- Is IRIS down right now? At our last independent check, at 2:18 p.m. on October 27, 2026 (US Eastern time), IRIS (1099 e-filing) was answering normally. The live block below shows IRIS, ID.me and IRS.gov separately.
- Jump to: Taxpayer Portal problems · sign-in · A2A · FIRE shutdown · deadline day · email alerts
- FIRE closes for good on November 19, 2026, at 3 p.m. ET. From January 1, 2027, IRIS is the only way to e-file 1099s, including prior years and corrections.
- The free IRIS Taxpayer Portal takes up to 100 returns at a time, typed in or uploaded as a CSV file, and needs an IRIS Transmitter Control Code (TCC).
- 2026 Forms 1099-NEC are due to recipients and the IRS on February 1, 2027 (January 31 falls on a Sunday). An IRIS outage does not move that date by itself.
- IRIS help desk: 866-937-4130, Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET.
The live result below combines the IRS’s own IRIS status page (Taxpayer Portal, A2A and the test system) with our checks of ID.me, the sign-in IRIS uses, and IRS.gov, so you can tell an IRIS outage from a sign-in problem. Under it you can ask for one email when IRIS goes down and one when it is back. If IRIS fails on a 1099 due date, this page says what to try, what to keep as evidence and which dates still apply.
Independent check. MainStreetRadar is an independent website, not the IRS and not affiliated with it. Nothing here asks for a TIN, a Social Security number or any return data, and every link to file goes to irs.gov.
Independent checks by MainStreetRadar, not an IRS service. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the IRS.
IRIS is working
The IRS's own IRIS status page lists the Taxpayer Portal and A2A as operational, and IRS.gov and ID.me (the sign-in IRIS uses) answered normally.
Last check: ET (just now) · independent check by MainStreetRadar, every 2 minutes
No current measurement
Last measurement: today, 2:18 p.m. ET. We do not show a state we have not measured. Refresh the page in a minute.
IRS.gov and IRS sign-in working
Sign-in partners working
E-filing working
IRS tools we can't check independently
These IRS tools refuse automated checks (they answer our probe with "Access Denied"), and we don't work around that. Below are the hours the IRS publishes and whether each tool is open right now by those hours. That is a schedule, not a measurement.
What the IRS and its sign-in partners say right now
- IRIS operational status (irs.gov)
- IRIS Taxpayer Portal Operational · IRIS A2A Operational · IRIS ATS Operational
- ID.me status page No unresolved incidents in the last 48 hours.
- Latest entry: Elevated Application Errors for Identity Verifications (resolved, Sep 21, 2026)
Sources: the IRS's MeF, IRIS and AIR operational status pages on irs.gov, and the public status feeds of ID.me and Login.gov. We read them every 30 minutes, last at today, 1:52 p.m. ET. Times are US Eastern time as published. The IRS also e-mails outage alerts to subscribers of its QuickAlerts service. IRS outages don't automatically extend deadlines: if one stops you filing or paying, keep a screenshot and the time, and check IRS.gov for any relief announcement.
History: the last 24 hours and 90 days
The last 24 hours
The last 90 days
Availability by service
| Service | 24 h | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRS.gov | 100%720 checks | 100%1,755 checks · 3/7 days | 100%1,755 checks · 3/30 days | 100%1,755 checks · 3/90 days |
| ID.me | 100%240 checks | 100%585 checks · 3/7 days | 100%585 checks · 3/30 days | 100%585 checks · 3/90 days |
| IRIS (1099 e-filing) | 100%48 checks | 100%117 checks · 3/7 days | 100%117 checks · 3/30 days | 100%117 checks · 3/90 days |
Outages our probe recorded
Since we started measuring (Oct 25, 2026), the probe has not recorded an outage or rate limiting. We record an outage only when a service fails twice in a row, 20 seconds apart, outside its documented maintenance hours.
This block refreshes every minute while the page is open. Could not fetch new data; we will try again.
Get an email when IRIS goes down
MainStreetRadar is an independent website. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, ID.me or Login.gov. Status is measured by our own automated checks of public pages and may differ from what you see. For official information visit IRS.gov.
This page is for small businesses, bookkeepers and payroll people e-filing Forms 1099 through IRIS, the Information Returns Intake System, often in the last days of January. Facts were checked on irs.gov on October 27, 2026. For the rest of the IRS’s online services (Direct Pay, EFTPS, the online account, e-file for returns) see Is IRS down?.
Is IRIS down right now?
Live now: At our last independent check, at 2:18 p.m. on October 27, 2026 (US Eastern time), IRIS (1099 e-filing) was answering normally.
