This creates a structural compliance challenge that has grown more pressing in recent years. The expansion of FATCA information-sharing agreements, tighter IRS enforcement, and the increasing financial complexity of expatriate life – foreign pensions, overseas businesses, multi-currency investments – have made accurate US expat tax filing harder to manage without specialist support.
Taxes for Expats (TFX) is a New York-based firm that has worked exclusively with US expat taxpayers for over 25 years. This review examines their service model, current pricing, and overall value proposition for Americans living abroad in 2026.
The structural challenge of US expat taxation
To understand why specialist services like TFX exist, it helps to understand what makes US expat taxes genuinely different from domestic filing.
The US tax system imposes three distinct layers of obligation on citizens living abroad:
1. Income tax filing on worldwide income
Every US citizen and permanent resident must file a federal return reporting all income from any source, anywhere in the world. This applies even if that income has already been taxed in the country where it was earned.
2. Foreign information reporting
Two separate reporting regimes apply to foreign financial accounts and assets. The FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) is required when combined foreign account balances exceed $10,000 at any point during the calendar year. FATCA (Form 8938) applies when specified foreign financial assets exceed threshold values that vary by filing status and residency. Penalties for non-filing start at $10,000 per violation and can escalate significantly.
3. Interaction with foreign tax systems
The US provides mechanisms to reduce double taxation – principally the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) and the Foreign Tax Credit (FTC) – but choosing correctly between them, and applying them accurately, requires a working knowledge of both US tax law and the tax system of the country where the expat resides. For Americans in high-tax countries like the UK, France, or Germany, the FTC often produces better outcomes. In lower-tax jurisdictions, the FEIE may be more advantageous.
For many expats, the combination of these three layers makes annual tax compliance a substantive professional task rather than a form-filling exercise.
What Taxes for Expats offers
TFX operates as a fully remote, expat-only tax preparation service. They do not handle domestic US returns. That single-category focus means their systems, staff training, and client intake process are built entirely around cross-border situations rather than adapted from a domestic template.
Who uses TFX
Their client base reflects the full range of Americans living abroad:
- Professionals employed by UK, European, or other foreign companies
- Remote workers employed by US companies but residing overseas
- Self-employed individuals and freelancers with international income
- Business owners with foreign entities or cross-border structures
- Retirees drawing US Social Security, pension, or investment income from abroad
- Non-US citizens with US-source income such as rental property or US business interests
- Individuals who have fallen behind on filing and require a structured compliance path
The service model
TFX operates through a secure online portal accessible from anywhere. The process begins with a structured intake questionnaire designed to surface the full complexity of an expat’s situation – residency timeline, income sources, foreign accounts, business structures, and prior filing history.
Documents are uploaded to an encrypted portal (AES-256 encryption, two-factor authentication) and assigned to a CPA or Enrolled Agent with at least ten years of expat-specific experience. The assigned preparer determines the optimal tax strategy – FEIE versus FTC, treaty applications, foreign pension treatment – and prepares the full return including all required ancillary forms.
Critically, every completed return undergoes a second review by a senior professional before reaching the client. This dual-review structure is not standard practice across the sector and represents a meaningful quality control step for situations where a single missed form or incorrect election can generate disproportionate penalties.
The client reviews the final return in the portal, raises any questions, and approves it before filing. Standard turnaround is approximately fifteen business days per tax year.
Pricing in 2026
TFX uses a transparent flat-fee structure, with a published rate card and no VAT charges. The base federal return is priced at $450 and covers over 35 tax forms. Additional complexity is charged via clearly listed add-ons.
Current fee structure
| Service | Cost |
| Base federal income tax return (Form 1040) | $450 |
| FBAR filing (FinCEN Form 114) | $85 |
| FATCA reporting (Form 8938, up to 5 accounts) | $100 |
| State tax return | $160 |
| Non-US pension income | Additional fee |
| Foreign corporation return (Form 5471) | $625 |
| US S-corporation (Form 1120-S) | $800 |
| PFIC income (Form 8621) | $200 first; $150 each after |
| Amended return (Form 1040X) | $175 |
| 1040NR (non-resident alien return) | $525 |
| Streamlined compliance package (3 years returns + 6 years FBAR) | $1,450 (28% discount vs standard rates) |
For expats behind on multiple years, the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures package offers a structured catch-up path at a significant discount. A 20% multi-year discount applies when filing three or more years simultaneously. TFX also notes that competitors quoting in non-USD currencies may appear cheaper until VAT and currency conversion are applied – TFX charges no VAT and all fees are in USD.
