Comparison · updated monthly
TurboTax is the default for US-domestic filers. For expats it routes you to TurboTax Live (a CPA) — not the self-serve product.
TurboTax dominates US-domestic filing but explicitly recommends TurboTax Live Full Service for expat returns with Form 2555, foreign brokerages, or PFICs. That's a CPA-assisted product, not self-serve software. Atamatax is built specifically for the self-serve expat case.
Who TurboTax is for
TurboTax self-serve fits US-domiciled filers with W-2 income, a US brokerage 1099, and no FBAR. The moment you're abroad with a foreign brokerage, TurboTax sends you to Live.
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.
TurboTax
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
Self-serve expat coverage
- Atamatax
- End-to-end (Form 1040, 2555, 1116, 8938, 8621, FBAR).
- TurboTax
- Recommends TurboTax Live for expats.
Pricing for expats
- Atamatax
- $299 / $499 / $799 flat per return.
- TurboTax
- TurboTax Live Full Service ranges by complexity.
Form 8621 (PFIC)
- Atamatax
- Built-in; up to 25 per return.
- TurboTax
- Not in self-serve TurboTax.
FBAR (FinCEN Form 114)
- Atamatax
- Generated in the same flow.
- TurboTax
- Not part of TurboTax (FBAR goes to FinCEN, separate).
Treaty positions (Form 8833)
- Atamatax
- Dedicated FR / UK / DE / CA / AU desks.
- TurboTax
- Available via TurboTax Live.
US-domestic complexity (rental, K-1, crypto)
- Atamatax
- Federal expat-baseline; some domestic schedules limited.
- TurboTax
- Mature: every schedule, full integrations.
Integrated e-file
- Atamatax
- Reviewable PDF package with step-by-step filing instructions; you file it.
- TurboTax
- E-file across all 50 states.
State returns
- Atamatax
- Federal-only in v1.
- TurboTax
- 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, TurboTax is the better tool — it does more, including state returns. If you're an expat with a foreign brokerage, TurboTax self-serve won't actually complete your return; you'd end up on TurboTax Live at CPA prices. Atamatax keeps the self-serve workflow intact for the expat case.
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 TurboTax'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.
- TurboTax 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.