W-2 and 1099 Deadline 2027: Forms Due Feb. 1 Because Jan. 31 Falls on a Sunday

Employers must file 2026 Forms W-2 and W-3 with the Social Security Administration (SSA) and give employees their copies by Monday, Feb. 1, 2027, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) instructions. The usual Jan. 31 date falls on a Sunday this year. The same day applies to Form 1099-NEC, and the IRS says neither form has an automatic extension. This story lists every information-return date for tax year 2026 with its 2027 weekday, the Nov. 19 cutoff for the old electronic system and the 2027 penalty amounts. Our 2027 tax calendar covers the rest of the year’s deadlines.

Why W-2s and 1099-NECs are due Feb. 1, 2027

The IRS “General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026)” give February 1, 2027, as the due date to file Forms W-2, W-3 and their territory variants with the SSA, on paper or electronically. They also say employers must generally furnish Copies B, C and 2 of Form W-2 to employees by that date. IRS Publication 1099 puts Form 1099-NEC to the IRS and to the recipient on the same Monday.

The shift comes from the weekend rule. IRS Publication 509 says an act is timely if it is done no later than the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. Jan. 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so the deadline moves to Monday, Feb. 1.

Every 2027 information-return date by form

The table shows the statutory date, the weekday it lands on in 2027 and the date that applies, from Publication 1099 and the W-2 instructions. Feb. 15 is Washington’s Birthday, a federal holiday per the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and Publication 1099 moves a Feb. 15 date to the next business day.

Form	To recipient or employee	To the IRS or SSA, paper	To the IRS or SSA, electronic
W-2 and W-3	Mon., Feb. 1 (Jan. 31 is a Sunday)	Mon., Feb. 1 (to the SSA)	Mon., Feb. 1 (to the SSA)
1099-NEC	Mon., Feb. 1 (Jan. 31 is a Sunday)	Mon., Feb. 1	Mon., Feb. 1
1099-R, 1099-K, 1099-G, W-2G, and the 1099 forms for interest and dividends	Mon., Feb. 1 (Jan. 31 is a Sunday)	Mon., March 1 (Feb. 28 is a Sunday)	Wed., March 31
1099-MISC	Mon., Feb. 1; Tue., Feb. 16 if amounts are in box 8 or 10 (Feb. 15 is a holiday)	Mon., March 1 (Feb. 28 is a Sunday)	Wed., March 31
1099-B and 1099-S	Tue., Feb. 16 (Feb. 15 is a holiday)	See Publication 1099	See Publication 1099

Publication 1099 says of the electronic date, “The due date is March 31 if filed electronically.” Dates for filing 1099-B and 1099-S with the IRS are not in the sources we used for this story, so the table sends readers to the publication.

Print the dates on the one-page checklist below, or mark them on the January, February and March 2027 printable calendars.

What happens to the IRS e-file system after Nov. 19, 2026

The IRS page on Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE), updated Oct. 30, 2026, says Nov. 19, 2026, at 3 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) is the last time to file information returns through FIRE. After Jan. 1, 2027, the Information Returns Intake System (IRIS) is the only electronic system. FIRE users “must transition to IRIS to file tax year 2026 information returns during the 2027 filing season,” the IRS says.

Publication 1099 repeats the change: beginning with tax year 2026 and the 2027 filing season, IRIS is the only intake system, and FIRE will not be available for submissions, whether current-year, prior-year or corrections.

Publication 1099 also says a filer of 10 or more information returns during the year must e-file. The count adds up all information returns together, so an employer with a few W-2s and several 1099s can reach 10.

Can you get more time to file W-2s and 1099s?

For W-2 and 1099-NEC, the answer is limited. Publication 1099 says, “For Forms W-2 and 1099-NEC, no automatic extension is available.” The W-2 instructions say extensions of time to file Form W-2 with the SSA are not automatic, and that you may request one 30-day extension on Form 8809 with a complete application. A request to furnish W-2s to employees (Form 15397) is not automatically granted and is generally for no more than 15 days from the due date.

Other 1099 forms get an automatic 30-day extension to file when Form 8809 is submitted, per Publication 1099. An extension to furnish statements to recipients “must be requested online or by fax only.”

2027 penalties for late W-2s and 1099s

The IRS page on information return penalties, updated Oct. 30, 2026, lists these amounts per return for returns and statements due in 2027. Last year’s amounts, for returns due in 2026, were $60, $130, $340 and $680.

When the return is filed	Penalty per return, due in 2027
Up to 30 days late	$60
31 days late through Aug. 1	$130
After Aug. 1 or not filed	$340
Intentional disregard	$690

The IRS also sets yearly maximums. For small businesses, as the IRS defines them, they are $244,500, $698,500 and $1,397,000. For large businesses they are $698,500, $2,095,500 and $4,191,500.

What to do if your W-2 has not arrived

Employees waiting on a form have a clear order of steps in IRS Topic 154. Ask the employer first. If the form is still missing, the IRS says to call it at 800-829-1040 after the end of February. The agency may then send Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2.

For when the IRS will start accepting returns, see when tax season starts in 2027, and for what follows filing, the 2027 tax refund schedule. The SSA has not posted an opening date for W-2 filing on the pages we could read.