What does US tax filing cost?
There is no fixed price list. Every engagement is scoped and quoted individually by Capital Tax Limited, because the work depends entirely on your facts. As a rough orientation: a straightforward annual US return is typically a few hundred US dollars, and a multi-year Streamlined catch-up usually runs into the low thousands all-in. This page explains what moves that number, so the quote you receive makes sense.
Why there's no flat rate
US expat tax work is priced on the work involved, not a single sticker price. Two Americans in the same city can pay quite different fees: one has a single salary and a couple of bank accounts; the other has a rental property, a local company, and a brokerage full of local funds. The fee reflects which of those you actually have. Capital Tax Limited (the US-credentialed firm that prepares returns for inquiries from this site) looks at your specifics and gives you an itemized estimate before any engagement begins.
What the price depends on
The main things that move a US expat tax fee up or down:
- How many years. A single current-year return is the floor. A Streamlined catch-up covers three years of federal returns plus up to six years of FBARs: more work, and the larger end of the range.
- State returns. If you kept domicile in a US state (or a state believes you did), each state year adds work.
- Rental property. Schedule E (depreciation, expenses, currency conversion) adds real preparation time per property.
- Self-employment. Schedule C / SE, plus the social-security interaction with any Totalization Agreement (Japan and South Korea have one; Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand do not).
- PFICs. Local mutual funds and ETFs across Asia almost always trigger PFIC treatment, and each one needs its own labor-intensive Form 8621.
- Foreign corporation ownership. Owning 10% or more of a Japan K.K./G.K., Hong Kong limited, or Singapore Pte Ltd brings Form 5471 (one of the heaviest forms in the code) and possibly GILTI modeling.
- Account volume and complexity. A large number of foreign accounts, significant capital-gains or crypto activity, or tax-equalization and expatriation (Form 8854) work all add hours.
What a straightforward case looks like
At the simpler end: an American on a local salary in one Asian country, banking with two or three local accounts, no rental property and no foreign corporation, who either never set US state residency or broke it cleanly on leaving. That profile sits at the low end of the range. Most people who have lived abroad for several years have picked up at least one complicating factor from the list above, which is exactly why pricing is quoted case by case rather than published as a rate.
Behind on several years of filing? The IRS Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures are the usual route back into compliance, and for eligible non-willful filers can waive the penalties that would otherwise apply. Our sister site, streamlinedamnesty.com, covers that program in depth.
What a fee does and doesn't include
Included: preparation of the required returns and FBARs, the treaty / FEIE / FTC positions that fit your facts, filing-package assembly, and basic post-filing support if the IRS requests clarification.
Not included: any US tax owed and IRS interest (paid directly to the IRS, never a preparer fee). Representation if a case escalates to audit or controversy is a separate engagement, typically with a tax attorney.
How to get a real number
This page is orientation, not a quote. The only number that means anything is the one Capital Tax Limited gives you for your actual situation. Send a short description of your case and the firm responds, usually within two Asia business days, with an itemized estimate.