Start with what happened
What happened?
A bank asked for a W-9? You own European ETFs? You never filed, inherited money abroad or sold a home? Tell us what happened. We’ll map which U.S. forms may apply and recommend the next step.
Free preliminary result · No card required · Your answers never go to analytics
Example situation result
Generated by the live rule set
6 potential filing areas detected
- Complexity
- High
- Urgency
- Low
- US federal tax return (Form 1040)Likely
- FBAR (FinCEN Form 114)Likely
- PFIC reporting (Form 8621)Likely
- FATCA Form 8938Possible
+ 2 more in the full result
Recommended next step
U.S. Filing Obligations Diagnostic · $100
Where it leads on these answers: Streamlined Investor ($2,200), with the fee credited toward it.
Built from these answers: US citizen, living in Switzerland all year · Filing single, employment income in the mid band · Two recent years not filed, and foreign accounts unreported in those years. An example, not a customer; every status cites a published rule.
- Results before paymentThe scan, the scope and the on-screen summary are free. You pay to generate the package.
- Assumptions and reasoning shownEvery classification names its source, its confidence and what is still unconfirmed.
- A sample report you can read firstThe real output of the engine on a worked example, before you enter anything.
- Product detailsWhich forms and lines each package prepares, and which fields stay yours to complete.
- Data securityCard details go straight to Stripe; stored return data is scoped to your account.
Start with your situation
What happened?
Several at once or not sure? Combine them on the start page. Tax professional? See a sample case and workpaper.
Prefer to read first? The situation guides
Foreign funds and ETFs
The map can identify when a portfolio scan matters.
A UCITS ETF, a Swiss fund unit, or funds inside an ISA or PEA can bring extra U.S. reporting. Start with the situation check; if a holding needs a closer look, the portfolio scan checks each ticker or ISIN and shows its source and assumptions.
Try it
Check a ticker or ISIN in seconds.
Need a focused investment check?
Example portfolio result
Illustration
3 likely PFICsacross 4 positions
- IWDAIreland · UCITS ETFLikely PFIC (high)
- VWRLIreland · UCITS ETFLikely PFIC (high)
- CH0032912732Switzerland · fund unitLikely PFIC (medium)
- VTIUnited States · ETFNot a PFIC (high)
Forms this triggers
- Form 8621 × 3computed
One per likely PFIC held during the year.
- FinCEN 114 (FBAR)needs input
Depends on the highest balance across all foreign accounts.
- Form 8938 (FATCA)needs input
Depends on your filing status and where you live.
Assumptions shown
- Vehicle matched by ISIN, not by ticker alone
- Foreign legal domicile taken from the fund record
- No election assumed on any holding
Still to confirm
- The issuer's annual PFIC facts
- Whether QEF information is available
- Any prior-year election history
An illustration built from sample tickers, not a customer portfolio and not a legal determination. Your own scan reads your holdings and shows its reasoning the same way — how the screening works.
How it works
Start from your situation. See what may apply. Choose the next step.
The example result in the hero is what step two produces.
The sample report is what step three delivers.
- 01
Start from your situation
Pick what happened — never filed, a bank letter, foreign funds, a company abroad — and answer only the questions that situation needs. Holdings can be imported from a brokerage CSV.
- 02
See what may apply
Every filing area marked likely, possible or needs review, with the fact that would settle it, the complexity of the year and what puts a clock on it.
- 03
Choose the next step
One recommended route, priced from the catalogue: a written assessment, a self-serve package, an accountant handoff, or a scoped catch-up quote.
A clear next step
Let your answers point to the right path.
The free assessment maps likely filing areas, open questions and complexity. Then it recommends one next step, with the scope and price shown before you pay.
See the catch-up scope and price if the assessment recommends it
Streamlined covers 3 tax years · 6 FBAR years · one scoped quote, one secure payment, from $1,590–$2,990+ · scoped quote after the free diagnostic. The assessment checks whether this route fits before recommending it.
- ✓ Up to 3 delinquent federal returns
- ✓ Up to 6 FBAR years
- ✓ Streamlined package preparation + document completeness check
- ✓ Preparation package: worksheets mapped to each year's official forms (official pre-filled PDFs are integrated for the current filing year only), plus filing instructions
- ✓ You certify non-willfulness on Form 14653, sign, and file with the instructions provided
Who does what
How the work is divided, before you pay.
Software prepares
The engine reads your entries, computes the figures for the year, maps each one to an IRS form line and lists the assumption behind it. The on-screen result comes before any payment.
How the figures are workedGenerated from your entries
Packages are generated automatically from your confirmed entries.
The exact scope of the checkYou review, sign and file
Every form is signed by you and filed by you — the return with the instructions in the package, the FBAR on FinCEN's site. The package is complete when you have done both.
The whole path, step by stepJudgment stays with a professional
Whether conduct was non-willful (your certification on Form 14653), a treaty position, an expatriation decision, an open examination — these are calls for a professional you engage, with the Atamatax package as their starting point.
Where your data lives
Know what you are getting
Know what you are getting before you pay.
Explore a sample report and compare the package that matches your situation. The sample is the engine's real output on a worked example: computed figures mapped to IRS forms and lines, the assumptions behind each one, and the fields left for you or your accountant.
Who built this
Built and maintained by its founder, in Switzerland.
Founder of Atamatax. A software developer based in Monthey, Switzerland, who built a PFIC-first US expat tax tool after working through the Form 8621 problem the existing software skips. Writes the guides on this site; technical determinations are gated on independent professional review.
Danilson Ramos · Founder, Atamatax · Monthey, Switzerland
By country
Wherever you live, the local products are the hard part.
The US filing rules are the same everywhere — that is what citizenship-based taxation means. What changes is which local accounts, funds and pensions actually trigger them. Each desk covers one country's.
FAQ
Questions before you start.
What does the free situation check tell me?
Which US filing areas your answers point at — the return, the FBAR, Form 8938, Form 8621, an entity or trust return — each marked likely, possible or needs review with the fact that would settle it; how complex the year looks; what puts a clock on it; and one recommended next step. It indicates; it never determines.
I have never filed. Where do I start?
Start with the free catch-up check. It reads your years and facts against the published Streamlined factors and names the likely tier. A Streamlined engagement covers up to 3 delinquent federal returns and up to 6 FBAR years, priced $1,590–$2,990+ · scoped quote after the free diagnostic. You certify non-willfulness on Form 14653, sign, and file.
Does a ticker alone prove that a fund is a PFIC?
No. Atamatax uses ticker and ISIN matches as screening inputs, then shows the vehicle, domicile, source facts and assumptions that still need confirmation. The statutory income and asset tests and the fund's legal structure control.
Can I import my portfolio today?
Yes. Brokerage positions CSV import and manual ticker or ISIN entry are the available portfolio-entry methods presented in this flow today.
What do I get before paying?
The free portfolio scan shows likely PFIC exposure, potential FBAR and FATCA threshold questions, assumptions, open items and a recommended next step. No credit card is required for that result.
What is the difference between CPA Export and PFIC Portfolio?
CPA Export ($199) is a worksheet and analysis handoff for an accountant. PFIC Portfolio ($499) is the supported annual filing-package path with up to 25 supported Forms 8621.
More of them, grouped by topic, in the question directory.
Start with the facts
See what your situation needs next.
Answer the questions your situation actually needs, see which filings may apply and what would settle each one, and get one recommended next step.
No credit card · Results before payment