Why I looked at expat tax software
Filing U.S. taxes while living abroad is genuinely more complicated than filing domestically. You may need to claim the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, the Foreign Tax Credit, or both. You almost certainly have FBAR filing obligations if you have bank accounts abroad. Standard domestic tax software rarely handles these well.
I went looking for software built specifically for expats — not domestic software with a few extra checkboxes, but something designed from the ground up for Americans filing from outside the United States.
Why MyExpatTaxes stood out
I tested several options. MyExpatTaxes was the one I felt most comfortable recommending, for a few specific reasons:
- It is built specifically for Americans abroad, not adapted from domestic tax software. The interview flow assumes you live outside the U.S. rather than treating foreign income as an unusual edge case.
- It walks you through the FEIE and Foreign Tax Credit decisions in plain language. The questions are structured in a way that mirrors how the IRS actually thinks about qualifying tests.
- You can file directly through the platform without needing to export to a separate system or work through a CPA for a basic return.
- Back-filing through the IRS Streamlined Filing Procedures is handled on-platform, which is unusual — most consumer tax software punts on this entirely.
- Professional support is available if you get stuck or your situation is more complex than you expected. That safety net matters for first-time expat filers.
- The pricing is transparent and reasonable for what you get. Expat tax preparation is not cheap when you use a CPA — MyExpatTaxes sits at a fair point between DIY domestic software and full CPA preparation.
Start with MyExpatTaxes
If you have straightforward expat income — salary or self-employment earnings from abroad, standard FEIE or FTC filing, and no highly complex structures — MyExpatTaxes is where I would start.
Start with MyExpatTaxes →Affiliate link — I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Who MyExpatTaxes is best for
This software works best for expats with relatively clean situations. Specifically, it is a strong fit if:
| Situation | Fit |
|---|---|
| Salary or wages earned abroad, single employer | Good fit |
| Self-employment income from abroad | Good fit |
| Claiming the FEIE for the first time | Good fit |
| Choosing between FEIE and Foreign Tax Credit | Good fit |
| Standard FBAR filing (bank accounts only) | Good fit |
| Filing from a treaty country (UK, Germany, France, etc.) | Generally fine — check treaty-specific questions |
| Multiple income sources across different countries | May want to review with support first |
| Foreign business ownership or pass-through entities | Likely needs CPA or specialist firm |
| Streamlined Filing Procedures for late returns | Supported — see our Streamlined Filing guide before you start |
| Foreign pension reporting (e.g. EPF, QROPS, NEST) | Highly complex — specialist only |
A note on more complex situations
MyExpatTaxes covers the most common expat filing needs well. But expat tax situations vary enormously, and some situations genuinely need a human expert — not because the software is lacking, but because the underlying rules are complex enough that errors can have real consequences.
If you have any of the following, I would consider starting with a specialist CPA or firm that focuses on expat returns rather than DIY software:
- Foreign business ownership or significant foreign investments (PFICs, CFCs, Form 5471, Form 8621)
- Complex FBAR situations involving trusts, foreign pensions, or employer-held accounts
- Green card holders with complicated exit tax questions
- Treaty elections or treaty tiebreaker positions (Form 8833)
Straightforward back-filing through the IRS Streamlined Filing Procedures is handled by MyExpatTaxes directly — read through the guide first so you understand what you are certifying, then you can prepare it on-platform.
For everyone else — the straightforward salary earner living abroad, the freelancer working remotely, the expat in their second or third year abroad with a stable situation — MyExpatTaxes is a reasonable place to start.
How MyExpatTaxes handles the FEIE and the Foreign Tax Credit
The two elections most U.S. expats make each year are the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion on Form 2555 and the Foreign Tax Credit on Form 1116. Both are supported end-to-end. The interview asks the questions that actually determine eligibility — physical-presence day counts, bona-fide-residence facts, housing exclusion inputs, qualified housing expenses — rather than asking you to fill the form fields directly.
If your situation is better handled by the Foreign Tax Credit (common in high-tax countries like the U.K., Germany, or France) the platform will route you to Form 1116 rather than defaulting to the FEIE. You can also layer both in the same return where that is correct — FEIE on earned income up to the exclusion cap, FTC on income above the cap or on passive income — which is exactly where general-purpose tax software tends to fall over.
For high-tax-country expats who are leaning toward the FTC, run your numbers through the FEIE vs FTC calculator first — it will show you the delta between the two approaches before you commit.
FBAR and FATCA on the same platform
Mainstream U.S. tax software does not file the FBAR. It ticks a box and sends you to the FinCEN BSA E-Filing System to do it yourself — which is one of the most common expat compliance gaps. MyExpatTaxes prepares the FBAR (FinCEN 114) on the same platform as your Form 1040. FATCA reporting (Form 8938) is handled in the same workflow when your foreign accounts cross the FATCA thresholds.
