For Americans abroad, and U.S. residents with foreign accounts or funds
Your U.S. tax situation is complicated. Managing it shouldn't be your job.
Find what applies, see exactly who handles each step, and choose software or a fully managed engagement with a clear written scope.
Free preliminary result · No card required · Your answers never go to analytics
- A written scope and a fixed quote before any engagement
- Who prepares, signs and files — stated before you pay
- A document checklist that says why each item is needed
- A person's check wherever your service includes one
- Your status, next step and who it waits on, in one place
- One payment to Atamatax on a fully managed engagement
Compare software, done-with-you and fully managed help · The 2027 guide and current 2026 package availability →
- 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
Which of these sounds like you?
- I file every year and want this one done right
- My bank or broker asked for US tax details
- I'm not sure which US forms apply to me
- I need help before a filing deadline
- I'm self-employed abroad
- I sold, or am selling, my home abroad
Several at once? Combine them on the start page. Tax professional? See a sample case and workpaper.
Prefer to read first? The situation guides
Four ways in
Wherever your U.S. tax question starts.
Entrance A
U.S. taxpayers living abroad
Citizens and green-card holders with a life outside the U.S. — the annual return, the foreign accounts, missed years.
- Annual return with foreign income
- FBAR and Form 8938
- Years not filed
Entrance B
Living in the U.S. with foreign assets or a company
Residents of the U.S. who still hold funds, pensions or a company abroad — including Indian mutual funds held on an H-1B or a green card.
- Foreign funds and Form 8621
- A company abroad (Form 5471)
- Gifts or an inheritance from abroad
Entrance C
Non-U.S. people and businesses with U.S. ties
Owners of U.S. property, people with U.S. income, founders with a U.S. LLC — whatever their nationality, the checks ask the facts that decide their U.S. status.
- Selling U.S. property (FIRPTA)
- U.S. income as a nonresident
- A U.S. LLC owned from abroad
Entrance D
CPAs, advisers and referral partners
Accountants who want specialist support on a PFIC or cross-border file while keeping their client, and realtors or title agents with foreign sellers.
- PFIC workpapers for your return
- Specialist support on one file
- Introducing a foreign seller
Every situation we handle, grouped by what it is about: see all solutions →
Clarity before you pay
What the map gives you.
Example
Each filing area your answers point at, 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, with its price. It indicates; it never determines.
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.
Foreign funds and ETFs
The map can identify when a portfolio scan matters.
You don't need to become a PFIC expert to get compliant.
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
From your situation to a clear next step.
Step 1
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.
Step 2
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.
Step 3
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.
Step 4
Receive what you paid for
Scope and price are shown before checkout. The report or package arrives through a private link, with every assumption listed and what is left for you to confirm, sign and file.
The sample report is what step four delivers.
Why clarity matters
“I had spoken with other tax professionals before, but Atamatax was the first to make sense of how all the pieces of my situation fit together. Instead of putting me through a generic process, I finally understood which filings actually applied to me, what mattered most, and what I needed to do next.”
Solutions
Pay for the help your situation needs.
Know what may apply
Answer your situation's questions; the rules engine maps the US filings that may apply, what would settle each one, and one recommended next step. On screen, no account.
Starting at
$0
No card required
Map my US tax situationWritten diagnosticU.S. Filing Obligations Diagnostic
A year-by-year report from your answers: which returns and forms apply, by year, with the rule behind each. A report that should not be issued automatically is checked by a person at Atamatax first. The fee is creditable toward eligible preparation within 14 days.
One-time
$100
Free fit check before you pay
Check if it fitsDone-with-you case preparationYears behind, brought current
Streamlined: a CPA or Enrolled Agent from the Atamatax team, assigned to your case, prepares and signs up to 3 delinquent federal returns and up to 6 FBAR years from your documents, against a written scope. Scoped and quoted by a person before any payment.
Scoped quote
$1,590–$2,990+
After free case scoping
Start free case scopingFully managed professional serviceComplex PFIC and multi-year cases
The qualified professional engaged for your case — named once assigned — prepares what your written quote lists. Atamatax collects the documents, coordinates the case and pays the professional from inside your quote. You review and sign.
One written quote
Fixed
Free scoping request · the professional's fee included
Get a fully managed quoteAnnual self-serve packages from $299, the PFIC Portfolio and CPA Export: compare every package and its scope →
See the full catch-up scope
Streamlined covers 3 tax years · 6 FBAR years · one scoped quote, one secure payment, from $1,590–$2,990+ · scoped quote after free case scoping. 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 only for a year whose IRS forms are integrated), plus filing instructions
- ✓ You certify non-willfulness on Form 14653, sign, and file with the instructions provided
Who does what
The work you actually hand over.
