to a non-negative amount type, and F1099QA002 moves from the Math Error to the Incorrect Data category. SMD001 now checks 1099LPS where it checked 5498QA.
18. 3921 and 3922 per-share amounts take five decimals. ExercisePricePerShareAmt, FMVPerShareOnExerciseDtAmt, FMVPerShareOnGrantDtAmt move from USDecimalAmountNNType to the new USDecimalAmount5DPNNType (up to 20 digits, 5 of them decimals), so fractional-cent prices are now valid.
19. 1042-S: treaty-country check narrowed, Chapter 4 rate spellings, intermediary EIN optional. F1042S023 is replaced by F1042S023_001, which skips the treaty-country test when Chapter3StatusCd is 12 or 27 to 32. F1042S011 now accepts 0.0, .0, .00, .000 and .0000 (and the 30 percent equivalents) in TaxRt. The EIN in IntermediaryOrFlowThruEntGrp goes from minOccurs 1 to 0, which closes the known issue (entered March 3, 2026) that had filers entering 00-0000000 as a workaround.
20. Submission ids, the production test and 1099-LTC. UniqueSubmissionIdType now also accepts a UTID-based form (a UUID, IRIS, the TCC and a sequence number). SVSR001 (“The TCC is in Test and not valid for Production”) is replaced by SYSVR001, which states the test: a transmission whose TCCIndicator is not P is rejected in production. Form 1099-LTC InsuredGrp becomes a named type, InsuredGrpType, with the same three children, which shows in the element diff as three removals and three additions.

The schema version number: 5.0.7

SchemaVersionNum sits in IRTransmissionManifestType as a fixed value. The tax year 2025 v1.2 schema fixed it at 2.0.3; the tax year 2026 v1.2 schema fixes it at 5.0.7. Because the value is fixed in the XSD, a transmission that carries any other value is a schema failure, which the IRS reports before any business rule runs.

The IRS announced the change in its tax year 2026 IRIS A2A known issues workbook (entry dated Oct. 13, 2026, in the Resolved sheet; the same text is in the ATS workbook dated Oct. 1, 2026). The entry is headed as a change to the SchemaVersionNum requirements for the IRIS A2A Assurance Testing System (ATS) environment effective Oct. 7, 2026, and says: “IRIS transmissions for Tax Year 2026 and Tax Year 2025 must use SchemaVersionNum 5.0.7.” Its action list repeats 5.0.7 for tax year 2026 and tax year 2025 transmissions submitted on or after Oct. 7, 2026, adds under a “Prior Tax Years” heading that tax years 2022 to 2024 use 5.0.7 as well, and gives as the solution that 5.0.7 is “the applicable value for both Tax Year 2025 and Tax Year 2026 transmissions submitted through the IRIS A2A ATS environment.” That is the whole of what the IRS has published: it names the ATS environment, and the tax year 2026 schema fixes the value for production. The May 2026 tax year 2022, 2023 and 2024 schemas had no SchemaVersionNum element; whether the Sept. 24, 2026 v2.1 packages for those years add it cannot be checked from the packages compared here.

The FIRE-correction fields

FIRE stops taking information returns on Nov. 19, 2026, and from January 2027 IRIS is the only IRS electronic filing system for originals, prior years and corrections (QuickAlert of Sept. 20, 2026). A correction in IRIS points back to the original record, and until now that pointer was an IRIS UniqueRecordId, which a FIRE-filed return never had. The tax year 2026 schema adds two elements to the previously-submitted-record group that every corrected record carries:

Two rules tie them together. SHAREDIRFORM006_003 (Reject): if the indicator is 0, UniqueRecordId must have a value. TMFST042 (Reject): if the indicator is 1, the system name must have a value. The 2025 rules that required a unique record id on every correction, FTMFST014 and SHAREDIRFORM006_002, are removed, so a correction of a FIRE original can be sent with no record id. The corrections guide covers the one-step and two-step correction sequences, and the Pub 1220 to IRIS converter on tincomply.com builds the correction records from a FIRE-format file.

The seven new forms

The tax year 2026 package has 44 form XSDs against 37. Each new form's elements are in the schema table and, where the site has a page, on its IRIS form page.

Rules added, removed and changed, by form

Forms and levels with no change are listed under the table. Each count expands to the rule ids.

No rule changed for Submission 3 header, Other, 1097-BTC, 1098, 1098-Q, 1099-A, 1099-C, 1099-CAP, 1099-DIV, 1099-G, 1099-H, 1099-INT, 1099-K, 1099-LS, 1099-LTC, 1099-OID, 1099-PATR, 1099-Q, 1099-R, 1099-SA, 5498, W-2G.

The removed column counts a rule id that is gone or marked Deleted in the tax year 2026 workbook, even where it continues under a new id; the diff table below shows the successor.

Every rule, both years

All 327 rule ids that appear in either workbook. The default view is the 98 added, removed and changed rules; switch the status filter to see everything, including the 215 unchanged rules and the 14 ids that were not in force in either year (marked Deleted in the 2026 workbook without ever appearing in 2025 v1.4, or deleted in 2025 v1.4). The severity column shows the tax year 2025 and tax year 2026 values where they differ. Click the text button on a row to see the IRS wording for each year.

Schema changes: elements by form

Every XSD in each package was read element by element, keyed by file, parent complex type and element name. 283 elements were added, 7 removed and 24 changed; 35 complex types and 11 simple types were added and none removed. A changed element differs in type, occurrence, fixed value or IRS description. The 1099-DA XSD has the same element set in both years, and the status-message schemas differ only by a fixed tag name (VersonDt to VersionDt).

New simple types

AnnuityTypeCdType, Decimal5Type, DefrdVstdBnftEntryCdType, IdType, InCareOfNmType, Integer3NNType, OtherIntakeSystemNameType, PaymentFrequencyCdType, SoftwareVersionType, TreasuryTippedOccupationCdType, USDecimalAmount5DPNNType; and UniqueSubmissionIdType changed to accept the UTID-based form.

The IRS release notes, verbatim

Method and caveats

• What was compared. Every business rules workbook in each package, read by rule id; every XSD (common types, form types, transmission message, status library), read by file, parent complex type and element name. A rule whose Status column says Deleted is treated as not in force. Spot checks of 14 rules against the IRS PDF versions of the rules in both packages matched.
• Cosmetic differences. Wording that differs only in quote style, spacing, a trailing period, the capitalisation of the severity label or an IRS typo fix (Submision, can not) is counted as unchanged and tagged cosmetic; 102 rules. Both texts are kept and shown.
• Version drift. Tax year 2026 v1.0 and v1.1, and tax year 2025 v3.0 and v3.1, were not on hand; see the versions compared. The IRS workbooks carry no version column; the version labels here come from the package file names and release notes.
• Thresholds. Nothing in either package states a dollar reporting threshold for Forms 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC or 1099-K; the only threshold text is the unchanged description of DirectSaleAboveThresholdInd. The statutory changes are on the 2027 season page. The percentage behind a reject-over-threshold severity is not published by the IRS and is not stated here.
• Open ATS issues at the date of writing (IRS workbook of Oct. 20, 2026): the Form 1099-S rule firing on tax year 2026 fields, test acknowledgments where the record id is not viewable, and the tax year 2017 to 2022 prior-year packages not being available. Check the IRS known issues page before calling the Help Desk.
• Generated 2026-11-01 from the saved packages. If the IRS issues a v1.3, this page will be rerun against it.

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