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IRS Releases Electronic Specifications for Information Returns for 2022 Tax Year

Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting  

· 5 minute read

Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting  

· 5 minute read

IRS Publication 1220 (Specifications for Electronic Filing of Forms 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, and W-2G) has been revised for the 2022 tax year.

In addition to providing the 2022 electronic filing specifications for the above forms, IRS Publication 1220 also provides the requirements and specifications for electronic filing under the Combined Federal/State Filing Program (CF/SF) and provides specifications to submit an automatic 30-day extension of time to file certain information returns.

The publication is divided into the following five parts: (1) Introduction and General Information; (2) Data Communication; (3) Record Format Specifications and Record Layouts; (4) Extension of Time; and (5) Exhibits.

Generally, boxes on paper forms correspond with fields used for the electronic file; however, if the form and field instructions do not match, the guidance in IRS Publication 1220 supersedes the form instructions.

New for 2022.

CheckmarkObservation:

Publication 1220 does not reference the IRS’s new 1099 filing platform, Information Return Intake System (IRIS). The IRS is to launch this platform in January 2023 as mandated by a provision the Taxpayer First Act (TFA). The publication refers only to the FIRE system which the IRS has noted previously would remain available in tandem with IRS in 2023 (see Payroll Update, 07/11/2022).

  • References to Form 4419 (Application for Filing Information Returns Electronically) have been removed because the form is obsolete as of August 1, 2022. In September, the IRS transitioned transition filers who received their Transmitter Control Codes (TCCs) prior to September 26, 2021 to the online Information Returns Application for Transmitter Control Code (IR-TCC). As part of this transition, Form 4419 was phased out, effective August 1, 2022. TCCs will remain valid for use until August 1, 2023. However, after that date, any FIRE TCC that does not have a completed IR-TCC Application will be dropped and will not be available for e-file (see Payroll Update, 06/23/2022). Holders of FIRE TCCs who submitted their TCC Application prior to September 26, 2021, will need to submit and complete the IR-TCC Application. The IR-TCC application can be submitted any time between September 25, 2022, and August 1, 2023.
  • Filers may submit up to 125 test files per TCC in Trading Partner Test (TPT).

Combined Federal/State Filing Program (CF/SF).

There are no changes for the 2022 tax year for participating states in the CF/SF program. The following states participate in CF/SF: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.

Transmitter Control Code Application.

New filers may obtain a TCC to file electronically by submitting an IR-TCC online by November 1. It can take up to 45 days for processing. The assigned TCC will be mailed by U.S. Postal Service to the address provided on the IR-TCC. Alternatively, a new filer may review the TCC on the IR-TCC application.

FIRE system.

The FIRE test system is available on January 4, 2023. The FIRE system will be available on January 6, 2023 at 12 a.m. ET.

 

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