Table of Contents:
If you’re an American living abroad, whether in Asia, Africa, Europe, or anywhere else, you can’t ignore your U.S. tax filing obligations.
No matter if you’re a retiree, digital nomad, or full-time employee, you must ensure you remain compliant with IRS requirements.
The U.S. tax system is arguably one of the most complex in the world, and living overseas adds another layer of difficulty.
Technically, you can prepare and file your own taxes through the IRS, but depending on your situation, it’s easy to make an error or overlook something you’re required to declare—such as a foreign bank account, investment income, or local pension.
Like me, you probably dread tax season. It always seems to roll around just after you’ve finished the last one, and all you really want is to focus on your business or enjoy your retirement in peace.
That’s exactly why I hire a professional to handle my return.
It gives me peace of mind knowing my taxes are filed accurately and that I won’t face any nasty surprises later on. I genuinely sleep better knowing a specialist has my back.
Before we get into my review of Taxes for Expats, let’s start with a quick overview of U.S. tax liability for Americans living and working abroad.
What Is Your Tax Liability as a US Citizen?
If you’re a U.S. citizen or green card holder living abroad, you’re still required to file an annual U.S. tax return.
Don’t panic, though—filing doesn’t always mean you’ll owe any tax.
Under U.S. law, citizens and permanent residents are taxed on their worldwide income, regardless of where they live. So whether you’re working in Thailand, the U.K., Australia, or Kenya, your global income remains reportable to the IRS, even if you’re already paying taxes in your country of residence.
Whether you actually owe any money depends on your individual situation.
For example, some expats still earn U.S.-sourced income, such as rent, dividends, or investment returns, while living abroad. Others have no U.S. assets but earn a salary in their host country. Either way, you must file a return every year.
The good news is that most expats don’t end up paying double tax. The U.S. has several mechanisms that help reduce or eliminate your liability, including:
- The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE): allows qualifying expats to exclude up to $126,500 (for 2024) or $130,000 (for 2025)
- The Foreign Tax Credit (FTC): gives credit for income taxes paid to another country.
- Tax Treaties: in many countries, these prevent certain types of double taxation.
- The Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR): while not a tax, this is an important annual disclosure for anyone with over $10,000 held in foreign bank accounts.
Failing to file or report correctly can lead to penalties, so even if you don’t owe tax, staying compliant is essential.
+ Get $25 off your return with this special link
Double Taxation Rules
Double taxation is a concern, but it's generally not an issue and actually the reason most US expats don't end up paying any tax after filing.
Double taxation is a common concern for U.S. expats, but in practice, it’s usually not a problem, and it’s actually why most Americans living abroad end up owing little or no U.S. tax.
The U.S. has tax treaties with many countries that prevent the same income from being taxed twice. On top of that, expats can often use tools like the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) or the Foreign Tax Credit (FTC) to reduce or even eliminate U.S. tax on income earned abroad.
That said, there are a handful of countries without a U.S. tax treaty. These include:
- Vietnam
- Mongolia
- Kiribati
- Liechtenstein
- Brazil
- Algeria
In countries like these, double taxation can be more of an issue, so careful planning and reporting are essential. You can find a full list of U.S. tax treaties on the IRS website.
Even if you live in a country with no treaty, the FEIE and FTC often still help reduce your liability, so the key is filing correctly.
Taxes For Expats Review
About TFX
Taxes For Expats (also known as TFX) provides expert tax advice, planning, and compliance services for individuals, partnerships, corporations, trusts, and estates—wherever you live in the world.
The company holds a 4.9/5 rating on Trustpilot (based on over 2,600 reviews as of October 2025) and Google Reviews, reflecting consistently high customer satisfaction.
TFX focuses exclusively on U.S. expats, which is their area of expertise. Whether you’re a retiree, business owner, digital nomad with no fixed address, or crypto investor, you can file your U.S. taxes online with confidence through their team of experts.
One feature I particularly value is their staff experience:
TFX employs over 80 seasoned Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), Enrolled Agents (EAs), and tax attorneys, each with at least 10 years of experience.
While not an ageist point, it indicates the company prioritizes seasoned professionals over junior staff. Work is never outsourced to middlemen, which adds a layer of credibility and trust.
Another standout is their quality control process:
Every tax return is reviewed by a senior supervisor who double-checks the work for accuracy.
This level of diligence is rare, making TFX especially appealing to expats who need reliable, worry-free service.
For context, TFX is based in New York, serves over 50,000 clients across 193 countries, and was founded by Ines Zemelman, who has been preparing U.S. expat tax returns since 1991.
