# What's new for the 2026 tax season

[The One Big Beautiful Bill Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text)  introduced significant changes to 1099 tax reporting. This article summarizes the key changes and how they may affect you.
## 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC reporting threshold
In 2026, [The One Big Beautiful Bill Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text) raised the federal reporting threshold for 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC forms from 600 USD to 2,000 USD.
The 1099-K federal reporting threshold remains greater than 20,000 USD in total gross volume and 200 transactions.
## Qualified tip reporting
**Platforms and Marketplaces**
Platforms can report qualified tips and associated occupation codes on behalf of their connected accounts. Two options are available depending on where you are in the filing process:
* **Before filing** use the Tax Forms Editor: Adjust form totals to reflect qualified tips and associated occupation codes.
* **After filing** use Corrections: Update tax year 2026 forms to include qualified tips and associated occupation codes.
**Stripe Issued Tax Forms**
Merchants receiving a Stripe-issued 1099-K tax form can self-certify their qualified tips prior to filing or as a correction after filing.
Stripe does not determine whether a tip is qualified for tax purposes. Platforms and form recipients should confirm the information reported on a form with a tax professional.
## IRIS Portal
The IRS is retiring its legacy FIRE (Filing Information Returns Electronically) system and replacing it with IRIS (Information Returns Intake System) — a modernized, API-first intake platform. FIRE retirement is targeted for December 31, 2026, making IRIS the sole intake for information returns beginning with tax year 2026 filings (due in early 2027). Platforms using the Connect 1099 product should not experience many differences, though there are several new requirements and behavioral differences with IRIS.
**Real-Time Submission Validation**
Unlike FIRE, IRIS returns real-time validation results. Each submission can result in one of the following statuses:
* **Accepted** — submission processed successfully
* **Accepted with Errors** — submission accepted but some records contain errors
* **Partially Accepted** — submission processed the transmission (accepted and rejected one or more submissions)
* **Rejected** — the entire submission was rejected and must be corrected and resubmitted as an original
**Issuer Phone Number Is Now Required**
IRIS requires a valid Issuer Phone Number as part of the issuer/payer record. This field is mandatory. Platforms (issuers) that have not historically provided a phone number will need to provide one. This is a new data requirement that did not exist under FIRE.
**Foreign Issuers Must Have an EIN**
All issuers (payers) must have a US Employer Identification Number (EIN) or SSN that matches the IRS database. Foreign issuers without a US EIN cannot file through IRIS — submissions will be rejected with "Issuer EIN does not match IRS database." Foreign issuers need to apply for an EIN via the IRS online EIN application. This was less strictly enforced under FIRE (filers without an EIN received a letter but the submission was not automatically rejected).