Trust center
A tax product earns trust by showing its limits.
Atamatax makes determinations that end up on federal filings, so this page is deliberately plain: what the product is, what it does, what stays with you, where every number comes from, and what happens when we get something wrong. If the question you actually arrived with was whether any of this is real, is Atamatax legitimate? answers it with six claims you can verify without taking our word for anything.
What Atamatax is
Atamatax is tax-preparation software and diagnostic tooling for US citizens and green-card holders living abroad, with a case service on top of it for the engagements that need one. It applies the Internal Revenue Code and IRS form instructions to data you enter and confirm, and shows its work — every “required” verdict is printed next to the value and threshold that produced it.
Atamatax is tax-preparation software with a case service on top of it. The self-serve packages are software: the engine applies the rules to the figures you enter and confirm and generates supported draft forms and mapped worksheets when you ask for them. The Streamlined and Concierge engagements are cases, prepared against a written scope by Atamatax, with a completeness check by a person at Atamatax before release. Nothing computed by the engine is individualised tax, legal or investment advice; a position that turns on facts specific to you is a matter for a licensed professional, and Atamatax routes it to one rather than answering it in software. In every model you remain responsible for the figures, the signatures and the filing.
Who does the work
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.
software
Software — you prepare with the engine
A supported return, one tax year, from your own figures: the self-serve packages, the CPA Export, the free scan, the Express Plan and the written filing assessment.
The engine prepares from the figures you confirm and generates the package on request; you review, sign and file.
assisted
Assisted preparation — Atamatax runs the case
A Streamlined catch-up or an Annual Concierge year: a written scope and a fixed price first, then a private case for your documents.
Written scope and fixed price first; Atamatax runs the case and prepares against that scope; you sign and file with the workflow.
advisory
Advisory — a qualified professional, per case
Facts that need a professional's own judgment: a foreign company, partnership or trust return, representation before the IRS, an open willfulness question, an expatriation decision.
Scoped by Atamatax, routed to a qualified professional; their judgment, their engagement letter.
| Task | software | assisted | advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entering and confirming the facts and figures | You | You | You |
| Computing the forms | The Atamatax engine | The Atamatax engine | The qualified professional the case is referred to |
| Reading the documents against the scope | Not part of this model | A person at Atamatax | The qualified professional the case is referred to |
| Preparing the package | The Atamatax engine | A person at AtamataxPrepared by Atamatax against the written scope, with every assumption logged. | The qualified professional the case is referred toAtamatax scopes the case and refers it; the professional's own engagement letter governs their work. |
| Checking completeness before release | The Atamatax engineNo person holds a self-serve package before you download it; a package generated with an open gap is stamped DRAFT — INCOMPLETE and lists what must be resolved. The written filing assessment is the exception: a report its rules hold is checked by a person at Atamatax before release. | A person at Atamatax | A person at Atamatax |
| Independent professional review | Not part of this model | Not part of this modelEngaged per case, by written scope, once a professional Atamatax has verified can take the case; never described as done before it is recorded on the case. | Not part of this modelEngaged per case, by written scope, once a professional Atamatax has verified can take the case; never described as done before it is recorded on the case. |
| Signing | You | You | You |
| Filing with the IRS and FinCEN | You, or a professional you engageAtamatax transmits nothing to the IRS or FinCEN; the package carries the step-by-step instructions. | You, or a professional you engageAtamatax transmits nothing to the IRS or FinCEN; the package carries the step-by-step instructions. | You, or a professional you engageAtamatax transmits nothing to the IRS or FinCEN; the package carries the step-by-step instructions. |
| Individualised tax advice | Not part of this model | Not part of this model | The qualified professional the case is referred to |
The table is generated from the same capability registry that gates each feature at runtime. A row that says a professional does something appears only once a professional Atamatax has verified can take a case; it cannot be written on this page by hand.
