Federal, state, FBAR and FATCA, with the foreign housing exclusion actually claimed. Complete returns $599. Every price published below.
Times are shown in your time zone. Pick one and I'll confirm it by email with a calendar invitation.
Most returns from abroad are not wrong because of arithmetic. They are wrong because one election, one form or one day-count was missed. See all five situations.
The foreign housing exclusion on employer-provided housing is routinely missed. Dependent-tuition benefits are compensation and get misreported. A mid-year school move can break the 330-day physical presence test.
For teachersThe Foreign Earned Income Exclusion removes income tax. It does not remove the 15.3% self-employment tax. Support raised as a self-employed minister is SECA income, and a totalization agreement rarely covers it.
For ministry workersYears behind has a way back. If the miss was non-willful, the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures waive the penalties: three returns, six FBARs, Form 14653, in a $1,395 Catch-Up Package. A free call settles whether you qualify.
For catch-up filersHigh income, no local income tax, and usually no US tax treaty and no totalization agreement. Above the exclusion there is no foreign tax credit to fall back on, so the housing exclusion and the timing of the move decide the number.
For professionals abroad| Service | Flat fee |
|---|---|
| Complete Return Federal, one state, FBAR, FATCA, FEIE/FTC optimisation, foreign housing exclusion, treaty positions | $599 |
| Essential Return Federal + FBAR, single country, employment income | $449 |
| Complex Return Self-employment, rental, investments, dual-status, or multiple countries in one year | $995 |
| Catch-Up Package Streamlined: 3 returns, 6 FBARs, Form 14653, plus next year's Complete Return free | $1,395 |
| FBAR-Only Filing Up to 5 accounts (+$45 per additional 5) | $125 |
| Additional state return | $89 |
| Expat Tax Position Review 45 minutes, written summary, credited in full against any package booked within 60 days | $195 |
| Federal extension (Form 4868) | Free |
| Qualification call 15 minutes, bookable directly | Free |
These are the prices. If your situation needs something outside them, you'll get the number before any work starts — not after. And an FBAR can always be filed free through FinCEN's own system; what you're paying for here is the review of whether it's the only thing you're missing.
Prepared and signed by Jorge I. Rivas, EA. You can verify the credential yourself in the IRS Return Preparer directory.
An Enrolled Agent is federally licensed and holds unrestricted representation rights before the IRS. There are 68,548 Enrolled Agents, against 208,519 CPAs. Nobody else in this category asks you to check.
Read them, copy them, check my work. Each one is dated and sourced.
| Host country | Income tax treaty | Totalization agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Kuwait | No | No |
| United Arab Emirates | No | No |
| Saudi Arabia | No | No |
| Japan | Yes | Yes |
| South Korea | Yes | Yes |
| Germany | Yes | Yes |
Yes. US citizens and green-card holders file a federal return on worldwide income, wherever they live. For tax year 2025 the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion is $130,000. Returns from abroad are due 15 June under the automatic extension, and 15 October if Form 4868 is filed. Foreign accounts may also require an FBAR.
Federally licensed, unrestricted IRS representation rights.
Listed in the IRS Return Preparer directory. Checked 28 July 2026.
In practice since 2012; Enrolled Agent since 2015.
Each host country has a written guide to its treaty and totalization position.
It buys you until 15 October and costs nothing. Tell me your host country and your situation and I'll send the confirmation, plus the two figures that matter for your case.
Bring last year's return if you have one, and the countries you were in. You'll leave the call knowing the filing route, the forms and the fee.
An IRS Enrolled Agent working only on US tax for Americans living abroad. I prepare and sign every return myself — 14 years in practice, 11 of them as an Enrolled Agent.