IRIS has two ways in. The Taxpayer Portal is the free website where you type returns or upload a CSV file. A2A (application to application) is the channel that accounting and payroll software uses to send returns for you. A third part, ATS, is the test system for software developers.
The IRS publishes the state of all three on its IRIS operational status page. We read that page every 30 minutes and show it in the live block. “Operational” there means the IRS has not posted a problem; it does not prove every upload goes through, which is why the block also shows our own checks of the pieces around IRIS.
We cannot load the Taxpayer Portal itself. It answers any automated visitor with “Access Denied”, and we do not work around that. So if the IRS page says “Operational”, ID.me answers and IRS.gov answers, but the portal still fails for you, the problem is most likely in your session, your browser or a specific step. The fixes for that are below.
Is it IRIS, or is it your sign-in?
Many “IRIS is down” moments are really sign-in problems. You reach the Taxpayer Portal through an IRS account that uses ID.me, so an ID.me outage locks you out of IRIS even when IRIS is fine. The live block checks ID.me’s public sign-in configuration every 5 minutes.
The IRIS TCC application is a different system again. It sits in IRS e-Services, which is closed every Sunday from 12 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET for maintenance. If you are applying for a TCC on a Sunday morning, a failure is scheduled, not an outage.
| What you see | Most likely | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Can’t get past the sign-in screen | ID.me or your IRS account | ID.me row in the live block; try again in a private window |
| Signed in, but the portal shows an error on every page | IRIS Taxpayer Portal | IRS status page row “IRIS Taxpayer Portal”; call the IRIS help desk |
| Software says the transmission was rejected or not acknowledged | IRIS A2A or the file itself | “IRIS A2A” row; the IRS’s A2A known-issues list for tax year 2026 |
| TCC application won’t open | e-Services maintenance | Sunday 12 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET is a standing closure |
| CSV uploaded, nothing happens | The upload step, not an outage | Portal fixes below |
The IRIS Taxpayer Portal is not working: common problems and fixes
The IRS lists a handful of portal problems that look like an outage but are not. In short, from its “helpful hints” on the IRIS page:
- You uploaded a CSV and “Start” does nothing. Check the file is really saved as CSV. After the upload a blue box titled “Current Uploaded File” should show its name; if it does not, refresh and upload again. The “Start” button turns blue only when the file is accepted.
- The page keeps spinning after “Add All”. Refresh, go back to the dashboard and open “Unsubmitted Forms”: the forms are often already there. Upload again only if they are not.
- Recipient PDFs don’t appear. Allow up to 10 minutes for a download to show in Notifications.
- PDFs show but won’t download. A company firewall often blocks them. Ask whoever runs your network to allow downloads from IRIS before you call the help desk.
- No payer copy in the PDF. That is by design for some forms: IRIS gives the current recipient copies, and some revised forms no longer have a payer copy.
The CSV templates and their formatting rules are inside the portal (the “Upload CSV with Form Data” tile, FAQ item 8) and in Publication 5717, the IRIS Taxpayer Portal user guide.
Is IRIS A2A down? When your software can’t send 1099s
If you file through accounting or payroll software, your returns travel through IRIS A2A, and your software company holds the A2A connection. The IRS status page has a separate row for A2A, shown in our live block.
When A2A is “Operational” but your software reports errors, check the IRS’s known issues and solutions for A2A, published by tax year as spreadsheets. On October 27, 2026 the tax year 2026 list was last updated on October 13, 2026, and the test-system (ATS) list on October 20, 2026. Your software company’s own status page is usually faster than ours for problems on their side.
FIRE is closing: what changes on November 19, 2026
FIRE (Filing Information Returns Electronically) is the older system many businesses used for 1099s. The IRS is retiring it (news release IR-2026-99 of August 24, 2026, and the FIRE page on irs.gov, both checked October 27, 2026):
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Already in force | The IRS no longer accepts new FIRE TCC applications |
| November 1, 2026 | Last day to send test returns through the FIRE test system |
| November 9, 2026 | Last day to change an existing FIRE TCC application; after that it is read-only |
| November 19, 2026, 3 p.m. | Last moment to file information returns through FIRE |
| January 1, 2027 | IRIS is the only e-filing system for information returns, including current year, prior years and corrections |
Until November 19, FIRE keeps its standing maintenance windows: every Sunday from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. ET and every Wednesday from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. ET. A FIRE TCC does not work in IRIS: you need a separate IRIS TCC. Getting one can take weeks, so if you file your own 1099s, read how to apply for an IRIS TCC now rather than in January. The whole move, with a readiness check for your own dates, is in IRS FIRE system shutdown: how to e-file 1099s through IRIS.