Services On Offer
In addition to standard U.S. tax return preparation, Taxes For Expats provides a range of specialized services for Americans living abroad:
- Tax Planning: Strategic advice to minimize your tax liability and optimize the use of exclusions, credits, and deductions.
- Back Taxes Assistance: Help if you haven’t been fully compliant and need to catch up on past filings.
- Amended Tax Returns: Guidance and preparation if you discover a mistake on a previously filed return.
- IRS Amnesty Programs (Delinquent Taxes): Assistance with programs such as the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures, which typically includes three past tax returns and six FBAR filings, often without penalties.
- Tax Extension Filing: Free filing of IRS extensions if you need more time (retainer credit applies).
- IRS Letter Response: Professional assistance decoding and responding to IRS correspondence.
- Review of Self-Prepared Returns: If you prefer to file your taxes yourself, TFX can review your submission to ensure it’s accurate and compliant.
These services make TFX particularly useful for expats with complex situations, whether it’s catching up on old returns, managing multiple income sources, or ensuring you don’t face IRS penalties.
How TFX Works
The good news is that you won’t need to mail paperwork or visit a local office with binders full of receipts and invoices.
Thanks to the internet, everything is handled remotely through a secure client dashboard.
- You communicate with your assigned tax preparer online.
- Questions are answered via email, and documents are uploaded directly to your secure client area.
- The dashboard is neatly organized, clearly showing which documents are needed at each stage of the process.
- All uploaded information and documents are saved for future tax returns, making year-to-year filing much easier.
Quicken & QuickBooks Users
If you use Quicken or QuickBooks, you can upload reports directly into your client dashboard for your tax preparer to review.
While some manual data entry may still be required for your return, this feature helps streamline the process and reduces errors.
How to Get Started In 10 Easy Steps
The Taxes For Expats website is very easy to use. It’s packed with helpful information, including blog posts and a detailed FAQ section. You can even call the company directly using the phone numbers displayed in the top-right corner of the website.
Here’s a step-by-step overview of getting started with your U.S. expat tax return:
1. Sign Up & Register an Account
Create a free account on the TFX website. You’ll receive an email with instructions to activate your account and access your secure dashboard, where you’ll enter your details and upload documents.
2. Schedule a 20-Minute Phone Consultation (Optional)
If you want pre-filing advice, you can schedule a consultation with a tax professional for a $50 retainer. This fee is deducted from your total bill if you proceed with TFX. Personally, I skip this step and move straight to the tax questionnaire—you can always ask your tax preparer questions later.
3. Fill Out the Tax Questionnaire
The questionnaire is completed directly in your browser, no downloads required. It helps assign a suitable tax preparer and identifies which documents you need to upload. Check the FAQ if you have questions along the way.
4. Meet Your Tax Preparer
You’ll be assigned a tax preparer who will contact you about your filing. Response times vary depending on your country and time zone. You can securely email your preparer via the client dashboard with any questions.
5. Upload Your Tax Documents
After completing the questionnaire, you’ll see a document checklist. Upload all required documents to your dashboard so your preparer can complete your expat tax return.
6. Review & Sign Your Letter of Engagement
Your preparer will draft an Engagement Letter (EL) outlining the scope of work and the fee. Review it in your dashboard, sign it, and submit it to officially start the process.
7. Wait for Completion
The company guarantees completion within 15 business days. The sooner you complete your questionnaire and upload documents, the sooner your preparer can start. Expedited service is available if you need your return sooner.
8. Pay for the Service
Once your return is ready, you’ll be notified by email. Payment is required before you can download the completed return. TFX accepts major credit cards, PayPal, and wire transfers.
9. File Your Tax Returns
After payment, you can either download your return and mail it to the IRS, or have TFX electronically file it for you—saving time and hassle.
10. Pay Your Taxes
Hopefully, you won’t owe anything! If you do, check your dashboard for IRS payment instructions. Never send payments to TFX—all tax payments must go directly to the IRS.
+ Get $25 off your return with this special link
TFX Pricing & Packages
Compared to similar services, TFX is very competitive, and in my experience, often cheaper.
Be careful when comparing prices: some services may appear cheaper upfront, but once you factor in VAT or currency conversions, they often aren’t. Taxes For Expats does not collect VAT, and all prices are quoted in USD, so consider the exchange rate if you’re comparing from another currency.