Strengths and limitations
Where TFX performs strongly
Depth of expat expertise. An expat-only firm with 25 years of operating history and 80+ accredited professionals develops an institutional knowledge that generalist firms cannot replicate. This is particularly relevant for situations involving tax treaty applications, foreign pension treatment, partial-year residency calculations, and the FEIE versus FTC election.
Quality assurance. The dual-review model adds cost to TFX’s operations but meaningfully reduces the risk of filing errors in situations where the cost of mistakes is disproportionate to the cost of preparation.
Compliance catch-up capability. For Americans who have not filed for several years – a surprisingly common situation among long-term expats who were unaware of their obligations – TFX’s streamlined procedure service provides a structured IRS amnesty path that avoids willful non-compliance penalties.
Pricing transparency. Flat-fee pricing with a published rate card enables accurate cost estimation before engagement. The absence of VAT charges is a genuine differentiator for clients in the EU and UK jurisdictions.
Where TFX has limitations
No in-person service. The fully virtual model is appropriate for the majority of expat clients but represents a constraint for those who require or strongly prefer face-to-face professional engagement.
Cost for simple situations. The $450 base fee is cost-effective for moderately complex situations but may exceed what is warranted for very straightforward cases – a single W-2, no foreign accounts, no business income – where well-designed DIY software could suffice.
Scope boundaries. TFX focuses on US tax preparation and does not provide host country tax advice. Expats with complex local tax obligations – UK self-assessment, French income tax, German Einkommensteuererklärung – will still need local advisory alongside TFX’s US service.
Comparative context
Americans living abroad have several categories of option for US tax compliance.
| Approach | Typical cost | Best suited for | Key limitation |
| DIY software | $100–300 | Simple situations, one income source, no foreign accounts | Knowledge burden; high error risk with any complexity |
| Domestic US CPA | $400–1,500+ | Long-standing relationships, simple domestic situations | Typically limited expat expertise |
| Specialist expat firm (TFX) | $450–2,000 | Most expats with moderate to significant complexity | Virtual only; costs scale with complexity |
| Big Four / large international firms | $3,000–15,000+ | High-net-worth individuals, complex cross-border structures | Prohibitive cost for most individuals |
| Local host country accountant | $200–800 | Host country compliance | Does not address US filing requirement |
For the broad middle of the market – Americans living in the UK and Europe with employment income, investment accounts, and foreign bank accounts – TFX represents a practical balance of expertise, process quality, and cost.
Practical considerations for US expats in the UK and Europe
For Americans living in Britain and Europe specifically, a few tax planning considerations warrant particular attention:
- The UK-US tax treaty contains specific provisions for pension income, Social Security, and investment income that can significantly affect the optimal filing strategy – correctly applying these requires treaty-specific expertise
- ISAs are not tax-exempt for US tax purposes, and income generated within a UK ISA must still be reported on a US return
- Foreign pensions, including workplace pensions and state pensions, require careful treatment under both FATCA and the treaty provisions
- The interaction between FEIE and FTC is particularly important for expats in high-tax European jurisdictions where the FTC typically produces better outcomes than the FEIE
Assessment
Taxes for Expats occupies a well-defined and credibly occupied position in the US expat tax market. The combination of a 25-year operating history, expat-only focus, experienced staff, dual-review quality control, and transparent pricing compares favourably against both lower-cost alternatives that transfer compliance risk to the client and higher-cost alternatives that are priced beyond the reach of most individuals.
For US citizens and permanent residents living in the UK and Europe, navigating a complex intersection of tax systems, foreign account reporting requirements, and treaty provisions, professional expat tax preparation is less of an optional extra than a practical necessity. TFX represents a well-established option for meeting that need reliably and at a cost that is proportionate to the value delivered.