Comparison · updated monthly
1040 Abroad is human-prepared expat filing with free pre-engagement consults. It's strong on straightforward expats and Streamlined catch-up — not a PFIC specialist.
1040 Abroad presents human-prepared expat-tax services; verify its current scope, credentials, and fees directly. Atamatax is self-serve software: its diagnostic and supported on-screen calculations are free, while generating draft forms and worksheets requires payment.
Who 1040 Abroad is for
1040 Abroad fits expats who want a human to prepare and own the whole filing, value a free consult to talk through their situation first, or need Streamlined catch-up for missed years. If you'd rather have someone handle it for you than work through a wizard, that's their strength.
Where each sits
Products in different categories are not better or worse than each other; they are for different returns. The category that matches your situation is the one to compare inside.
1040 Abroad
General expat preparation
A preparer or a workflow built for Americans abroad across the common forms — 2555, 1116, FBAR, 8938 — with foreign funds handled as an add-on.
Atamatax
Complex foreign-investment workflow
Import the foreign portfolio, identify the PFICs, compute the allocation per holding and per year, reconstruct missing basis, and produce the workpapers.
Professional handoff
The analysis packaged for an accountant to file from — classification with its reason, worksheets per holding, threshold arithmetic, an assumption log.
Self-serve tax software
You enter the figures and file the return yourself; the software computes the forms it supports.
Side-by-side
Delivery model
- Atamatax
- Self-serve software you drive yourself.
- 1040 Abroad
- Human-prepared, done-for-you filing.
Pricing
- Atamatax
- $299 / $499 / $799 flat per return, shown upfront.
- 1040 Abroad
- Flat, transparent fees per service.
Free on-screen summary before paying
- Atamatax
- Yes — see computed draft numbers before purchasing the package.
- 1040 Abroad
- Free pre-engagement email consult, not a full draft.
Human consultation
- Atamatax
- Software-first; refers complex cases to independent CPAs.
- 1040 Abroad
- Free email consults; a person prepares the return.
Form 8621 (PFIC)
- Atamatax
- Built-in specialty; up to 25 per return.
- 1040 Abroad
- Handled, but not their core specialty.
FBAR + FATCA (Form 8938)
- Atamatax
- Generated in the same flow.
- 1040 Abroad
- Prepared as part of the filing.
Streamlined catch-up filings
- Atamatax
- Prepared with you: Essential $1,590 · Investor $2,200 · Complex from $2,990. You sign Form 14653 and file.
- 1040 Abroad
- Strong on Streamlined Foreign Offshore; the preparer completes and files the submission.
Turnaround speed
- Atamatax
- Same-session draft; generate the package on your schedule.
- 1040 Abroad
- Depends on preparer capacity and back-and-forth.
Treaty positions (Form 8833)
- Atamatax
- Dedicated FR / UK / DE / CA / AU desks.
- 1040 Abroad
- Handled case-by-case by a preparer.
Each row states what the two products do as of September 2026. We update this page when their offering changes — tell us if it's out of date.
Two Atamatax product lines appear in this table. Self-serve software for one tax year — $299 (no PFICs), $499 (up to 25 Forms 8621) and $799 (treaty positions) — and the Streamlined catch-up preparation tiers at $1,590–$2,990+, which are quoted in writing after a free scope check and prepared with you. They are different services at different prices.
Bottom line
Atamatax is self-serve software for supported foreign-account and PFIC inputs, plus quoted Streamlined preparation tiers where the years are prepared with you and you sign Form 14653 and file. It shows a free on-screen summary, charges to generate the draft package, and you file with the instructions provided. Verify any other provider's current preparation, review, and filing scope directly.
Before choosing either
Check the facts the price depends on
- Streamlined eligibility checkerBefore paying anyone's Streamlined price: whether the published gates fit your facts, and where a question is a professional's to settle.Free · no signup
- Is my fund a PFIC?Screens a fund or ETF by ISIN or domicile — the count of PFICs is what a per-form price turns on.Free · no signup
- PFIC filing cost calculatorWhat Form 8621 preparation is likely to cost from your holdings and years, to set beside a per-form quote.Free · no signup
- US expat tax calculatorWhich forms your year actually needs, and an outlook on the tax — the list the price on either side should be quoted against.Free · no signup
How this comparison was made
- Competitor facts come from 1040 Abroad's own published pages — the price list, the plan descriptions, the forms list — and are linked under Sources where a public page exists. Where a price is quoted per case, the table says so rather than guessing a number.
- 1040 Abroad publishes its pricing per engagement rather than as a list, so the table describes the model and quotes no figure.
- Atamatax's prices are rendered from the pricing configuration the checkout uses, so the table cannot show a price the product does not charge.
- Rows describe scope, not quality: no cell is marked as a winner, and the bottom line says who is better served by the other product.
Out of date? Tell us and the row is re-read. Atamatax pricing · Comparison methodology and index
Sources
Compare on your own situation
Which Atamatax package would your return actually need?
A few questions name the forms, the package and the price for your year — then the comparison above is about you, not about a generic expat.
Or skip the questions: the on-screen draft is free and you pay when you generate the package — start my return.