Do you still need Form 1096? Paper vs e-filing in 2027

The short answer

Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns, is the cover sheet you mail to the IRS with paper Copy A of your 1099s. If you e-file, you don't need it at all. And for most businesses, paper is now only allowed if you file fewer than 10 information returns in total for the year.

So the question is really: are you still allowed to file on paper, and do you want to?

The 10-return rule

Since returns due in 2024, you must e-file if you file 10 or more information returns in a calendar year, counting every type together. That includes:

• Forms 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC, 1099-INT and other 1099s;
• Forms W-2 (filed with the Social Security Administration);
• other information returns such as 1098s.

Six W-2s and four 1099-NECs make 10, so both must be e-filed. Three 1099-NECs and no employees: paper is allowed. If you have to e-file and file on paper anyway, the penalty applies to each return over the first 10.

You can ask for a waiver with Form 8508, at least 45 days before the due date, if e-filing would be an undue hardship. Most small businesses never need one: the IRS's IRIS Taxpayer Portal is free. See how to file 1099s with IRIS.

Filing on paper: the rules

• Copy A and Form 1096 must be the official scannable forms, printed in red ink. The IRS says you cannot file Form 1096 or Copy A printed from its website; those PDFs are for information. Order the forms free at IRS.gov/OrderForms or buy them from an office supplier. Order early: supplies run short in January.
• Recipient copies can be plain paper. Copy B for the contractor (and copies 1, 2 and C where you need them) can be printed on blank paper, or downloaded from the IRS as fillable PDFs.
• One 1096 per form type. Group the forms by type and send each group with its own 1096.
• Type, don't handwrite. The IRS suggests black ink in 12-point Courier. Don't staple the forms, and don't cut or separate Copy A forms that are printed several to a page.
• Mind the new layout. The 2026 Form 1099-NEC has new boxes 1a to 1d (nonemployee compensation, cash tips, the tipped occupation code, and qualified overtime) and is now printed two to a page instead of three. Buy 2026 forms, not leftover stock.

Filling in Form 1096

1. Filer's name and address, and the name, phone and email of the person the IRS should contact.
2. Box 1 or 2: your EIN, or your SSN if you are a sole proprietor without one. Use the same number as on the 1099s.
3. Box 3: the number of forms you are sending (count the forms, not the pages; leave out blank or voided forms).
4. Box 4: total federal income tax withheld, from all the forms.
5. Box 5: the total of the money amounts the form type calls for. The Form 1096 instructions list which boxes to add up for each form type.
6. Box 6: mark the one form type you are sending: 71 for 1099-NEC, 95 for 1099-MISC.
7. Final return box only if you will never file information returns again, then sign and date it.

Check box 3 and box 5 against the forms in the envelope before you seal it. A 1096 that doesn't match is one of the easiest errors to avoid.

Dates and where to mail

The mailing address depends on where your business is: the IRS service centre in Austin, Kansas City or Ogden. The list by state is in Publication 1099 (the IRS's general instructions for information returns, which replaced the old "General Instructions for Certain Information Returns" from tax year 2026) and in the Form 1096 instructions. Mail it flat in a large envelope; folding is not allowed. Send it with tracking so you have proof of the mailing date.

Late paper returns cost the same as late e-filed ones: for returns due in 2027, $60 per return within 30 days, $130 to August 1, and $340 after. See the penalty calculator.

Paper or e-file?

If you have three contractors, already have red-ink forms and no TCC, paper is fine this year. If you are near 10 returns, or you want the filing confirmed on screen, apply for an IRIS TCC and e-file. Plan for 2027 payments too: the 1099 threshold goes up to $2,100 for payments made in 2027, so a few small vendors may drop off your list next year.

Paper 1099s and 1096 in AcboBooks

AcboBooks, a Windows accounting program bought once for $399.99, prints 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC on paper as well as making an IRIS upload file:

• Copy A: figures only, placed for the official red-ink IRS form. The app warns that Copy A printed on plain paper is not accepted, and that paper is only for filers of fewer than 10 returns.
• Recipient copies (B, and 1, C and 2 if needed): figures on pre-printed forms, or boxes, labels and figures on blank perforated 1099 paper.
• Form 1096: the totals for the red-ink 1096, for tax year 2026 forms.
• Alignment test: print sample figures on plain paper, hold it over a form against the light, and adjust the offsets, which are saved for the company.

It does not mail or file anything; you sign the 1096 and mail it. See 1099 and T4 software and the Form 1096 guide.

Frequently asked questions