US tax filing for Americans living abroad
Up to $16,536 per year, per account.
The non-willful FBAR penalty for not filing.
That's not a preparer's fee. That's the fine for not knowing a rule most Americans abroad have never heard of: if your combined foreign accounts ever cross $10,000 at any point in the year, you have to report them, every year, even if you owe zero additional tax.
Every American retiree living abroad still files a US return, and in most cases an FBAR, no matter what the local tax treaty says. This trips up a lot of people specifically in year one, not because the tax math is hard, but because nobody tells them the filing exists until after the deadline that mattered.
Why Taxes for Expats (TFX)
We compared it against general US tax-prep chains that added an “expat services” option on top of their standard offering, and against a couple of boutique expat-only firms. The general chains lost points fast: expat returns need someone who files FBAR, FATCA, and the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion together as a matter of course, not as an unfamiliar add-on. TFX only does expat returns, quotes a flat fee before starting work (not an hourly rate that grows once you're already committed), and handles FBAR and FATCA as part of the standard filing, not a separate line item you have to know to ask for.
What to check before you file
TFX is a tax preparer, not a tax attorney. If your situation is more complex than a standard return (an inherited foreign property, a foreign business, an IRS dispute already in progress), ask upfront whether that's inside their standard scope or needs a referral elsewhere. A flat-fee quote should tell you which one you're getting before you pay anything.
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The commission is paid whether your return is simple or complicated. It doesn't change the price you're quoted.