Software, done-with-you preparation and a fully managed engagement are three different services — not one service at three prices. Each column says who prepares, checks, signs and files, and what stays with you.
Self-service software
PFIC Portfolio
You enter and confirm the figures; the software prepares the package; you sign and file.
- Who prepares it
- The Atamatax engine
- Who checks it, and how
- Not reviewed by a person
- Who signs
- You
- Who files
- You, with the instructions provided
- What stays with you
- File the return and any FBAR yourself, or through the professional you choose, with the instructions in the package. Confirm each holding's classification where the confidence is not high; the package names them.
- How it is priced
- $499 · Up to 25 Forms 8621 · one tax year
Done-with-you case preparation
Annual Concierge
Atamatax collects your documents and prepares the case with you; you sign and file.
- Who prepares it
- A person at Atamatax
- Who checks it, and how
- The engaged professional's review, as quoted
- Who signs
- You
- Who files
- You, with the instructions provided
- What stays with you
- File the return and any FBAR yourself, or through the professional you choose, with the instructions in the package. Upload the documents on your checklist and answer the questions your documents cannot.
- How it is priced
- From $999
Fully managed professional service
Managed engagement
Atamatax engages the CPA or enrolled agent your written quote names, coordinates the case and pays them; you review and sign.
- Who prepares it
- The qualified professional engaged for your case, named once assigned
- Who checks it, and how
- The engaged professional's review, as quoted
- Who signs
- You — and the professional, as paid preparer, on what they prepare
- Who files
- As your written quote names it — through the professional's authorised channel where it allows
- What stays with you
- Reviewing the figures before anything is signed. Signing your return — and, where it is e-filed, the e-file authorisation (Form 8879) — and any statement it carries.
- How it is priced
- Fixed price in one written quote — the professional's fee included
One written scope. One coordinated team. No separate accountant bill within your agreed service.
Also available: the CPA Export for an accountant you already work with, the written diagnostic, and the Streamlined catch-up, prepared with you. Every offer and its scope →
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.
Which situations go to a professional
Are you a tax professional?
See a sample case, the workpaper behind it, and how a case reaches you.
The Atamatax advantage
We show what we know, what needs review, and what happens next.
One written scope before you pay
Years, forms, exclusions and price in writing — on the quote for a managed or catch-up case, on the order summary for a software package.
How each offer is scopedWho does what, stated per step
Who prepares, who checks and in what capacity, who signs and who files — printed on the quote, the checkout and the engagement record, never left to inference.
The responsibility recordA checklist that says why
Each document request names the tax year it belongs to, why it is needed and what counts as an acceptable copy.
What happens after you startYour case, step by step
Your documents, deadlines and next actions in one place: the steps completed, the next one, and who it is waiting on.
The case workspaceOne coordinated engagement
One written quote, one payment to Atamatax, one case. The qualified professional engaged for your case — named once assigned — is paid by Atamatax from inside your quote: no separate accountant bill within the agreed scope.
How a managed quote works
Measured figures · All case types
A figure appears here only once it is computed from real cases: at least 20 cases of the type, over at least 90 days, with the method checked and approved by a person. Each one shows its sample, period and limits.
- Typical turnaround
Insufficient verified data
From complete documents to a deliverable ready for you. Not published until it meets the rule above.
- Document requests resolved
Insufficient verified data
Document requests tracked to resolution. Not published until it meets the rule above.
- Issues identified before release
Insufficient verified data
Reviewed cases where review resolved at least one point before release. Not published until it meets the rule above.
- Client time involved
Insufficient verified data
Time clients report spending on their case (voluntary survey). Not published until it meets the rule above.
Know what you are getting
Read the output before you pay.
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.
$0
to map your situation
10
country desks
7
situation guides
The name
Why Atamatax?
頭 · atama · Japanese for “head”
Atama means “head” in Japanese; atama ga ii, literally “the head is good”, is how someone clever is described. Combined with tax, it reflects the approach: make complicated US obligations easier to understand, through clear explanations, calculations you can trace and a defined next step.
Why the name, and how to check the approach →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 from the primary IRS, Treasury and treaty sources each one cites, builds the calculation engine behind them, and publishes every engine correction in the methodology changelog.
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 free case scoping. 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