Before you start the return, you can pre-check your FBAR position with the FBAR Threshold Checker, and read the full FBAR and FATCA guide to understand which accounts count.
Back taxes and the IRS Streamlined Procedures
If you are several years behind on U.S. filings — common for expats who did not realize they had ongoing filing obligations — the IRS Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures are the penalty-free path back to compliance. MyExpatTaxes handles Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedure submissions directly on the platform: three years of back returns, six years of back FBARs, and the non-willful-conduct certification statement, packaged together.
That is unusual in the consumer tax-software market. Most products will stop you at the point of realizing you are delinquent and refer you to a professional. Streamlined back-filing through MyExpatTaxes works for the clean cases — you simply did not know you had to file, the facts are straightforward, and the non-willful certification is honest. If your situation involves willful-conduct concerns, significant penalty exposure, or unusual non-willful facts, stop and consult a qualified tax attorney or CPA before filing anything.
When to escalate to a CPA or specialist
Not every expat situation is a software situation. Escalate to a specialist CPA or Enrolled Agent if your return involves any of the following:
- Ownership of a foreign corporation, partnership, or pass-through entity — Forms 5471, 8865, or GILTI/Subpart F calculations. These are specialist-level filings where software is generally not the right tool.
- PFIC holdings (mutual funds, ETFs, or investment trusts held outside the U.S.) — Form 8621 and mark-to-market elections. PFIC rules are punitive and complex; a specialist is worth the cost.
- Treaty-based positions that require Form 8833 disclosure — tiebreaker claims, treaty reclassification of pension income, or treaty-based reduction of U.S. tax.
- Streamlined submissions with willful-conduct risk — if there is any chance the IRS could argue willfulness, or if your non-willful certification would be difficult to defend, a tax attorney is the right starting point.
- Exit tax situations — green card surrender, expatriation (Form 8854), and covered-expatriate determinations.
- IRS notices, audits, or prior disputes — these need representation, not software.
For everything else — and that is most expat returns — a well-built expat-specialist product removes the single biggest reason expats underpay, overpay, or miss a filing entirely: the learning curve of Form 2555, Form 1116, Form 8938, and the FBAR. MyExpatTaxes is the product I recommend in that category.
Pricing and what you get
Pricing is tiered by complexity. Tiers start in the low three figures for a straightforward W-2 expat return and step up for self-employment, investment income, additional schedules, Streamlined submissions, and professional review. Check the current published tiers directly against your situation before you commit — pricing on the MyExpatTaxes site is the source of truth. Add-ons for live CPA review are priced separately from the base tier.
Two cost points worth understanding up-front: Streamlined back-filing is priced higher than a single-year return (because it is three returns plus six FBARs plus the certification), and state returns are priced as an add-on to the federal. Neither is unusual, but plan for them in your budget.
FAQ
Can MyExpatTaxes handle my FBAR and FATCA together?
Yes. FBAR (FinCEN 114) is prepared on-platform and filed alongside your federal return — you do not need to separately log into FinCEN's BSA E-Filing portal. Form 8938 (FATCA) is handled in the same return when your foreign accounts exceed the FATCA thresholds. Both pull from the same account-details section, so you enter each foreign account once.
I have not filed U.S. taxes in three years. Can I catch up using MyExpatTaxes?
For a clean non-willful case — you genuinely did not know you had an ongoing U.S. filing obligation — yes. The Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedure submission is prepared on-platform, including three years of back returns, six years of back FBARs, and the non-willful certification. Read the Streamlined Filing guide first so you understand what you are certifying. If there is any willful-conduct concern, start with a tax attorney instead of any software product.
Does MyExpatTaxes handle self-employment abroad?
Yes — Schedule C, Schedule SE, and foreign earned income from self-employment are all supported. Totalization-agreement exemptions from U.S. SE tax are handled through the interview. The FEIE reduces your federal income tax on self-employment earnings, but it does not eliminate the 15.3% SE tax — that part of the math is in the self-employment abroad guide.
What if my situation is too complex for software?
Professional review is available as an add-on — you prepare the return in the interview, a tax pro reviews it before filing. That covers the gray zone between "definitely software" and "definitely specialist." If your return is clearly specialist territory (foreign corporation ownership, PFICs, treaty positions, exit tax), skip software entirely and work with a qualified CPA or tax attorney.
Is this an unbiased recommendation?
I have an affiliate relationship with MyExpatTaxes — ClearedExpat earns a commission if you sign up through the links on this page, at no extra cost to you. I would recommend it the same way without the affiliate arrangement; the affiliate program is the revenue side of an editorial judgment I had already formed. If MyExpatTaxes were not the product I actually use and recommend, it would not be on this page. See the editorial standards page for the full policy.
