Form 1099-R: Tax Year 2026 FIRE File Changes for IRIS Filing

reading time: 12 minute(s)

If you issue 1099-Rs, such as a retirement plan administrator, IRA custodian, or recordkeeper, you’ve probably sent them to the IRS as a FIRE file, a fixed-width text file in the IRS Publication 1220 layout. Maybe you export it from your own system and upload it yourself, or maybe your software or provider produces it and files it for you.

That routine ends with tax year 2026. IRIS is now the only way to e-file 1099s with the IRS, and it can’t read a FIRE file directly. 

Fortunately, you don’t have to rebuild your entire process. Upload your file to TaxBandits, and we’ll convert it to the XML that IRIS requires, check it, and file it for you.

The 2026 Form 1099-R also adds new boxes, so does the file itself have to change? For most filers, no. The layout works as is, unless a recipient has a Trump account distribution.

Ready to dive in? This guide shows where the two new fields (boxes 7c and 7d) go and how to write them.

What changed on the 2026 Form 1099-R

Box 7 is now Box 7a, and the form adds two boxes beside it:

The form also separates the payer and recipient address fields. TaxBandits splits these when it converts your file, so there’s nothing to change on your side.

Do you need to adjust your file?

B record fields for Trump account distributions

When you file 1099s with TaxBandits, you can choose the FIRE file upload option and bring in the file your software already produces. The standard layout has no place for boxes 7c and 7d, so before you upload, you can assign positions for them:

Nothing else moves:

• Distribution Code stays at 545-546
  
• IRA/SEP/SIMPLE Indicator stays at 548
  
• FATCA Filing Requirement Indicator stays at 556
  
• Date of Payment stays at 557-564
  
• The record is still 750 characters

Position 565 is the first reserved position after the Date of Payment.

How to write each field

• Trump account checkbox (7c): A single character. Enter 1 if the distribution is from a Trump account, and leave it blank if it isn’t.
  
• Earnings (7d): 12 characters, numeric, right-justified and zero-filled, with no decimal point. The last two positions are cents, so $120.00 becomes 000000012000.
  
• Losses: Box 7d is never negative. If the distributed excess contributions had losses instead of earnings, enter zero.
  
• Other records: Zero-fill 127-138 and leave 565 blank.

Note: Don’t confuse the two sevens. Payment Amount 7 (127-138) is an amount field for box 7d. The box 7a distribution codes are separate and sit at 545-546.

Map your file and upload it, step by step

1. Find the Trump account distributions. This data may sit in a different system from your regular retirement distributions, so ask whoever owns it.
   
2. Identify any with excess contributions. Only those need an amount in box 7d.
   
3. Write the new fields in your file at the positions above, and leave every other record and field alone.
   
4. Choose FIRE file upload in TaxBandits, assign the positions for boxes 7c and 7d, and upload the file as plain ASCII text. Keep an untouched copy of the original.
   
5. Review before you file by spot-checking the new boxes for a few recipients, comparing totals against your source system, and running TIN Matching and validation.

Note: If your software can’t write these fields, upload the file as usual and add the values afterward through a separate CSV.

Conclusion

Mapping the new 1099-R boxes takes one checkbox and one amount, each in its own position, and only for Trump account distributions. TaxBandits handles the rest: the conversion, the validation, and the IRIS filing.

For the wider picture, see our guide to the 2026 Form 1099 changes, and when your file is ready, request a demo or start your FIRE-to-IRIS switch with TaxBandits.