What to do with each IRIS acknowledgment: a rejected unit is replaced, not corrected; accepted with errors is filed and the errors are data questions; name and TIN errors go to TIN Matching and a W-9 request; and the ten-day window in which a good file can be marked bad and replaced instead of corrected. Read it below, copy the text, print it, or download the .docx for your letterhead.
Template from tincompliance.com. What to do with each IRIS acknowledgment, for A2A transmitters and Taxpayer Portal filers. Statuses and the acknowledgment layout are from Publication 5718; portal limits from Publication 5717; the good-file, bad-file and replacement windows from the IRS manual for the IRIS and FIRE programs (IRM 3.42.9). Rule numbers in an acknowledgment can be looked up at tincompliance.com/tools/iris-error-code-lookup/.
Transmitter: [legal name], TCC [ ] Issuer: [legal name, EIN] Transmission or submission: [ID] Received: [date] Reviewed by: [name], [date]
Status | Meaning | What it means for filing | Do this |
Accepted | Schema passed; no business rule set | Filed | Record the receipt ID and date; done |
Accepted with Errors | Filed; one or more report-error rules set (for example SHAREDIRFORM014, a payee name and TIN that do not match IRS records) | Counts as filed; the errors are yours to review | Section 3 |
Partially Accepted | Some submissions in the transmission accepted, others rejected | The accepted submissions are filed; the rejected ones are not | Section 2 for each rejected submission |
Rejected | A transmission or submission rule set (TCC, software ID, issuer name and TIN, counts, schema) | Nothing in the rejected unit is filed | Section 2 |
Processing | Not yet acknowledged | Not yet filed | Check again; do not resend |
Not Found | The receipt ID is unknown to IRIS | Not filed | Confirm the ID; resend if the transmission never arrived |
☐ Read every rule number in the acknowledgment’s error group and look each one up; fix the data or the file structure it names, not only the first error.
☐ An issuer name and TIN rejection (SMF017, SMF018): check the issuer’s legal name and EIN against the IRS letter that assigned the EIN or a Letter 147C; the name control is what IRIS compares.
☐ Resend the fixed unit as a new original transmission or submission. A rejected unit was never filed, so it is not corrected; it is replaced.
☐ Portal CSV: a file holds at most 250 records (header not counted) and a submission at most 100 forms; split an oversized file rather than trimming it.
☐ A2A: every transmission for tax years 2022 through 2026 carries SchemaVersionNum 5.0.7 (since Oct. 7, 2026); confirm the software is on the current schema package before resending.
☐ Log the original receipt ID, the rejection date, the rules set, the fix and the new receipt ID.
☐ List every record with a report error and the rule set on it; the return is filed and the error is a data question, not a filing failure.
☐ Payee name and TIN errors (SHAREDIRFORM014, SHAREDIRFORM015): check the pair with IRS TIN Matching before changing anything; ask the payee for a new W-9 where the pair fails; keep the request and date in the solicitation log. Do not guess a different name. Expect the same pairs on the spring CP2100 if left unresolved.
☐ Amount and box errors: compare the record with the source; where the data was wrong, file a correction that points to the original by its Unique Record ID with the corrected indicator set (a FIRE original is pointed to with the other-intake-system fields).
☐ Threshold: report errors reject the submission once an unpublished share of its records carries them. A submission that was rejected on the threshold rule is handled under section 2 after the underlying data errors are fixed.
A file IRIS accepted as good is released for processing after 10 calendar days. Within that window a transmitter can ask the IRS to mark the file bad and send a replacement instead of thousands of individual corrections; after it, every change is a correction, and corrections feed the penalty program while replacements do not. A file marked bad must be replaced within 60 days. Check the status of every transmission within 5 business days of sending it so the window is still open when a systematic error is found.
Receipt ID | Sent | Status | Rules set | Records affected | Action and date | New receipt ID |
[ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
[ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
Keep the acknowledgments. A Notice 972CG for late or incorrect returns is answered with the receipt IDs and dates; an accepted transmission before the due date is the proof of timely filing.
A general-purpose starting point, not legal advice. Your facts, and your counsel, control what you send.