What it does
- Classifies foreign holdings and flags likely PFICs, with the reasoning shown per holding
- Estimates your Form 8621 workload and computes MtM (§1296), QEF (§1295, with an AIS), and §1291 disposition math
- Checks the FBAR $10,000 aggregate threshold from the accounts you enter
- Checks the Form 8938 (FATCA) thresholds by filing status and residence, end-of-year and any-time tests separately
- Generates a draft federal package: official IRS form PDFs pre-filled where integrated, mapped worksheets elsewhere
- Produces a reviewable summary of supported PFIC calculations and the inputs or assumptions behind them
Each of those outputs is shown on a worked example, generated by the same engine from invented facts, on one page of sample output — the assessment, a Streamlined scope, a PFIC assessment, the report, the accountant hand-off and the filing package.
What stays with you
- You review every figure — the statute is applied to data you enter and confirm, and the reasoning is printed next to each verdict
- You file the return with the step-by-step instructions in the package, and the FBAR through FinCEN's own system at bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov
- You certify non-willfulness on Form 14653 for a Streamlined submission — it is a statement about your own years
- Foreign corporations, trusts (Forms 3520 / 3520-A), audits and representation before the IRS are routed to a CPA, enrolled agent or attorney you engage, with the Atamatax package as their starting point
Supported today, coming soon, out of scope
The per-form integration status — which forms are generated as official IRS PDFs, which are partially pre-filled, and which remain worksheets — is published on the supported-forms page and printed inside every generated package. Product-level boundaries (what is prepared, what stays yours, what is routed to a professional) are set out on the accuracy and review page.
Methodology
Classifications trace to the statute: IRC §§1291–1298 for PFIC treatment, the current IRS Form 8621 instructions for election mechanics, IRS Form 8938 thresholds by filing status and residence, the FinCEN FBAR rules, and the IRS Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures. The full write-up is on the methodology page; engine changes are recorded in the methodology changelog; and the validation layers behind every computed figure — including the honest status of independent professional review — are documented on the accuracy & review page.
Engine versions
Every generated package, plan and export carries the versions of the components it was computed with, so a figure can be reproduced later under the same rules. The versions in production today:
- Federal return engine
- 2026.09.15
- PFIC §1291 / §6621 computation
- 2026.08.26
- PFIC screening rule
- pfic-screen@2026-08-26.4
- Security identity registry
- 64-beac9bff
- IRS yearly-average FX table
- 2026-02-24+2026-08-25
- Case diagnostic rules
- 2026-08-27.1
- Tax Map rules
- 2026.09.4
- Filing obligations diagnostic rules
- 2026.09.3
- NIIT rules
- 2026.09.1
- Pricing schedule
- 2026-08-27
- Verified facts registry
- 2026-10-04+64
A change to any of these is recorded in the methodology changelog.
Data security
Data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest; the statements you upload live in private storage behind access-controlled routes; payments never touch our servers (Stripe); transactional email goes through Resend. We never sell your data and you can delete it whenever you want. Details, including breach notification, are on the security page.
Correction policy
If a calculation issue is discovered, we correct the engine, add a regression test so the same class of error cannot recur silently, update affected reports where possible, and publish the change in the methodology changelog. We do not quietly edit outputs: the changelog records what changed, which feature it affected, and the authority it was verified against.
Frequently asked
- What does Atamatax do, in one sentence?
- Atamatax is tax-preparation software and diagnostic tooling for US expats: it applies the statute and the IRS form instructions to data you enter and confirm, shows its work on every verdict, and generates the package you (or your CPA) review and file.
- What happens if a calculation is wrong?
- We correct the engine, add a regression test so the same class of error cannot recur silently, update affected outputs where possible, and record the change in the public methodology changelog.
- Can I see exactly which forms are generated as official IRS PDFs?
- Yes — the supported-forms page lists every form in the package with its integration status: fully generated, partially pre-filled, worksheet-only, separate filing, or out of scope. The same statuses are printed inside every generated package.
Last reviewed .