Comparison · updated monthly
TaxAct is a low-cost option for US-domestic filers. It's not built for the expat forms you need once you're abroad.
TaxAct is a budget-friendly US tax product that genuinely undercuts the big names on price for straightforward domestic returns. To be fair: TaxAct does accept entry of the expat forms — including Form 8621 (up to 50 per return per its own support docs). What it doesn't do is the work around them: no foreign-brokerage import, no PFIC classification of your UCITS funds, no §1291/QEF/MtM guidance, no FBAR workflow. You need to already know which of your holdings are PFICs and what goes on each line. Atamatax is built specifically for that analysis.
Who TaxAct is for
TaxAct fits cost-conscious US-domiciled filers with W-2 income, a US brokerage 1099, and no foreign accounts. The moment you're abroad with a foreign brokerage, a foreign pension, or PFICs, it's the wrong tool.
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.
TaxAct
Self-serve tax software
You enter the figures and file the return yourself; the software computes the forms it supports.
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
Price for a simple domestic return
- Atamatax
- Expat-focused; flat $299 / $499 / $799 per return.
- TaxAct
- Among the cheaper US-domestic options.
Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (Form 2555)
- Atamatax
- Built into the expat flow.
- TaxAct
- Form entry supported; no expat-guided flow.
Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116)
- Atamatax
- Built-in, with the FEIE-vs-FTC decision guided.
- TaxAct
- Form entry supported; not expat-oriented.
Form 8621 (PFIC)
- Atamatax
- Built-in with PFIC classification, brokerage import, and §1291/QEF/MtM math; up to 25 per return.
- TaxAct
- Form entry supported (up to 50) — but you must classify PFICs and compute the numbers yourself.
FBAR (FinCEN Form 114)
- Atamatax
- Generated in the same flow.
- TaxAct
- Not included — FBAR is filed separately with FinCEN.
FATCA (Form 8938)
- Atamatax
- Covered in the expat baseline.
- TaxAct
- Not an expat focus.
US-domestic complexity (rental, K-1, crypto)
- Atamatax
- Federal expat-baseline; some domestic schedules limited.
- TaxAct
- Mature for domestic schedules.
Integrated e-file
- Atamatax
- Reviewable PDF package with step-by-step filing instructions; you file it.
- TaxAct
- E-file across all 50 states.
State returns
- Atamatax
- Federal-only in v1.
- TaxAct
- 50 states.
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
If you're a US-domiciled filer on a budget, TaxAct is a reasonable, cheaper choice — it does more for domestic returns and files state. If you're an expat with a foreign brokerage or PFICs, TaxAct will accept the forms but leaves the hard part — classifying PFICs, importing foreign holdings, and computing the §1291/QEF/MtM figures — entirely to you. Atamatax is built for exactly that work.
Before choosing either
Check the facts the price depends on
- 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
- FBAR filing checkerWhether the FBAR applies to your accounts at all — the report domestic software does not file.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 TaxAct'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.
- TaxAct 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.