Comparison · scope and responsibilities
Choosing between a DIY return, an advisor and PFIC software? Compare the output and who completes the filing.
H&R Block's public expat page offers both DIY filing and a tax-advisor service. Atamatax offers self-serve calculations and reviewable preparation outputs, including supported PFIC worksheets. These are different scopes: establish your tax year, required forms, review needs and filing responsibility before comparing prices.
By Danilson Ramos · Founder, Atamatax
Updated
Who H&R Block Expat is for
H&R Block Expat is a relevant option if you want to prepare your own expat return through its product or engage a tax advisor. Confirm whether your particular PFICs, elections, states and prior years are included. Atamatax may fit someone seeking supported calculation worksheets for their own or their professional's review.
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.
H&R Block Expat
Self-serve tax software
You enter the figures and file the return yourself; the software computes the forms it supports.
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
Service model
- Atamatax
- Self-serve software; professional advice and signature are separate.
- H&R Block Expat
- DIY expat filing or a tax-advisor service.
Published pricing
- Atamatax
- $199 worksheet-only CPA Export; supported annual packages $299–$799. Confirm the year and output.
- H&R Block Expat
- Public starting prices checked October 24, 2026: DIY $124 plus $49 per FBAR; tax advisor $259 plus $99 for FBAR. Additions and eligibility can change the total.
PFIC / Form 8621
- Atamatax
- Supported §1291, QEF and mark-to-market worksheets. Official PDF availability depends on year and release validation.
- H&R Block Expat
- The reviewed overview does not establish detailed Form 8621 or election coverage. Ask for written confirmation and any additional fee.
FBAR / Form 8938
- Atamatax
- Threshold screening and supported preparation inputs. FBAR is filed separately with FinCEN by you.
- H&R Block Expat
- The overview lists FBAR pricing. Confirm Form 8938, account limits and submission responsibilities for your selected product.
Tax-year availability
- Atamatax
- Tax year 2026 currently uses worksheet-only output; integrated official templates are listed on Supported forms.
- H&R Block Expat
- Confirm the supported tax years, current product availability and prior-year process directly.
Professional review
- Atamatax
- No CPA/EA review is bundled with the self-serve software purchase.
- H&R Block Expat
- A tax-advisor option is advertised; confirm the assigned person's role and the engagement terms.
Filing and state returns
- Atamatax
- Federal preparation output only; you complete, sign and file. No integrated e-file or state-return preparation.
- H&R Block Expat
- Confirm federal e-file, state coverage and who signs and submits for the specific year and service.
Each row states what the two products do as of October 2026. We update this page when their offering changes — tell us if it's out of date.
Competitor pricing last verified: against H&R Block Expat's own published price list. Prices change; confirm on their site before deciding.
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.
Get a quote for the same work
A base expat return price does not establish the total for multiple PFICs, late elections or missed years. Ask both providers for the holdings and years covered, the calculation method, remaining records, professional review and filing responsibility. Starting prices are observations from the cited public page, not a quote for your case.
Bottom line
Choose from the written scope. An advisor engagement, a DIY filing product and calculation worksheets place different responsibilities on you. If you are uncertain which filings or years apply, establish that scope before purchasing.
Before choosing either
Check the facts the price depends on
Frequently asked questions
- Does H&R Block Expat support my Form 8621?#
- The public overview reviewed for this comparison does not establish detailed Form 8621 coverage. Confirm your funds, years, election method and any added fee directly before buying.
- Does Atamatax file the return for me?#
- The self-serve package is preparation output: you, or your own professional, complete the review, sign and file. The alternative is a fully managed engagement — Atamatax engages a CPA or enrolled agent, includes their fee in one quote, and the quote names how the return is filed.
How this comparison was made
- Competitor facts come from H&R Block Expat'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.
- Prices were last read from H&R Block Expat's site on ; they are re-read on a monthly cadence and the date above changes when they are.
- 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.