How it works

Seven steps from “am I compliant?” to a finished filing package.

Every screen in Atamatax is built to answer one question: what do I need to do next? This page is the whole journey in order — what happens at each step, what you see, and where a human is involved.

1. Step 1

   Tell us about your situation

   The free diagnostic asks about your US status, residence country, filing history, income, foreign accounts, and investments. It takes a few minutes and creates your case.

   No payment, no document uploads yet. The diagnostic maps which forms your facts point to — FBAR, Form 8938, Form 8621 for PFICs, Streamlined catch-up — and flags anything that needs a human decision. Every conclusion is 'based on the information provided', never a legal certainty.

2. Step 2

   Upload your documents securely

   Your case workspace lists exactly which documents are needed. Uploads go to private storage over an encrypted connection — never email attachments.

   The checklist is personalised from your diagnostic: prior returns, bank and broker statements, pension statements, and so on. Each document shows its review status, and you can replace a rejected file with a corrected version.

3. Step 3

   Atamatax analyzes your case

   Holdings are screened for potential PFICs with the reasoning shown per holding, account balances are checked against FBAR and Form 8938 thresholds, and gaps are flagged for you.

   Anything the software cannot determine safely — willfulness for Streamlined, unusual treaty positions — is routed to review instead of being guessed. Low-confidence classifications are marked for human validation, not silently accepted.

4. Step 4

   Review your scope and fixed price

   You get a written scope: which years, which forms, what's included, and a fixed price for it. No hourly billing and no surprise line items.

   The recommendation comes from your answers — see current packages on the pricing page. Atypical cases get a custom fixed quote instead of a forced fit. Payment happens through Stripe checkout; your case moves to preparation only after payment is confirmed.

5. Step 5

   Your filing package is prepared

   The forms in scope are prepared from your confirmed data — official IRS form PDFs where integrated, mapped worksheets elsewhere — with every assumption logged.

   Your workspace shows progress the whole way. If something is missing — a statement, a confirmation of an account balance — you're asked in the workspace and by email, and you can answer in place.

6. Step 6

   Professional review where applicable

   Cases that require it are reviewed by a person before release, and the reviewer can send the case back for changes until it's right.

   Review status is visible on your case. Where review is not applicable, the package says exactly what was computed by software so you or your own CPA can verify it — nothing is stamped 'reviewed' unless a review actually happened.

7. Step 7

   Receive your final package

   You download your complete package from the secure workspace: returns by year, PFIC statements, FBAR instructions, and step-by-step filing instructions.

   Atamatax does not e-file or transmit anything to the IRS or FinCEN — you file with the instructions provided, and the package stays available in your account. Next year, your structural data can carry forward instead of starting from zero.

What Atamatax does not do

Atamatax is tax-preparation software and diagnostic tooling — not a CPA firm or law firm. It does not give individualised legal or tax advice, does not e-file or transmit returns, does not file your FBAR, does not guarantee IRS acceptance, and does not determine willfulness for Streamlined cases. The full list, including how mistakes are corrected, lives in the trust center.

Where your data lives

Documents are stored in private buckets, served through access-controlled routes rather than public links, and sensitive actions are audit-logged. The specifics — hosting, encryption, access control — are on the security page.