IRIS is down on a 1099 due date: what should I do?
The busiest day for IRIS is the Form 1099-NEC deadline. For 2026 payments that is February 1, 2027, because January 31, 2027 is a Sunday and a deadline on a weekend moves to the next business day. The same date applies to sending copies to your contractors.
- Check the live block above. If the IRS lists the portal or A2A as not operational, the problem is on their side. If everything is green, start with the portal fixes and the sign-in check.
- Try again later the same day. You can ask for an email when IRIS is back.
- Keep evidence. Take a screenshot of the error with the date and time, note what you tried, and keep the IRIS help desk call details. That is what you would need if you later ask for penalty relief.
- Send recipient copies anyway. Your contractors’ copies are due the same day whether IRIS works or not.
- Don’t switch to paper by default. If you have 10 or more information returns, you must file them electronically, and the IRS counts Forms W-2 toward that number.
An IRS system outage does not extend the deadline on its own. The IRS lists “system issues that delayed a timely electronic filing or payment” among the reasons it may accept as reasonable cause for penalty relief, but that is a request you make afterward, with evidence, not an automatic extension. Watch IRS.gov and IRIS QuickAlerts for any relief the IRS announces.
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How we check IRIS
Our probe runs on a MainStreetRadar server. For IRIS it reads the IRS’s IRIS operational status page every 30 minutes and records the state of the Taxpayer Portal, A2A and ATS as the IRS publishes it, plus any maintenance or outage notice posted there. It checks ID.me every 5 minutes and IRS.gov every 2 minutes.
Three rules keep the page honest. Data older than 10 minutes is never shown as green. A failure inside a published maintenance window is shown as maintenance, not as an outage. And an outage is recorded, and emailed to people who asked, only after two failed checks in a row. When IRS.gov or ID.me fails but the IRS still lists IRIS as operational, the verdict says exactly that, because for you the result is the same: you can’t file until sign-in works.
Frequently asked questions
Is IRIS down today?
At our last independent check, at 2:18 p.m. on October 27, 2026 (US Eastern time), IRIS (1099 e-filing) was answering normally. The live block at the top of this page shows the Taxpayer Portal, A2A, ID.me and IRS.gov separately, with the time of the last check in Eastern time.
Why is the IRIS Taxpayer Portal not working?
If the IRS lists the portal as operational, the cause is usually sign-in (ID.me), a CSV that did not upload, or a company firewall blocking downloads. Refresh, check “Unsubmitted Forms” on the dashboard and try a private browser window before calling the IRIS help desk at 866-937-4130.
When does FIRE shut down?
The last moment to file information returns through FIRE is November 19, 2026, at 3 p.m. ET. From January 1, 2027, IRIS is the only e-filing system for information returns, including prior years and corrections.
Can I use my FIRE TCC in IRIS?
No. IRIS needs its own Transmitter Control Code, from the IRIS application for TCC in IRS e-Services. The IRS stopped taking new FIRE TCC applications, and existing ones become read-only after November 9, 2026.
How many 1099s can I file at once in the IRIS Taxpayer Portal?
Up to 100 returns at a time, typed in or uploaded as a CSV file. For larger volumes the IRS points filers to IRIS A2A through software, which takes files of up to 100 MB.
Does an IRIS outage extend the 1099 deadline?
No, not by itself. The 2026 Form 1099-NEC is due February 1, 2027. If an outage makes you late, keep screenshots with times and ask for penalty relief for reasonable cause; the IRS lists system issues that delayed a timely electronic filing as one possible reason.
Is the IRIS TCC application down on Sunday?
Usually yes, by schedule: it runs in IRS e-Services, which is closed for maintenance every Sunday from 12 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. Apply on a weekday.
Can I get an alert when IRIS goes down?
Yes. Under the live block, enter your email and keep “E-filing: MeF and IRIS” ticked. You get one email when our checks confirm an outage and one when IRIS is back, never for scheduled maintenance, and every email has a one-click stop link.
Changelog
- October 27, 2026: page published with the live IRIS check, email alerts and the FIRE retirement dates checked on irs.gov.
Sources
- IRS: IRIS operational status
- IRS: E-file information returns with IRIS
- IRS: IRIS known issues and solutions
- IRS: Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE)
- IRS: IR-2026-99, information return e-file system transitioning to a new platform
- IRS: e-Services
- IRS: Penalty relief for reasonable cause
- 26 U.S.C. §7503: time for performance of acts where last day falls on Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday
Checked on October 27, 2026 against irs.gov and the Internal Revenue Code. The live status updates automatically. Our measurement is not an IRS statement; dates and rules change, and irs.gov always prevails.