What are Golding & Golding's fees?

Their site describes a reduced-fee initial consultation followed by a case-specific flat-fee quote for the engagement — the consultation fee is applied to the retainer if you engage — and does not publish a universal price for Streamlined or other offshore work. The fee depends on the number of years in scope, whether willfulness is in question, how many accounts and entities are involved, and whether the matter is contested. The reliable way to get a figure is the consultation; any third-party page quoting a fixed number is guessing.

How much does Atamatax cost by comparison?

Atamatax publishes flat per-package prices for one tax year of self-serve software: CPA Export · $199, Simple · $299, PFIC · $499 and Complex · $799. The diagnostic and the on-screen summary are free, and you pay only when you generate the package; there is no hourly billing, no scoping call and no quote for those. Streamlined catch-up preparation is quoted in writing inside a published $1,590–$2,990+ band. Neither includes legal representation, privilege or audit defence.

Is a law firm worth it for a straightforward Streamlined filing?

It depends on whether your filing is actually straightforward, which is itself partly a legal question. Where the failure to file was clearly non-willful and the facts fit a supported preparation workflow, software is built for that case. Where willfulness is genuinely arguable, where an examination is open, or where a penalty is being contested, you are buying judgement and privilege — and those come from counsel.

People do. A common pattern is to take legal advice on the willfulness question and the choice of programme, then have the return package prepared separately. Atamatax also sells a CPA Export tier for exactly this handoff: worksheets, PFIC classifications, threshold logic and an assumption log, in the form a professional can review and file from.

Comparison · updated monthly

Golding & Golding is an attorney-led offshore-disclosure firm. Atamatax is self-serve preparation software.

Golding & Golding's official site describes a board-certified tax-law team focused on offshore disclosure, penalty matters and expatriation, with tax and legal work handled in-house. It offers a paid initial consultation and then a case-specific flat-fee quote; it does not publish a universal Streamlined fee. Atamatax is self-serve software for supported non-willful expat preparation; legal representation comes from counsel you engage.

Who Golding & Golding is for

Golding may fit a taxpayer who wants attorney-led advice, privilege and full-service representation—including a Streamlined or voluntary-disclosure analysis. Atamatax fits a taxpayer whose facts remain within the supported non-willful preparation scope and who wants to build and review the return package in software. Potential willfulness, examination, penalties or a legal-position dispute belongs with counsel.

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.

Golding & Golding

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

Feature	Atamatax	Golding & Golding
What it is	Self-serve tax-preparation software.	A tax law firm — licensed attorneys.
Willful / potential-fraud exposure	Out of scope — we refer these to a law firm.	Core expertise; attorney-client privilege.
Non-willful self-serve prep	Built for exactly this — flat price, free draft.	Attorney-led, full-service engagement rather than a self-serve product.
Legal advice & privilege	Software prepares the package; legal advice and privilege come from counsel you engage.	Yes — a key reason to use a law firm.
IRS audit / examination representation	Not offered.	Yes — controversy work is a strength.
Pricing	Simple · $299 / PFIC · $499 / Complex · $799; confirmed by the return scope.	Paid initial consultation, then a case-specific flat-fee quote; no universal fee published.
Form 8621 (PFIC) preparation	Built-in; up to 25 per return.	Confirm the required forms and scope in the engagement quote.
Streamlined / non-willful catch-up prep	Prepared with you at published tiers ($1,590–$2,990+); you sign Form 14653 and file.	Handles these, including borderline-willful facts.
Free draft before paying	Yes.	Official site offers a reduced-fee consultation, not a self-serve draft.

What it is

Atamatax: Self-serve tax-preparation software.
Golding & Golding: A tax law firm — licensed attorneys.

Willful / potential-fraud exposure

Atamatax: Out of scope — we refer these to a law firm.
Golding & Golding: Core expertise; attorney-client privilege.

Non-willful self-serve prep

Atamatax: Built for exactly this — flat price, free draft.
Golding & Golding: Attorney-led, full-service engagement rather than a self-serve product.

Legal advice & privilege

Atamatax: Software prepares the package; legal advice and privilege come from counsel you engage.
Golding & Golding: Yes — a key reason to use a law firm.

IRS audit / examination representation

Atamatax: Not offered.
Golding & Golding: Yes — controversy work is a strength.

Pricing

Atamatax: Simple · $299 / PFIC · $499 / Complex · $799; confirmed by the return scope.
Golding & Golding: Paid initial consultation, then a case-specific flat-fee quote; no universal fee published.

Form 8621 (PFIC) preparation

Atamatax: Built-in; up to 25 per return.
Golding & Golding: Confirm the required forms and scope in the engagement quote.

Streamlined / non-willful catch-up prep

Atamatax: Prepared with you at published tiers ($1,590–$2,990+); you sign Form 14653 and file.
Golding & Golding: Handles these, including borderline-willful facts.

