- If I pay, does somebody actually take care of my case?
- Three models, three answers. A self-serve package is software: the engine prepares one tax year from the entries you confirm, generates the package when you ask for it, and you review, sign and file it. A Streamlined or Concierge engagement is a case Atamatax runs: a written scope and a fixed price first, then a private case for your documents, preparation against that scope, a completeness check before release, and the filing workflow step by step. Facts that need a professional's own judgment — a foreign company or trust return, representation, an open willfulness question — are scoped by Atamatax and routed to a qualified professional; nothing is sold as software for them. Self-serve packages are prepared by the Atamatax engine from your figures; Streamlined and Concierge cases are checked by a person at Atamatax before release; a credentialed professional is engaged on a case only where its written scope says so, and is named on the case with a verified credential when that happens. Professional preparation or review is arranged per case, by written scope, through Atamatax; the professional is identified on your case once assigned, and no case is described as professionally prepared before that has happened. Returns are filed by you, or by a professional you engage, with the step-by-step filing instructions in the package.
- How do the Streamlined tiers work, and why is there no direct checkout for them?
- Streamlined engagements are done-with-you, not self-serve: the free diagnostic opens your case file and maps it to Essential ($1,590), Investor ($2,200) or Complex (from $2,990), and you receive a personalized quote with a secure payment link once the scope is confirmed. Eligibility, exact return/FBAR/Form 14653 deliverables, and any human reviewer are confirmed before an engagement — starting a case or booking a call does not buy or guarantee a completed Streamlined package.
- Is the price per return or per year?
- The self-serve packages are per tax year: one package covers one tax year. The Streamlined tiers are the exception — one quote and one payment cover up to three return years and six FBAR years together. Because pre-filled official IRS PDFs are integrated for tax year 2025 only, earlier self-serve years produce a worksheet-only package and are priced at the CPA Export rate of $199 — you are never charged a filing tier for a package that cannot include the pre-filled forms.
- I need to file an earlier year — what changes?
- The engine computes that year's own figures (its brackets, standard deduction, FEIE cap, FBAR/8938 thresholds) for tax years 2022-2026. For an earlier year the package ships as worksheets mapped line by line to that year's official forms, because the pre-filled IRS PDF templates are integrated for tax year 2025. That package is the CPA Export deliverable, so we charge the CPA Export price for it: $199, not $299-$799.
- When do I pay?
- Only when you generate your draft package. The diagnostic — including the PFIC scan and treaty workflow — is free. If the result isn't worth filing, you walk away.
- Why no subscription?
- Most US expats file once a year and stay with the same situation. Charging monthly would tax you for nothing 11 months out of 12. Your holdings and PFIC elections stay on your account, so next year starts from where you left off instead of from zero.
- Do you offer team / accountant pricing?
- No — Atamatax is not sold to firms, and there is no accountant sign-up. Independent EAs and CPAs work Atamatax cases by engagement: Atamatax assigns a paid case to a professional it has vetted, who works it in a private workspace scoped to that case. If that is you, write to hello@atamatax.com.
- Refunds?
- If we deliver a PDF package with a software defect that we can't fix within 14 days, we refund 100%. If you change your mind before paying, the draft simply expires. The refund covers defects in our generated forms; IRS penalties and interest on your own facts remain yours.