Comparison · updated monthly

Greenback is a done-for-you CPA/EA service. Atamatax is self-serve software: the on-screen summary is free, while package generation is paid.

Greenback Expat Tax Services presents a human-preparation service; verify its current credentials, scope, and fees directly with the provider. Atamatax is self-guided software specialized in PFIC / Form 8621: its on-screen diagnostic and calculation summary are free, while generating a supported draft package requires payment.

By Danilson Ramos · Founder, Atamatax

Updated November 2026

Who Greenback Expat Tax Services is for

Greenback fits expats who want to hand the return to a preparer and don't mind paying per-service fees and waiting on a preparer's queue — especially complex situations like self-employment abroad, multiple foreign entities, or back-tax / streamlined filings.

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.

Greenback Expat Tax Services

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	Greenback Expat Tax Services
Model	Self-serve software you complete yourself.	Done-for-you: a CPA/EA prepares the return.
Pricing	$299 / $499 / $799 flat per return, published.	Flat per-service fees, billed per form/service.
Free on-screen summary before paying	On-screen draft free; pay to generate the PDF package.	No free draft — engagement is paid up front.
Form 8621 (PFIC)	Core specialty; built-in, up to 25 per return.	Handled by preparers, typically a paid add-on.
FBAR (FinCEN 114) & FATCA (Form 8938)	Generated in the same flow.	Prepared as part of the service.
Treaty positions (Form 8833)	Dedicated FR / UK / DE / CA / AU desks.	Handled by the assigned CPA/EA.
Turnaround	Self-paced draft; package generation remains user-triggered.	Depends on preparer scheduling and back-and-forth.
Arbitrarily complex / unusual cases	Complex cases move to a fully managed engagement with an independent EA or CPA that Atamatax engages.	Real CPAs/EAs handle complexity end-to-end.
Integrated e-file & state returns	Reviewable federal package with filing instructions; you file it (federal only).	Preparer files federal and state for you.

Model

Atamatax: Self-serve software you complete yourself.
Greenback Expat Tax Services: Done-for-you: a CPA/EA prepares the return.

Pricing

Atamatax: $299 / $499 / $799 flat per return, published.
Greenback Expat Tax Services: Flat per-service fees, billed per form/service.

Free on-screen summary before paying

Atamatax: On-screen draft free; pay to generate the PDF package.
Greenback Expat Tax Services: No free draft — engagement is paid up front.

Form 8621 (PFIC)

Atamatax: Core specialty; built-in, up to 25 per return.
Greenback Expat Tax Services: Handled by preparers, typically a paid add-on.

FBAR (FinCEN 114) & FATCA (Form 8938)

Atamatax: Generated in the same flow.
Greenback Expat Tax Services: Prepared as part of the service.

Treaty positions (Form 8833)

Atamatax: Dedicated FR / UK / DE / CA / AU desks.
Greenback Expat Tax Services: Handled by the assigned CPA/EA.

Turnaround

Atamatax: Self-paced draft; package generation remains user-triggered.
Greenback Expat Tax Services: Depends on preparer scheduling and back-and-forth.

Arbitrarily complex / unusual cases

Atamatax: Complex cases move to a fully managed engagement with an independent EA or CPA that Atamatax engages.
Greenback Expat Tax Services: Real CPAs/EAs handle complexity end-to-end.

Integrated e-file & state returns

Atamatax: Reviewable federal package with filing instructions; you file it (federal only).
Greenback Expat Tax Services: Preparer files federal and state for you.

Each row states what the two products do as of November 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.

Alternatives to Greenback, by what you need

Searches for Greenback alternatives usually come from one of three needs: another firm to prepare the return, software you complete yourself, or a specialist for one hard part such as foreign funds or years of missed FBARs.

Each name below has its own side-by-side page on this site, built from the provider's published information. Confirm current prices and scope with the provider before you choose.

Bright!Tax — done-for-you CPA firm with a published per-form price for Form 8621.
Taxes for Expats — human preparers at flat tiers.
1040 Abroad — human preparation at flat fees, strong on simple and Streamlined returns.
Online Taxman — boutique US-CPA firm, quote-based.
Dimov Tax — full-service CPA firm for expats, business and crypto.
MyExpatTaxes — software with a low entry price; Form 8621 is a per-form add-on.
Expatfile — software strong on FEIE and the foreign tax credit; PFIC only at the top tier.
H&R Block Expat — DIY expat filing with a tax-advisor option.
Golding & Golding — attorney-led offshore disclosure and FBAR representation.

Where Atamatax fits among them

Atamatax is built for the return where foreign funds are the hard part: the PFIC screen and the on-screen summary are free, and a supported package with up to 25 Forms 8621 is a flat price you see before paying. When a case needs a person to prepare and sign it, it becomes a fully managed engagement with an independent EA or CPA that Atamatax engages, on a written quote.

Bottom line

Atamatax provides a free on-screen PFIC summary and generates supported Form 8621 drafts after payment, which you review and file; human preparation is what Greenback sells. Verify Greenback's current credentials, scope, and fees directly before comparing.

Before choosing either

Check the facts the price depends on

How this comparison was made

Competitor facts come from Greenback Expat Tax Services'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.
Greenback Expat Tax Services 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

Greenback Expat Tax Services — official site

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.

See which package fits me (free)Atamatax pricing

Or skip the questions: the on-screen draft is free and you pay when you generate the package — start my return.