Free draft before paying

Atamatax: Yes.
Golding & Golding: Official site offers a reduced-fee consultation, not a self-serve draft.

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.

How much does Golding & Golding cost?

There is no single published number, and any page that gives you one should be treated with suspicion. Golding & Golding's own site describes a paid initial consultation followed by a case-specific flat-fee quote for the engagement — which is how attorney-led offshore-disclosure work is normally sold. The fee depends on the facts: how many years are in scope, whether willfulness is genuinely in question, how many entities and accounts are involved, and whether the matter is a straightforward Streamlined submission or a contested penalty case.

That is not evasiveness on their part. A law firm quoting a universal Streamlined price before seeing the facts would be quoting before knowing the work. What it does mean is that “what does Golding & Golding charge” has no honest answer that fits in a table — you get a number by having the consultation, and the number reflects your case. The firm's own contact page adds one detail worth knowing before you book: the consultation fee is applied to the flat-fee retainer if you go on to engage them, so it works as a deposit rather than a separate charge.

What we can state precisely is our own side, because it is published. Atamatax's self-serve software is sold at flat per-package prices for one tax year: CPA Export · $199, Simple · $299, PFIC · $499, and Complex · $799. The diagnostic and the on-screen summary are free; you pay when you generate the package. No hourly billing, no scoping call, no quote for those. A Streamlined catch-up is the one Atamatax service that is quoted — in writing, after a free scope check, inside a published band of $1,590–$2,990+ (Essential, Investor, Complex) — because three return years and six FBAR years are prepared with you rather than generated from a form.

The two are not competing on price, because they are not selling the same thing. One is legal representation with privilege, judgement and the ability to defend a position under examination. The other is a tool that prepares a return package from data you provide and confirm. Comparing the price of a lawyer with the price of software is only useful once you know which of the two your situation actually needs.

A quoted flat fee buys attorney judgement, privilege, and representation if the IRS pushes back — none of which software provides at any price.
A published software price buys a computed, reviewable package for facts that fit a supported workflow.
Potential willfulness, an open examination, penalty abatement or a disputed legal position belongs with counsel. That is a scope question, not a budget one.
For a non-willful expat whose facts fit the supported workflow, the published tiers are the whole cost, and the free draft lets you see the output before paying.

Bottom line

Golding & Golding sells attorney-led tax and legal representation under a quoted flat-fee engagement; its public site does not state one universal Streamlined price. Atamatax sells supported self-serve preparation at published product tiers. Choose counsel when you need legal judgment, privilege, penalty work or representation; choose software only when the case fits the supported non-willful workflow.

Before choosing either

Check the facts the price depends on

Frequently asked questions

What are Golding & Golding's fees?#: Their site describes a reduced-fee initial consultation followed by a case-specific flat-fee quote for the engagement — the consultation fee is applied to the retainer if you engage — and does not publish a universal price for Streamlined or other offshore work. The fee depends on the number of years in scope, whether willfulness is in question, how many accounts and entities are involved, and whether the matter is contested. The reliable way to get a figure is the consultation; any third-party page quoting a fixed number is guessing.
How much does Atamatax cost by comparison?#: Atamatax publishes flat per-package prices for one tax year of self-serve software: CPA Export · $199, Simple · $299, PFIC · $499 and Complex · $799. The diagnostic and the on-screen summary are free, and you pay only when you generate the package; there is no hourly billing, no scoping call and no quote for those. Streamlined catch-up preparation is quoted in writing inside a published $1,590–$2,990+ band. Neither includes legal representation, privilege or audit defence.
Is a law firm worth it for a straightforward Streamlined filing?#: It depends on whether your filing is actually straightforward, which is itself partly a legal question. Where the failure to file was clearly non-willful and the facts fit a supported preparation workflow, software is built for that case. Where willfulness is genuinely arguable, where an examination is open, or where a penalty is being contested, you are buying judgement and privilege — and those come from counsel.
Can I use both?#: People do. A common pattern is to take legal advice on the willfulness question and the choice of programme, then have the return package prepared separately. Atamatax also sells a CPA Export tier for exactly this handoff: worksheets, PFIC classifications, threshold logic and an assumption log, in the form a professional can review and file from.

How this comparison was made

Competitor facts come from Golding & Golding'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.
Golding & Golding publishes its pricing per engagement rather than as a list, so the table describes the model and quotes no figure. The model was last re-read from Golding & Golding's site on September 21, 2026.
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 catch-up route fits your facts?

Eight questions on the published gates — where you lived, whether the failure was non-willful, which years are open — name the IRS route and the Atamatax tier to set a quote against. Free, no account.

Find the safest catch-up path for my situation Get a case assessment ($100)

The assessment tests each year against its own published threshold and names the forms that follow, before anyone quotes the work. Streamlined preparation itself is quoted in writing inside the published $1,590–$2,990+ band.