TFX Pricing Structure
The pricing structure is straightforward:
Base Federal Return: $450
This includes over 35 forms covering most expat situations:
- US and Foreign Wages
- Foreign Tax Credit Form 1116
- Qualified IRA or ROTH contributions
- Health Care Coverage Exemption
- Alternative Minimum Tax Calculations
- Estimated Payment Vouchers
- US Retirement and Social Security income
- Interest and Dividends (10 transactions included)
- Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Form 2555
- Child & Dependent Credits & Deductions
- Over 35 Tax Forms included
Most expats fall under the base package.
Additional Fees
More complex tax situations may incur additional fees. For example:
- Expanded Income Bundle (self-employment): +$75 (includes Schedule C, Schedule SE, home office deduction, depreciation)
- FINCEN form 114 (FBAR) filing: +$85
- FATCA (form 8938) – up to 5 accounts: +100
- State tax return: +$160 per state
- Form 5471 (foreign corporation): +$625
- Form 1120-S (S-corporation): +$800
Extra forms may also be required if you have business interests, rental properties, or investments outside the U.S.
Streamlined Filing ($1,450)
This plan is designed for the expat amnesty program, for so-called delinquent taxpayers.
It applies to anyone who hasn't filed U.S. taxes for three or more years while living abroad and wants to become fully compliant.
The IRS announced the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures in 2014, offering amnesty from penalties and fees associated with undeclared taxes.
There are several pathways within the Streamlined Package. The pathway most suited to your situation will be determined after you complete the questionnaire.
The standard pathway includes all the usual tax forms, as well as:
- 3 past tax returns
- 6 years of FBAR filings (Foreign Bank Account Reports)
- Participation in the special IRS program
- Optional: There is a personal affidavit letter add-on ($300), which you can actually draft yourself.
Overall, TFX's pricing is straightforward, transparent, and well-suited to most expats, especially when you factor in the peace of mind of having a professional handle everything correctly.
Let's take a closer look at the packages.
1. Core ($350)
This is the cheapest package for those earning under 100k USD per year (gross).
Here's an example of what this includes:
- US and Foreign Wages
- Foreign Tax Credit Form 1116
- Qualified IRA or ROTH contributions
- Health Care Coverage Exemption
- Alternative Minimum Tax Calculations
- Estimated Payment Vouchers
- Gross Income Below $100K
- US Retirement and Social Security income
- Interest and Dividends (10 transactions included)
- Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Form 2555
- Child & Dependent Credits & Deductions
- Over 30 Tax Forms included
2. Premier ($450)
The Premier Package is for those who earn over 100k USD per year (gross).
This package includes all forms listed above in the Core Package, plus the following:
- Includes all forms in Core Package
- Investment Capital Gains (10 transactions included)
- 1 Rental Property
- Self-Employment Income (1 Schedule C)
- Other Non-Wage income
- 1 Schedule K-1
- Earned Income Credit
- Non-US Retirement Income
3. Streamlined ($1,200)
This plan is designed for the expat amnesty program, for so-called delinquent taxpayers.
It applies to anyone who hasn’t filed U.S. taxes for three or more years while living abroad and wants to become fully compliant.
The IRS announced the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures in 2014, offering amnesty from penalties and fees associated with undeclared taxes.
There are several pathways within the Streamlined Package. The pathway most suited to your situation will be determined after you complete the questionnaire.
The standard pathway includes all the usual tax forms, as well as:
- 3 past tax returns
- 6 years of FBAR filings (Foreign Bank Account Reports)
- Participation in the special IRS program
- Optional: There is a personal affidavit letter add-on ($300), which you can actually draft yourself.
In Summary
I definitely recommend Taxes For Expats. Their 4.9/5 ratings on Trustpilot and Google Reviews speak volumes about their professionalism and reliability.
Having spoken personally with the owner, I can say they truly value the expat community and are committed to providing a tailored, trustworthy service that meets the unique needs of Americans living abroad. I also think the service offers good value, especially at the base $450 package level.
Many of my U.S. expat readers have been using TFX for years, which is a testament to the company’s consistency and quality.
Sure, you can file your own return and save a little money. But as a business owner, I always consider the cost of opportunity: what else could I be doing that adds more value to my life than spending hours on tax returns? Whether it’s working on a new business venture or simply spending time with my kids, hiring a professional lets you focus on what truly matters.
U.S. taxes are complicated enough on their own, and even more so for expats living and working overseas. They can be a source of real stress and anxiety. For this reason, it makes sense to hire a qualified professional to take the weight off your shoulders and ensure everything is done correctly.
+ Get $25 off your return with this special link
Last Updated on
Leave a Reply